There’s been a common theme for Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze’s success throughout his coaching tenure: talented wide receivers.
Posting 10-win seasons at all of his previous stops as a head coach – Arkansas State, Ole Miss and Liberty – Freeze, known for his offensive prowess, noted on Wednesday that having a group of difference-makers out wide is the pulse of a successful offense.
“When I look at those (10-win seasons) we had receivers that could win one-on-ones and operate in our system, and a quarterback that could get it to them. And if you look back at those seasons, that was a huge part of it,” Freeze said.
When arriving on the Plains in 2022, Freeze’s roster was depleted. But a wide receiver room that had not seen much success, even with the likes of guys like Seth Williams and Anthony Schwartz in recent years, was hungry for something positive.
With that, Freeze and his staff brought in a quartet of star-studded freshmen during their first full recruiting class in Cam Coleman – the program’s second-highest rated recruit ever – Perry Thompson, Malcolm Simmons and Bryce Cain, a group widely known as the “Freeze Four.”
Additionally, KeAndre Lambert-Smith transitioned to SEC country as a highly-productive receiver from Penn State and carried that production with him as Auburn’s leading receiver last year with 981 yards – nearly becoming the Tigers first 1,000-yard receiver since Ronnie Daniels in 1998.
The Tigers saw improvement in that department a season ago. But nothing can compare to what they’re expecting on the field from that group in 2025. With Coleman back as the star of the group, and Simmons progressing as another top-notch option, Auburn’s receiving corps is garnering national buzz as one of the better position groups in the conference, and even in the country.
The addition of Eric Singleton Jr. from Georgia Tech – whose 1,468 receiving yards since 2023 are the second most among returning Power Four wide receivers, per Pro Football Focus – has given the Tigers another intriguing addition to line up all over the field. Horatio Fields has turned heads as a big-bodied receiver after transferring in from Wake Forrest. Thompson has progressed in his first full offseason after adapting to life as a college receiver last season, and Auburn added freshmen Sam Turner, Derick, and Erick Smith as young pieces to round out the room.
It’s a completely revamped group that has a former five-star gunslinger in Jackson Arnold at the helm.
“Those receiver coaches, along with the rest of the recruiting staff, did a really nice job in Year 1, obviously, and then Year 2. I think Sam was a heck of a pickup out of high school, and through the portal, obviously, Eric (Singleton) and Horatio add to that room. And so, it is definitely a totally different room than it was when we arrived,” Freeze said.
The Tigers are hoping they can take a load off Arnold under center, and a run game that will feature a by-committee approach with Damari Alston, Jeremiah Cobb and UConn transfer Durell Robinson after having to replace Jarquez Hunter – who exits Auburn’s program as the fourth leading rusher of all time.
And Freeze believes they are fully equipped to do so.
Auburn opens up its season with a trip to Waco, Texas, to take on Baylor in a primetime Friday night matchup. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. on FOX.
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