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Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze talks 2016 class, defends program’s recruiting
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Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze pulled in what some thought always was going to be an all-time class in 2013. That class should produce at least three first-round picks.
But just three years later, he may have done even better. Ole Miss has collected three more five-star players in a group that is at least as deep and will finish in the composite top 10.
That’s despite an NCAA investigation into Rebels athletics, still in the preliminary stages. Initial reports indicate that the football team’s involvement in any allegations is relatively minimal. But that didn’t stop teams from using it against Ole Miss during the process.
One of Freeze’s main messages Wednesday afternoon was that he feels proud of the way he and his coaching staff navigated that negativity.
Freeze: Staff has never done better job of handling "onslaught" of things programs face in recruiting. #OleMiss
— Parrish Alford (@parrishalford) February 3, 2016
Freeze: "We think Greg Little has the best feet in America." Said Little knew since Summer he would sign with #OleMiss.
— Parrish Alford (@parrishalford) February 3, 2016
Freeze calls Tariq Tisdale "one of the freakish athletes" in group. Could be MLB or DE. #OleMiss
— Parrish Alford (@parrishalford) February 3, 2016
Freeze: "Went into Texas got five kids all four stars or better. Doing well there." Notes #OleMiss student body numbers from Texas.
— Parrish Alford (@parrishalford) February 3, 2016
Freeze: Pennamon weighed 215 on his trip. Says #OleMiss and Pennamon "drifted a part but drifted quickly back together."
— Parrish Alford (@parrishalford) February 3, 2016
Freeze shared with recruits "what we could" about NCAA letter. Says it may have hurt in some of the "50-50 battles." #OleMiss
— Parrish Alford (@parrishalford) February 3, 2016
Freeze says #OleMiss didn't win all "national" battles and never will be likes the way the brand is being received.
— Parrish Alford (@parrishalford) February 3, 2016
Freeze: On paper this class looks "deeper" than 2013. #OleMiss
— Parrish Alford (@parrishalford) February 3, 2016
Freeze says Benito Jones has the "get off" of Issac Gross with 50 more pounds. #OleMiss
— Parrish Alford (@parrishalford) February 3, 2016
Freeze also went on the Paul Finebaum show to talk about his class. Here is some of what he said:
“We’re thrilled. We just think that top to bottom it’s probably our best class. We’ve had some good ones since we’ve been here. At quarterback, we think we got the best guy in the nation in Shea Patterson. We got a left tackle to protect him. Benito Jones is one of the best I’ve seen. We think he’s ready to play. We continue to add to our receiving corps, which is always important to us.”
On the negativity:
“It’s frustrating as heck, I assure you. We’ve changed the narrative in college football for some people, and they don’t like it. We have rose-colored glasses (fans). Hopefully in the course of time — we’ve had four consecutive top 15 classes. I know how we do things. I know how our staff does things. You can’t let it deter you.
“The storms came and they came in a variety of ways from the different coaching staffs to media to social media. Our relationships won out in the end, which makes me even more grateful to those families who chose to stay with us.
“We get gut punches in life all the time. How you handle that is going to determine who you are in life long-term.”
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.
