Auburn's Hugh Freeze eyes Year 3 with no 'sense of panic' - ESPN

AUBURN, Ala. — About three months after his second straight losing season at Auburn, Hugh Freeze found out in February that he had prostate cancer.

«At the time, the only thing you hear is that 'C' word,'» Freeze told ESPN on Tuesday.

Admittedly rattled, and more scared for his family than anything else, Freeze has since settled on a course of treatment, and after getting some encouraging news recently from doctors that his form of cancer was low aggressive, he has decided to wait until January and let doctors reexamine his situation instead of having surgery.

«I'm only 55. We're a family of faith, and I just didn't feel like it was time to rush into surgery,» Freeze said. «I'm at peace with it.»

The same goes for his football team as Freeze enters his third season on the Plains. He's by no means content with the results the past two seasons — and neither is he naïve about the lack of patience within the realm of SEC football — but Freeze was outspoken when he arrived that it would take three full recruiting classes to get Auburn back into championship contention. His first two have both been top-10 classes nationally.

«I think it's as settled as we've been as a program, the continuity of our staff, the pieces of our staff that we've added and what we've been able to do in building our roster in high school recruiting and in the portal,» Freeze said. «Now, we've got to go compete and win some more games, but I don't feel any sense of panic.

»We're on our way to getting where we want to be and where we should be."

Auburn last had a winning season in 2020, when it was 6-5, and has won more than eight games only twice (2017 and 2019) since playing for the national championship in 2013. The Tigers finished 5-7 last season.

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