The Case For Hugh Freeze

Down in Oxford, Mississippi, Hugh Freeze is getting ready to play yet another S.E.C. foe.  He probably hasn't watched a single Virginia Tech football game this year.  His mind is solely on coaching up his Rebels, ready to face Texas A&M this weekend.  Freeze was signed in 2011 to be the head coach at Ole Miss.  His first season got the Rebels to the BBVA Compass bowl, where they defeated Pittsburgh.  That victory got the Rebels to a 7-6 mark for the season.  The bowl appearance was the first for the 'Rebs in 2 years.  More importantly, Freeze followed up his freshman campaign by inking the 5th rated recruiting class in the country.  To Ole Miss.  I'm going to repeat that.  In 2013 Hugh Freeze got the fifth best recruiting class in the nation to sign at Ole Miss.  After an 8-5 mark that season, and another bowl appearance, Freeze made Ole Miss relavant.

Hugh Freeze: Depth of amazing 2013 recruiting class fueling Ole Miss revival http://t.co/952xyJa8sZ

— Michael Carvell (@Carvell_AJC) September 30, 2015

The 2014 campaign was special for Freeze and his team from Mississippi. The Rebels started out 7-0 and peaked at #3 in the rankings. They beat Alabama, and finished the season with a Peach Bowl bid. It marked the first major bowl appearance by Ole Miss since 1970.

Remember that Ole Miss plays "Big Boy" football.  Sorry Hokie fans, but the Coastal division in the A.C.C. can't even come close to the S.E.C. West.  When you play Auburn, Alabama, Texas A&M, and L.S.U. every single season, the room for error is nil.

The fact that Freeze has more than held his own against the best competition in the country is reason alone to consider Freeze for Beams' replacement. The fact that the man can flat out recruit is the icing. I'm not sure you understand the competition of recruiting in the S.E.C., but the 757 would be elementary school for Freeze. Hopefully at this point I have your curiosity, now I hope to capture your attention.

Ole Miss raises Freeze's salary more than $1M. Coaches total pay = 70 profs http://t.co/aYVszYUkb0

— Jack Censer (@JackatCHSS) December 13, 2014

Seems kind of steep for shallow pockets doesn't it? Well Freeze is widely regarded as a bargain in the S.E.C., where King Nick rules the roost at 7 million per. Can Virginia Tech make this happen? Do we want this to happen? I can say that he would win here. I can say he would dominate recruiting here. I can say he has a coaching tree to supplant any losses in staff we might incur. The knock on Freeze is that he is 29-17 overall at Ole Miss, but again he is not playing Duke, N.C. State, U.N.C., Pittsburgh and that ilk. He plays in the toughest division in the toughest conference in all of college football. He was heavily rumored to be the next coach at Florida. The big question is simply this: Are we even in that same discussion?

I guess that means Hugh Freeze isn't leaving any time soon... and why would he?He's built something special at #OleMiss

— The Mind of Mark (@PoweredbyBMW) December 2, 2014