Program Defining Moment Propels Trajectory Of Auburn Football Under Freeze

There are moments in recruiting for every successful college football coach that they can point to as program defining when something magical happens propelling the overall trajectory of their team to new heights.

Auburn’s legendary, late, great former head coach Pat Dye would highlight the recruitment of one Vincent Edward “Bo” Jackson as his program defining moment in recruiting on the Plains.

The legend of ‘Bo Over The Top’

How Auburn head coach Pat Dye and a kid from Bessemer, Alabama named Bo Jackson helped shift the tide of the greatest rivalry in sports — the Iron Bowl — with one legendary play.

Iron Bowl record
(Before ‘82) Bama 28-17
(Since ‘82) Bama 21-20 pic.twitter.com/5mHvh2TZt2

— Power of Dixieland (@PwrofDixieland) August 19, 2023

Senator Tommy Tuberville would surely tell you that flipping Cadillac Williams to the Tigers from Tennessee was his program defining moment on the recruiting trail at Auburn.

And it’s almost most certain that Gene Chizik would admit that if it wasn’t for Cam Newton’s recruitment and eventual signing then Auburn doesn’t win the 2011 BCS National Championship.

These are the moments in Auburn Football recruiting history that helped catapult the program down the road of success.

Perhaps no recruitment was more magnificent of a moment for Auburn’s 2024 recruiting class than when the crown jewel, five-star wide receiver Perry Thompson flipped his commitment from Alabama to Auburn this summer during Big Cat Weekend.

But before we go any further, it’s vital that you know the backstory of Perry Thompson’s recruitment to truly appreciate what it meant for Auburn’s new staff to flip him to the good guys.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pounder, whose physique already resembles an NFL receiver, all but put a bow on the early signing period with a documentary he published on his YouTube channel.

It’s the summer of 2023 prior to Thompson’s senior year at Foley High School, the same high school that produced Alabama legend and Foley’s last five-star wide receiver Julio Jones.

It was all but a foregone conclusion that Thompson was presumably going to follow in Jones’ footsteps en route to Tuscaloosa, so it was no surprise when he committed to the Tide way back in the summer of 2022 becoming the first pledge of Bama’s 2024 class.

Thompson’s verbal commitment to Alabama certainly didn’t stop other teams from continuing to pursue the dynamic receiver; chief among them was Auburn once Freeze was hired as head coach on November 28, 2022, five months after Thompson gave his commitment to Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide.

After Freeze assembled his inaugural staff on the Plains including wide receivers coach Marcus Davis, the crew immediately went to work in recruiting.

The new head coach let it be known that the 2024 and 2025 recruiting classes would define his career at Auburn.

Despite being committed to Alabama for over a year, suddenly Perry Thompson was in the Loveliest Village on the Plains as one of Auburn’s featured visitors for Big Cat Weekend this summer.

Thompson is standing outside of a university swimming pool with a towel draped around his broad shoulders while surrounded by fellow recruits when someone hands him a microphone. A big smile stretches from ear to ear across Thompson’s face who shares a smile with the man standing next to him, Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze who places his hand around Thompson’s shoulder.

What happened next sent shockwaves throughout the college football world and set the trajectory of Auburn recruiting under Freeze for years to come. Put it this way, if there’s a new sheriff in town then Hugh Freeze is HIM.

The moment that started it all 🥶@fhsperryt1 | #ScriptFlipped https://t.co/e6w5y2fiSp pic.twitter.com/X4CH4PYswk

— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) December 20, 2023

After all, if Auburn is going to compete on the gridiron with the Alabama’s and Georgia’s of the world, it is imperative that they challenge their two main rivals off of it on the recruiting trail.

And if I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times – it’s all about the Jimmies and Joes.

And by compete; I mean Auburn needs to not only win their fair share of head-to-head recruiting battles with the two college football behemoths, but specifically this year’s cycle meant Freeze was going to have to flip the commitments of star recruits from both Alabama and Georgia’s class if Auburn was going to ink the ‘24 class they hoped to sign.

Of course that is a whole lot easier said than done, especially when the prospects you’re attempting to flip are of the five-star variety, considered some of the nation’s most elite football players at their position.

Recruits like Perry Thompson, whose commitment to Bama was as solid as a commitment could be. After all, the Crimson Tide were the first Power 5 program to offer Thompson a scholarship and that carried weight according to Foley’s head coach Deric Scott.

“Other programs are now going to try to recruit Perry heavily, I’m sure, but we’ve kind of been on this deal where we’ve been going across the Southeast to camps and colleges, and no other big school pulled the trigger,” Scott said. “I know Alabama’s stamp of approval means a lot to people, and I’m sure other schools are going to want to feel they can get in with Thompson’s recruitment now. But my first thought would be ‘Why?’ You had your opportunity before. … Right out of the gate, his first Power 5 offer was Alabama. You’ve got to kind of give credence to the fact that they saw exactly what he is and what he’s capable of first,” Scott said in the summer of 2022.

