ESPN’s Paul Finebaum Likes What He Sees in New-Look Auburn Tigers
Some early returns garnered from the Auburn Tigers spring practice sessions have put everyone within the program in an upbeat mood.
While it’s true that from coast-to-coast every single coach is desperately trying to accentuate the positives – you could say the new quarterback boost has head coach Hugh Freeze grinning.
ESPN pot-stirring pundit Paul Finebaum is usually quick to douse any flames of positivity, but this offseason Finebaum is suddenly bullish on new-look Tigers transfer portal quarterback Jackson Arnold.
“It’s pretty upbeat,” Finebaum said on his own show regarding the Tigers chances in 2025. “I think that Hugh Freeze has done a phenomenal job recruiting. I think he’s also done a good job in, I think, the right quarterback in Jackson Arnold. He wasn’t the right quarterback in Oklahoma. But I think he’s probably the right one there. So, I think this is a turnaround year.”
As much as anything else, Freeze and Co. will need to be particularly guarded against loading expectations onto the back of Arnold ahead of the 2025 campaign. Confidence is an essential requirement for any signal caller who’s been relied upon to deliver the first winning season in nearly half a decade.
Confidence levels that will have to be filled back up by Freeze in large part because of the blip Arnold suffered though as a Sooner.
Consequently, managing Arnold will be done with his needs as the forefront of the entire coaching staff’s thinking, but that deep and talented wide receiving unit should really help ease the transition.
Long has Freeze insisted the need to improve the team’s talent level through recruiting would give rise to subsequent winning on the field; he’s delivered that on paper so far.
Freeze will be looking to set a whole new tone for the entire program, and that’s going to take the Auburn boss placing his fate in Arnold’s hands. Turning the Tigers and Arnold around isn’t an easy task for Freeze, but a lot of the work has already been done on the recruiting front.
