Hugh Freeze looking for 'clean' game from 'piecemealed' Auburn football roster vs. UMass
AUBURN — Auburn football's roster is akin to Frankenstein.
The Tigers brought in 40 new scholarship players this offseason, with 19 of those newcomers coming by way of the transfer portal. In Auburn's first depth chart distributed to reporters Monday, 10 players who were not on the team last season are listed as starters.
A win against UMass on Saturday (2:30 p.m. CT, ESPN) is priority No. 1, of course, but beyond that, Freeze wants to see the new parts fit together smoothly.
"Even though it's Game 1, you would like for it to be clean," Freeze said Monday. "That we're not having pre-snap penalties or turning the ball over (or have) any foolish penalties. And you'd like to see them play with great passion. ...
"You're not quite sure how a new team that we've piecemealed together ever since we've been here (will perform). And now they're fixing to get there in front of 88,000 and a loud crowd. How will we handle all of our emotions? Does it cause us to have a foolish penalty here or there?"
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Payton Thorne finding new ways to impress
Freeze hopes Michigan State transfer Payton Thorne's offseason work proves fruitful for in-season success.
"His attention to every little thing," Freeze said when asked what's stuck out about the QB. "He's got an advantage that he's in grad school and he has a lot of time. It's important to him and he's constantly studying, and I sure hope that translates into his decision-making come Saturday now that we're not just running stuff against a defense that we don't really know what they're doing.
"Now you honestly get the game plan and say, 'Now Payton, I would expect you to see this and get it right.' And he takes great pride in that, so I think that's probably been the most impressive thing. He wants to have the mental part of the game plan totally down."
Run defense still a concern
Auburn's running backs have been the stars of the preseason, rumbling for multiple big runs at each scrimmage. The question Freeze can't shake is whether that means his new-look offensive line is dominant, or his defensive front has problems.
"I don't know. I honestly don't," Freeze said of the internal battle. "We'll find out more Saturday. Are we effective running the ball against other opponents? Or has our defense made us look that good? I think when you start getting into a game week and you start game planning, you figure out this is what we're going to try to do. Hopefully we'll be in the right spots and play well on both sides. That's the hope."
Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football: What Hugh Freeze wants to see from Tigers vs. UMass
