HOOVER, Ala. -- A year ago Hugh Freeze came into SEC Media Days selling hope. Now, coming off a 7-6 season, a bowl win and signing a consensus top-five recruiting class, Freeze finds himself managing a plethora of youth and greater expectations than an Ole Miss coach has faced in many years.
“The fan base was dejected and the kids were dejected,” Freeze said of the program he inherited. “Certainly we accomplished step one in our process which was re-instilling pride and letting people know that we can be competitive in this league. To be able to win seven games and lose three heartbreakers that could have gone our way and see our kids respond the way they did will go miles for us in this journey that we’re on.”
Fans, players and coaches believe they can go even farther this year.
And while it was all but impossible to get any of the Ole Miss participants at SEC Media Days to talk about the future beyond their season opener against Vanderbilt, they all shared a little insight into the core of the Rebels’ turnaround.
“Coach Freeze loves us like a father,” junior wide receiver Donte Moncrief said. “We all know that he cares about us and wants what is best for us. We all work even harder for him because of that.”
Hard work and attention to detail is a huge part of Freeze’s coaching philosophy, but love for his players is part of his DNA.
“Our battle cry is if you will be personally accountable for all the little things in our program and then love and trust one another, then we have a chance,” Freeze said. “If you don’t do those things, we don’t have a chance.”
Talented players from across the nation are buying into Freeze’s “love and trust” message. He went on a high school recruiting trip right before flying to Hoover, Ala., for SEC Media Days and was as engaged as ever when discussing how he attracts kids to Oxford.
“We are a relational coaching staff,” he said. “We built a relationship with a kid over the course of year or better along with everyone involved in his decision making process. We explain to them that here is an opportunity to do something new and fresh and not fall in where someone else has already done it. If you are part of bringing something new to this place, people are going to say, ‘Wow.’”
Many were saying similar things after Freeze landed the nation’s top recruit, defensive end Robert Nkemdiche. Now they are wondering how the coach will follow up his first-year success.
“You can get anywhere you want to go from Ole Miss,” he said, getting revved up with each word. “We’ve got great representation in the NFL -- maybe the best linebacker and quarterback (in the league) as well as offensive linemen, defensive linemen and receivers. So why not? If you can get to your goals from either place, why not come do something new and fresh?”
It was an impassioned message, one he had obviously delivered many times.
But at the end, Freeze summed up his success quite succinctly.
“It’s a relationship process, one that appeals to certain types of families. I get no greater thrill than going out to the people of Mississippi and knowing that our staff, our kids and our program have added some joy to their lives. That is tops for me. Always will be.”
