Hugh Freeze on Nick Saban: ‘I want to beat him’
One of the reasons that Auburn administrators were drawn to Hugh Freeze in their coaching search was his success against the Alabama Crimson Tide and legendary head coach Nick Saban.
During his time at Ole Miss, Freeze went 2-3 against Saban. Those two wins came in back-to-back seasons, which is something that only a few coaches have been able to accomplish since Saban took over Alabama’s program in 2007.
After a six-year hiatus, the rivalry between Freeze and Saban returns to the national stage as Freeze takes over Auburn’s program ahead of the 2023 season. During his time at the main podium during SEC Media Days on Tuesday, Freeze shared his story on what his relationship with Saban is like.
He told reporters that his relationship with Saban is deeper than most know.
“Well, I respect the king, I respect the gold standard, I respect the heck out of him and he’s actually a really good friend,” Freeze said. “And then I know that’s hard for a lot of people to hear, but my wife and I have actually vacationed with he and Ms. Terry and we think the world of them. And he’s truthfully — when I went through my two years out of the game — he was one of the best and biggest encouragers that I had. So I can’t lose the respect that I have there.”
While he has a solid relationship with Saban, he assures Auburn fans that he hopes to take them to the top of the SEC. In order to do that, he must knock off Saban.
“But at the same time: I want to beat him,” Freeze said. “I want to measure ourselves against the gold standard, and he and Kirby (Smart) right now, you know, and maybe throw LSU in there also, but that’s who they are. So I relish those opportunities and, you know, now I’m right down the road from him. But we were able to have success at Ole Miss — two wins and really should have won the third one, truthfully.”
Freeze ended the response by saying that he will need to earn his share of wins in the recruiting game in order to see how well his team measures up against Saban and the Crimson Tide.
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