Bruce Pearl told the crowd at the Auburn AMBUSH event at the Finley Center in Hoover that he thought the struggles of the 2023 Auburn football season would prepare Hugh Freeze’s Tigers for a significant comeback in 2024.
“I think that they are in a really good place, I think they are humble because they did not have the kind of year that they wanted,” Pearl told WVTM. “Hugh Freeze works every day all day; he works every day all day, Auburn football is in good hands.”
Pearl is aware of how a season’s setback might result in an improvement the next year. His program had a bit of a bad year in the 2022–2023 regular season, but the 2023–2024 season saw an SEC Championship.
Hopefully, the upset loss to Yale in March Madness a few months ago and other March Madness missteps will spur a deeper run in 2025.
For their mental health, a lot of Tiger supporters will require it.
Auburn football requires more capable leadership.
During the 2023 season, Freeze seemed a little too at ease abdicating responsibility to former offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery before taking up play-calling full-time. He will have to take greater responsibility in 2024, but it will be the players’ increased leadership that will determine the team’s fate.
Payton Thorne, in particular, may be overdue for a comeback following a lackluster debut on the Plains. In the offseason, Thorne has appeared better; at the A-Day spring game, he may have thrown his greatest balls when wearing orange and blue. In 2024, his development might make or break him, but as things stand right now, there’s a good chance he’ll succeed.
Auburn has a critical turning point in 2024; it could either emerge from the post-COVID/NIL era abyss it has been stuck in or become Freeze’s seat warmer by 2025.
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