Auburn’s been all over the place since 2020, going through the Bryan Harsin era before Hugh Freeze came in 2023 and hitting a bunch of bumps in the road. The offense has struggled, and wins haven’t been easy to come by. Just five or six wins is not going to cut it in the SEC. But 2025 feels different. With Jackson Arnold leading the way and with a new “home run” addition, Auburn might actually have a really explosive offense this year.
Auburn made a big splash, landing former five-star QB Jackson Arnold from Oklahoma. But that wasn’t their only big play in the transfer portal. Yeah, they lost KeAndre Lambert-Smith, but they’ve got those exciting young guys like Cam Coleman and Malcolm Simmons coming back, plus some other raw but talented freshmen like Bryce Cain and Perry Thompson. Still, Hugh Freeze and his crew weren’t done, hitting the portal for some top-ranked receivers and even a star from Wake Forest. Best part? Even national analyst Josh Pate is highlighting Freeze’s strategic approach, hinting at a sneaky offensive firepower no one saw coming. Could this finally be Auburn’s year to surprise?
“I still think the talent profile for Jackson Arnold is good. Hugh Freeze, he’s gotten a lot out of quarterbacks before, especially when he’s got a wide receiver core like this, which will be slept on. Auburn’s wide receiver core will be slept on right up until kickoff, you know, that final two-week lead-up to kickoff when everyone starts really zeroing in on specifics of teams, and your buddy will tell you, ‘You know, man, you know who’s low-key pretty sneaky? That Auburn wide receiver core.’ Well, they’re that way now; it’s just not a lot of people are talking about them.” That’s the big move Josh Pate is talking about. And Freeze sees it too…
Turns out, Hugh Freeze sees Horatio Fields as a guy who can make those “win 50/50 balls” competitive, like hitting the jackpot in a casual backyard game. The Auburn head coach raved about him as a standout at camp, pointing out his awesome plays during offseason workouts. Freeze is feeling good about Fields’ potential to team up with Cam Coleman, Malcolm Simmons, and Eric Singleton Jr. in Auburn’s passing game.
The HC was pretty stoked Tuesday morning, noting, “we absolutely hit a home run” in getting Fields out of the portal. “I love long receivers. Always have,” Freeze said. “I think now we’ve got some of those that fit that mold. And Horatio certainly does. He’s stood out.” Interestingly, even though Fields barely caught anything his first three years, he exploded last season with 39 grabs for 463 yards and four scores. At 6 feet 3, he became Auburn’s second-leading receiver in catches and yards while leading in touchdowns. Pairing him with the big-bodied Cam Coleman, who had 598 yards and eight touchdowns last season, Fields adds some serious depth to Auburn’s receivers alongside the speed of Simmons (40 catches) and Singleton Jr. (56), giving the team a potentially scary offense.
Of course, none of that matters if Jackson Arnold can’t find his groove. Even though he showed promise at Oklahoma in 2024 with seven touchdowns and two interceptions in three games, he lost the starting job to Michael Hawkins Jr. against Tennessee. But Hugh Freeze’s WR room isn’t the only thing making noise this offseason.
Hugh Freeze’s big moves for Auburn’s success
Auburn is really beefing up their frontline, like someone prepping for a major storm. And Hugh Freeze didn’t stop there; he even added 3 offensive linemen to make the team even tougher. As Josh Pate put it, “They got three offensive linemen returning with 20-plus starts, so it’s a sneaky team. You tell me that team can’t give me eight wins? Absolutely, they can give me more than that. They got three top 20 classes baked into that team. Two of them are top 10 classes. They’ve done good in the portal, like I just said. They went out and got Jackson Arnold. I do think it’s a do-or-die season in a sense that you’ve got to see really good forward progress of the program.”
For the second time this offseason, Hugh Freeze and his crew have landed a top offensive tackle from the transfer portal. This time, it’s USC’s Mason Murphy. Murphy, who used to play for the Trojans, was mostly the starting right tackle last season. But he’s got experience all across the offensive line over three years, playing both tackle spots and right guard. With one year of eligibility left, the battle-tested redshirt senior is now an Auburn Tiger.
Murphy isn’t the only big addition to Auburn’s offensive line. Virginia Tech’s Xavier Chaplin, a standout who started 12 games and was even named ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week, has also joined the team. Chaplin was a beast, only allowing two sacks on 607 snaps and earning an All-ACC Honorable Mention. He’s a rock in pass protection, like a “wall.”
Plus, Jeremiah Wright, who was Alabama’s starting right guard, has returned after leading the team’s offensive line and serving as the squad’s captain during the previous season. So, with all these big swings, will Auburn’s season be a grand slam?
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