AUBURN – Fall practice is underway for the Auburn Tigers.
Kickoff is 30 days away, and preparation has started to ramp up for college football programs around the country.
Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze talked about going into his second fall camp at the helm of the program.
“We’re excited to start our second fall camp," Freeze said. "I like the work that’s been put in this summer with our strength staff and our players and the changes in the culture and chemistry that I've seen."
Sophomore kicker Alex McPherson's availability to begin the season is a question mark due to an illness he has been fighting. Freeze gave an update on McPherson's health.
“Getting better, thankfully," Freeze said of the star kicker. "Not clear to participate just yet, but he's with us here. He was in our meetings last night and is in the 120 (players), so we're hopeful that he'll be back with us soon. But seems to be making some progression.”
Freeze talked about the theme he has selected for fall camp this season and what he hopes the team will take from it.
“Gratitude," Freeze said. "It’s a word I think we probably all could use a little more think when we operate with the not to be morbid or create any type of fear, but the brevity of life is accurate, it’s true. It's real and my clocks ticking and I’ve probably lived over two-thirds of my life. I should be grateful for every single day that I have. And you combine that with all the many blessings that Auburn has blessed me, our staff and our players with, it should be received with gratitude."
Freeze elaborated on the high expectations he had for the team on the first day of practice.
“I expect to be sharp," Freeze said. "We've hit this install many times offensively, defensively and I see no reason why (we shouldn’t be sharp). Obviously you have some young kids here that were only here this summer that you might see some mistakes out of, but we don't have a ton going in today. I believe in that. It's something I think we were a little off on last year trying to install too much. I'd like to install everything in like four days. I can always game plan and add something, but I want to get really good at what we think we're going to do. And I'll be disappointed if we're not fairly sharp today. Now you don't have pads on, and the D-line will be a little extra dominant probably, but I still expect us to be sharp.”
Freeze talked about the importance of preparing for the physicality of conference play while trying to avoid injuries and the difficulty of doing so.
"That is a daily discussion," Freeze said. "Last night's last meeting with the staff was just about that. How much do you tackle? How much do we let this guy go? Do we put him in the yellow jersey? Do we know what he can do? We’ve just got to get him to the bus. It's just an everyday dilemma, and I don't know that I have the formula that is the exact right one, but I do know that you better get your best players to Saturday."
Auburn opens the season at home against the Alabama A&M Bulldogs on August 31 at 6:30 p.m. CT. The broadcast will be carried by ESPN+/SEC Network+.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email daniel.locke@1819news.com.
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