The Auburn Tigers are entering the third season of the Hugh Freeze era, and the pressure has never been higher to win.
After losing records in each of the first two years and even failing to qualify for bowl eligibility last year, Freeze knows a big step up is needed, otherwise his job could be on the line.
On paper, there’s no real reason why the Tigers should not be much more competitive this season.
With one of the most underrated rosters in the nation in terms of pure talent, Auburn can match up with anyone in the wide receiver room and defensive line.
None of that will matter though if their most important player cannot live up to his immense potential that he has yet to do to this point in his college career.
Last season, the Tigers lost numerous close games because of turnovers, and more specifically quarterback play.
Payton Thorne simply did not improve from his first year to his second, and as a result, Auburn was dreadful in the passing game despite having two star playmakers in freshman stud Cam Coleman and Penn State transfer KeAndre Lambert-Smith.
While Lambert-Smith is gone to the NFL, so is Thorne and more additions have been made to the room.
As for the man throwing to them, the Tigers — and Freeze especially — have all their eggs in the Jackson Arnold basket.
Arnold transferred to The Plains from Oklahoma after two seasons, one sitting the bench and one getting his shot.
Unfortunately for the former five-star, things were not good last season for him and he was benched by the Sooners, throughout the year as the offense struggled to click at times even more than Auburn’s.
Arnold was an Elite 11 MVP and one of the best quarterbacks in the nation coming out of high school three years ago, but for whatever reason that talent did not click.
Clearly, Freeze and his staff thought they can pull that potential out of Arnold when they aggressively pursued him in the transfer portal.
Thus far, the early returns throughout the spring have been good.
Freeze has spoken glowingly about his new quarterback and all reports have been positive about the upgrade the Tigers are perceived to have made.
If Arnold can be what he was billed as when he was a recruit, it’s not out of the realm of possibility to think Auburn can instantly turn things around and be a real playoff contender.
If he can’t though, the Tigers would be looking at another poor season of quarterback play and in turn, a significant number of losses, potentially pushing Freeze’s already shrinking grace with boosters and fans over the edge.
