How Hugh Freeze is using Christopher Columbus and an AU alumnus to inspire Auburn football
AUBURN — Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze uses various methods to inspire his team, one of which is establishing a theme for each week.
As the Tigers prepare to play at Arkansas on Saturday (3 p.m. CT, SEC Network), Freeze is leaning on a book written by Andy Andrews, who is an Auburn alumnus. The book, which is titled "The Traveler's Gift," was published in 2002 and is about a man who travels back in time to various moments in history.
The man in the book at one point crosses paths with Christopher Columbus.
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"(The theme) this week is, 'I have a decided heart.' It's from Andy Andrews, who is a graduate of here," Freeze said via a prerecorded interview released Thursday on Tiger Talk. "... When the man the book is about has his dream with Christopher Columbus and how everybody wanted to bail after 69 days at sea. Columbus' vision of, 'I will see the new land.'
"Everybody is like, 'We're turning back.' And he's asked the question: 'How do you just keep believing in this vision? This dream?' He said, 'Because I have a decided heart. I have made up my mind in my heart.' As we know, I think what flows out of your mouth comes from the heart. So, what does our heart look like by the way we practice? By the way we talk about this upcoming game, this upcoming week (and) these next few games? That was the theme this week."
Auburn (5-4, 2-4 SEC) can achieve bowl eligibility by beating Arkansas (3-6, 1-5). The Razorbacks are coming off a 39-36 overtime win against Florida in The Swamp, and the Tigers enter the matchup following their 31-15 triumph on the road at Vanderbilt.
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's Hugh Freeze leaning on book written by AU alumnus
