The value of Auburn football's Cadillac Williams? He 'has the ear of the players'
AUBURN — Upon his hire in November, Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze said his first order of business was to retain running backs coach Cadillac Williams. He did that, and also gave him a promotion to associate head coach that came with a lucrative raise.
Williams had just wrapped up his tenure as the interim head coach for the Tigers after former coach Bryan Harsin was fired Oct. 31, 2022. Auburn had four games remaining and Williams led the team to a 2-2 record. The two losses came against Alabama in the Iron Bowl and in overtime versus Mississippi State five days after he took over the program.
The Tigers (3-4, 0-4 SEC) will rematch with the Bulldogs (4-3, 1-3) on Saturday (2:30 p.m. CT, SEC Network), though it'll be at Jordan-Hare Stadium this time around.
"Well, he's somebody I lean on to get the pulse of the team, for sure," Freeze said on the SEC coaches teleconference Wednesday when asked about the importance of Williams. "He's got great relationships with the team and brings great energy to practice and to the games and to the building.
"Obviously, he has the ear of the players because he's walked in their shoes at this place and done it at a high, high level. I think he's got great insight from time to time also that we might need as we try to right the ship and continue to build this program. He's really very valuable."
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Williams, who played at Auburn in the early 2000s and was an integral piece on the 2004 team that went undefeated, has been with the Tigers in a coaching capacity since former coach Gus Malzahn hired him in 2019. He was retained by Harsin in 2020 and again by Freeze last year.
Auburn has landed a commitment from a blue-chip running back in nearly each recruiting cycle under Williams, with the exceptions being in 2019, which was a class he inherited, and in 2021, when Williams secured a pledge from current starting RB Jarquez Hunter.
Williams helped Auburn land Tank Bigsby (2020), Damari Alston (2022) and Jeremiah Cobb (2023). Four-star running back J'Marion Burnette is currently committed in the Class of 2024.
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: Hugh Freeze talks value of Auburn football's Cadillac Williams
