This time, it’s personal.

Hugh Freeze sounds really, really upset about negative recruiting.

Negative recruiting is part of the game, but Hugh Freeze is not happy about it in wake of the current NCAA investigation of Ole Miss.

From 2013-16, Ole Miss had four top-20 classes, including two in the top 8. But in 2017, the Rebels’ class is ranked No. 33. They only got two of the top 10 players in the state of Mississippi. On Wednesday, Freeze spoke out about how the NCAA investigation into violations and the potential penalties impacted this year.

“It was ugly,” Freeze said at a press conference. “I didn’t enjoy it. You take great pride in who you are and how you do things. Again, that’s not to say that we’ve been perfect, but I know the value that I place on this job and my name and our coaches’ name and our administration’s name. I’m the leader of the program so everything is directed pretty much at you.

“Some of it was personal with some people probably. I don’t talk about other schools in recruiting and I won’t do that, and our staff is in charge to do the same. Unfortunately, there were several others that they thought it was a prime opportunity to use that in recruiting, and that’s the route they go. I won’t forget who they are.”

Ooh, straight out of the Urban Meyer school of relations.

The best part is his praise of Alabama because “they do it the right way”.  Dude, that’s because Nick Saban doesn’t have to worry about you on the recruiting trail.  Especially since he knows there are plenty of others out there willing to do the dirty work.

23 Comments

Filed under Recruiting, SEC Football

23 responses to “This time, it’s personal.

  1. Spike

    Hey Coach.. Grow a pair and name some names!

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  2. BMan

    It’s good that he will remember who they are, as he may be asking some of them for employment in a year or two.

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  3. Normaltown Mike

    Hugh Freeze points and stares

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  4. Argondawg

    Anyone who watched Tunsil on draft night knows what this program was built on. His time is about up.

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  5. Dawgflan

    Maybe we can make it up to him by hiring him as an analyst for $30k in another year or so…

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  6. 3rdandGrantham

    Let me see if I have this right:

    Ole Miss blatantly cheats (allegedly) in recruiting, going as far as offering money to the families of top prospects like Tunsil in effort to get them to renege on their commitment elsewhere and sign with them. Ole Miss then gets caught for a host of major recruiting violations, and as a result they find themselves under a huge NCAA microscope.

    In the meantime, other schools smartly use this as ammo against Ole Miss, pointing out the fact that they very well might be facing major probation due to their cheating. As a result, Hugh Freeze is mad at his rivals for simply pointing this out. Of course, we have yet to hear any apologies from Freeze to programs like UGA for stealing their commits via cheating; we also have yet to hear how mad Freeze is at himself, his assistants, and his boosters/bag men for self-inflicting this mess to begin with. Nope — everyone else is to blame and surely will face Hugh’s wrath.

    Talk about a total lack of self-awareness — what oblivious gall.

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  7. heyberto

    You know, a good way to counter an unknown, it to not keep it from being unknown so long. If Ole Miss wanted to get past this on the recruiting trail, they might want to just settle up with the powers that be and get it out there and get it over with.

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    • Uglydawg

      You remember how that worked for Georgia? We got no points for honesty and self-inflicted sanctions. I agree, though, that honesty is the best policy (unless the wife asks you “does this dress make my but look big).

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      • heyberto

        Yeah, but I guess my point is, there’s an upside no matter if the hammer comes down on them hard or whether they dodge it entirely.. it’s done and they can craft a pitch around it. Ole Miss is being negatively recruiting over speculation, not anything that anyone actually knows.

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      • Sherlock

        We are a special case though. We are the ones that sued the NCAA and got the football TV money and scheduling out of the NCAAs hands. Until television is completely irrelevant, we will never get a fair shake with the NCAA.

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  8. Biggus Rickus

    Georgia fired a coach for going 10-3 too often. Ole Miss sold their souls to go 10-3 one season.

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  9. Dog in Fla

    “I won’t forget who they are.”
    Hugh Freeze, February 1, 2017

    “If you have facts about a violation, send it to compliance@olemiss.edu.” Hugh Freeze February 1, 2013

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    • The man is so full of shit, if you gave him an enema, you would need an electronic microscope to find him.
      I bet he does not remember that statement from 2013.
      Avoiding any connection to anything politics, when in the hell is Freeze going to take some responsibility for what he has done or said.
      If he showed up at my door recruiting, I would tell him, “get the fuck out of here”.

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  10. Scorpio Jones, III

    When Hugh says he won’t forget who they are, he means his own cheatin self, right? Oh…wait, it does not matter if Hugh is guilty, it only matters that people are talking about Hugh being guilty.

    Hugh…here’s a tip…when you can’t cheat to get players, its tougher to get players.

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  11. rchris

    As James Franklin used to say, it’s not negative recruiting, it’s just giving out comparative info. As in, “Hey kid, they’re going to lose a ton of scholarships and be lousy for years, AND WE’RE NOT!!!” Compare that!

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  12. Fuck off Right Reverend Freeze.

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  13. ASEF

    The public relations path from “how dare anyone accuse these innocent young men of anything” to “well, I didn’t directly know what was going on because I trust all these upstanding boosters and assistants” is just hysterical.

    Every statement Ole Miss and Freeze has put out over 3 years has been proven flat out false. That’s impressive.

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