Hugh Freeze has never been shy about the mountain he faced when it came to competing with Nick Saban. Back in 2016, while Manning the helm at Ole Miss, he laid it out bluntly—“I feel like I have to personally recruit 12-15 guys in order to beat a Nick Saban who may call the parent one time. They may still beat us.” That was him in his true form. Honest, self-aware, and keenly aware of the power dynamic in SEC recruiting. Fast forward to 2025; the winds of change have swept through the heart of Alabama.

It’s been over 15 months since Nick Saban stepped off the recruiting trail after a legendary tenure with the Crimson Tide. Now, as Auburn’s head coach since 2023, Freeze is not just competing with the Tide, but he’s completely reshaping the tide of the rivalry itself.

At the SEC spring meetings this week, Hugh Freeze was asked the question everyone in Alabama’s high school football orbit has pondered since Nick Saban’s retirement. Has the game changed? In the SEC meeting on May 27, he spoke to the media and opened up about what in-state recruiting has been like since the GOAT’s retirement. “Well, we always want to win our share, and I think you got to win the state and obviously do well,” he said. “We did quite well in-state… But the game of recruiting has changed. It’s not as much Nick Saban, Kalen DeBoer, Hugh Freeze who’s going to out-recruit each other in the relational building aspects. I do still think that’s important, but there’s so many other factors at play, and so I don’t know that it’s a fair judgment. Nick or without Nick, with the way the game has changed.” And if you read between the lines, his tone suggested more than just adaptation.

Hugh Freeze’s words hinted at opportunity. Because for the first time in years, Auburn has landed in the higher rankings in the in-state recruiting war. In the 2025 cycle, Auburn signed six of the top 10 players in Alabama and nine of the top 15. That includes 5-star instate DL Malik Autry, a crown jewel of Freeze’s new wave. Twelve of the Tigers’ 21 signees were homegrown.

Alabama still pulled in the higher-ranked class overall, coming in at No. 4 with three 5-stars but with only one top-15 player from within the state. For now, the identity of the Tide’s class looked more national than local. As for Auburn, they planted a flag. For the first time since 2016-17, they’ve stacked back-to-back top 10 classes, finishing at No. 6 in the 2025 cycle. And then, there’s the QB question. 

Hugh Freeze bets on Jackson Arnold’s upsides

When Auburn landed former Oklahoma 5-star QB Jackson Arnold in the portal, there was cautious optimism. The Gatorade Player of the Year coming out of high school underperformed in 2024, going under 2,000 yards and even getting benched midseason. But Hugh Freeze never doubted what he saw on tape.

“Watch his high school deal,” he said. “There was no weaknesses. There’s a reason he was Gatorade Player of the Year.” For the HC, Arnold’s solution isn’t about a mechanical fix but about confidence.

Jackson Arnold’s spring execution raised the optimism bar for Hugh Freeze. “Everything I saw in spring validated what I knew of him as a recruit,” he said. “He’s got the arm strength, he’s got enough mobility, he’s got a high football IQ, a competitive spirit. Just needed some confidence. I think our receiver room helps him with that. I thought his confidence grew throughout the spring, and I’m excited to see what he’s going to do this fall.” Indeed, the Tigers’ WR room looks loaded with returning stars like Cam Coleman and Malcolm Simmons and key portal additions like Eric Singleton Jr. But it doesn’t mean Arnold’s riding on a doubt-free cruise. 

Nick Saban’s shadow may still loom, but in 2025, Hugh Freeze isn’t just chasing ghosts. He’s building something real.