AUBURN — Auburn University football coach Hugh Freeze has always wanted to build his roster through traditional recruiting methods.
Freeze has had success convincing high school players to lead winning teams at schools including Arkansas State, Ole Miss and Liberty. In 10 seasons at the Division I level prior to arriving at Auburn, Freeze produced seven 247Sports Composite top-100 recruiting classes, five top-50 units and four top-20 groups.
Freeze had two top-10 finishes while at Ole Miss, in 2013 (8) and 2016 (5).
But things have changed: portals exist and talking to transferees is a whole different type of recruiting activity.
“Ideally, I'd like to sign some high school kids and build great relationships with them and never lose them,” Freeze said in December during the first transfer window of the offseason. “With the current state of college football, that might be a dream world, but it would be really nice to do that.”
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The Tigers added nine players in the first transfer window before spring practice, and several of those newcomers, including receiver Robert Lewis, offensive tackle Percy Lewis and safety Jaelin Thompson, are expected to start in Auburn's season opener in August.
But the winter transfer window also saw some missteps for the Tigers. They weren't always able to visit their prospects. “We had to start with a phone call and try to prove to them that they should look at Auburn,” Freeze said of recruiting through the portal. “We've been good at that, but there have been a number of times where a visit was scheduled and they didn't even come to campus. They had already decided where they were going before we even got in front of them, which to me is kind of unusual.”
“Maybe we need to change our approach a little bit on that front, but I would still like to get in front of someone and have a conversation with them before I get serious about anything. At this point, who knows what the best way to make that happen is.”
Auburn appears to have found some answers in the second offseason portal window, which began on April 16 and ended on April 30. The Tigers landed five transfer students this time around, and while there wasn't much quantity, the quality seemed to improve a bit.
The star of the bunch was Penn State transfer Ke'Andre Lambert-Smith, who was the Nittany Lions' leading receiver with 53 catches for 673 yards and four touchdowns in 2023. Auburn beat out Texas A&M to acquire him.
But defensive linemen Philip Bridi (Indiana) and Isaiah Lakes (Texas A&M) were also big recruiting wins, as was pass rusher Kieron Crawford (Arkansas State), who is considered the No. 2 back linebacker behind Jalen McLeod. Crawford's 39 pressures would have led Auburn last season, according to Pro Football Focus.
Freeze may not like the process, but the 2024 team structure will be different than it was when he was at Mississippi. It may have taken him a while to accept and adjust to that, but if the spring is any indication, it looks like he and his staff have found a way to make it work.
“As for the Portal world, maybe we should try and visit it as soon as possible, instead of preparing for a weekend that will never come,” Freeze said. “I don't know. It's hard to figure out.”
Richard Silva is an Auburn University sports reporter for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached by email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter (formerly X) @rich_silva18.