Fast forward to Hugh Freeze’s in-home visit with Perry Thompson earlier this month. After the five-star’s flip to the Tigers, Thompson was instrumental in helping Auburn build their ‘24 class … until he went radio silent roughly a week before signing day.

The whispers were that Nick Saban and Alabama were closing back in on Thompson and a flip back to the Tide was the trending topic featured on message boards of both rivals.

Some folks didn’t take the bait and felt like Perry Thompson was Auburn’s till he wasn’t, but there were your fair share of Plainsmen on the verge of a nervous breakdown with the prospects of the crown jewel of Auburn’s class flipping back to the evil empire that is Alabama Football.

Thompson and his family had already hosted Saban for an in-home visit, but now it was Freeze’s turn to visit the Thompson home in Foley.

Brother Hugh couldn’t afford Perry’s in-home visit going sideways and risk losing Thompson to the Tide.

That day Freeze was scheduled to have in-home visits with a handful of prospects so he was flying from spot to spot where he’d hop off the plane, hop in his rental SUV and then drive to the prospect’s home.

First impressions are everything, especially in the world of recruiting, where programs and head coaches are always trying to one up their rivals in hopes of impressing the most coveted of recruits.

As the documentary cameras interview Thompson standing in his driveway, a white Chrysler mini van that would make any soccer mom flutter with envy, pulls into the gravel driveway.

Did a mother get lost on her way to drop off her kids at soccer practice?

The driver’s side door opens and the person who steps out of the van is none other than Auburn University head football coach Hugh Freeze.

No state troopers leading or tagging along. No sign of security. No flash. No fireworks. Just Freeze in a soccer mom mini van arriving to Perry Thompson’s house for his scheduled in-home visit to try and close the deal on one of the most highly-recruited athletes in the country.

The scene alone sums up what kind of man, head coach, and recruiter Hugh Freeze really is — a man of the people. He’s just a regular ol’ dude who has the unique ability to make the people he comes in contact with feel comfortable, appreciated, and special.

Hugh Freeze is you. Hugh Freeze is me. Hugh Freeze is every man. As someone in the public eye, we’ve been able to witness the highest of Hugh’s highs and the lowest of his lows.

Hugh Freeze is a man who has felt the wrath of public humiliation and the pain from hurting his family brought on by his own decisions.

Freeze certainly isn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination. And neither are we. Yes, some of our screw-ups are worse than others, but real recognizes real. We are inspired by our fellow man, who doesn’t let his mistakes define him; the guy who gets up off the ground when life knocks ‘em down.

Maybe folks are able to relate to Freeze because they’ve had screw-ups in their lives, too. Maybe they’re not able to relate to the head coach of Auburn University, but you can bet your bottom dollar that magical moments are created and shared more frequently because they’re able to relate to the regular ol’ guy that is Danny Hugh Freeze.

Program defining moments in recruiting have been the springboard for Auburn’s success in the past; special moments like Perry Thompson’s flip that created a domino effect likely resulting in a 2024 Auburn recruiting class finishing February in the top-5, the first time that’s been achieved by a new coach at Auburn in their first full class.

All started by a moment so special it gave us video evidence of Freeze being thrown into a pool by a bunch of recruits and we got to witness the Auburn ball coach impersonate your local neighborhood soccer mom yet sealing the deal with the crown jewel of the class while driving a mini van.

Hugh Freeze is proving to be the perfect man to lead the football program of a fully-aligned Auburn.

The Tigers currently have the No. 7 class in the country for 2024 with Saraland five-star receiver Ryan Williams announcing his decision on his birthday — February 9 — two days after National Signing Day.

Will the sensational playmaker join Thompson, Cam Coleman, Malcolm Simmons and Bryce Cain to complete the Freeze Five?

Auburn already owns the No. 1 wide receiver class in the country for 2024 without Williams. However, his addition would give the Tigers the best wide receiver class in the galaxy with three five-stars and two four-stars. In all candor, the Freeze Five would be one of the best wide receiver classes, ever.

Merry Flipmas!

The top-5 highest-rated recruits of Auburn’s class were all flips.

July 26: On3 Industry five-star Chilton County (AL) linebacker Demarcus Riddick announces he’s flipping his commitment to Auburn from Georgia, where he had been committed since November 4, 2022.

July 29: 247Sports five-star Foley (AL) wide receiver Perry Thompson announces at Auburn’s Big Cat Weekend that he’s flipping to Auburn from Alabama, where he’s been committed since June 24, 2022.

November 11: ESPN five-star Picayune (MS) edge Jamonta Waller announces he’s flipping his commitment to Auburn from Florida, where he had been committed since June 19.

December 1: Consensus five-star Central-Phenix City (AL) wide receiver Cam Coleman announces he’s flipping his commitment to Auburn from Texas A&M, where he had been committed since July 4.

December 20: Early Signing Day saw consensus four-star Clinton (NC) defensive lineman and the No. 1 recruit out of the Tar Heel State, Amaris Williams flip his commitment to Auburn from Florida, where he had been committed since June 17.

.