Missouri football might have got some free bulletin board material.
Auburn coach Hugh Freeze caught some criticism from Mizzou-leaning corners of social media earlier this week for comments on the successes of MU's Eli Drinkwitz and other SEC coaches while working with "lesser rosters." The statement, clipped and posted to X by AL.com reporter Michael Casagrande , came from his introductory statement during his weekly press conference with local reporters Monday in Auburn, Alabama.
Here's a chunk of the quote:
"To me, some of the better coaching jobs are done with those lesser rosters in recruiting, and I think you look at people like Eli and ( Kentucky coach Mark) Stoops and, heck, (Vanderbilt coach) Clark Lea now, too, that I think are doing incredible jobs at their respective programs with the kids that they've had," Freeze said. "And they've had some time to develop their culture and get their players in, but Eli — I think he does one of the better jobs in the country in all aspects in managing the new world that we're facing."
Certainly meant as a compliment before MU hosts Auburn on Saturday in Columbia.
Probably presented another way in the Mizzou team meetings.
Outside of that soundbite, here is what Freeze and players in the Auburn camp said in the lead-up to Mizzou-AU on Saturday ... with plenty more focus on the upcoming game:
More: Is Missouri football considering lineup changes? Breaking down some midseason competition
More: Stadium construction to impact pedestrian flow for Missouri football games. What to expect
Freeze, whose team is 2-4 and faces an uphill battle for bowl eligibility, was pretty blunt about the challenge Auburn's defense faces this Saturday.
"Yeah, it's not one that you just get overjoyed about," Freeze said. "I mean, truthfully, they've got veteran guys that have proven to be some of the best in this league, whether they're going against the top-tier corners and safeties or not.
"And due to some injuries, and then just to our youth, obviously, it's going to be a great test for us. You know, we've got to find a way to get them some help and eliminate the explosive plays, which is very difficult to do against them."
Mizzou's offense seemingly hasn't hit its ceiling against its strongest opponents yet, struggling against Texas A&M on the road and doing enough to knock off Boston College and Vanderbilt.
But Auburn is preparing for quarterback Brady Cook 's best.
"They have a complete offense. They have a really good offense, and Brady Cook is at the helm of that," AU linebacker Eugene Asante told a pool of Auburn beat reporters. "He's … certainly somebody that's super dynamic in terms of getting the ball to his playmakers, and then on top of that, he has the capability of running.
… "We understand what Luther Burden is: He's a top draft pick, and we understand what he brings to the game as a dynamic playmaker."
Most Missouri fans noticed the early calls that went against the Tigers at Texas A&M.
So, too, did Freeze.
"Things can happen when you go on the road in this conference, and a team gets the momentum and has the right game plan and the right call," Freeze said. "And really, Missouri had a chance to really stay in that game early and had, like, three penalties and calls that went horribly against them. And it kind of just snowballed, which, you know, you see that happen from time to time, but I don't make too much of that."
Those calls clearly weren't the main takeaway from the Tigers' game at Texas A&M, which was a blowout from start to finish.
What Freeze did focus on was Mizzou's performances over a much longer timeframe, looking back at the Tigers' 16-3 record since the beginning of last season.
"I know what I see on film, and I know the consistency that they've been about almost every single game for the last, what, 15 (games) or so?" Freeze said. "They beat Ohio State in a bowl game and have many of those same kids back. And this is a top-20 team for sure, if not higher, and hasn't lost at home in a long time. They're a really quality football team."
Freeze called Drinkwitz one of his closest friends in the business, stemming back to the Missouri coach's time as an assistant with Guz Malzahn, and said he had talked with the Missouri coach on the phone twice in the past week.
"I've got to cut him off," the AU coach said.
Freeze also shares a coaching connection with Missouri's new defensive coordinator, Corey Batoon. The Mizzou defensive play-caller was a defensive assistant on Freeze's staff during stops at Arkansas State, Ole Miss and Liberty.
"He's one of my guys," Freeze said. … "We've talked a lot of ball, and so he's a heck of a guy and heck of a defensive coordinator and doing a great job there for Eli, and so that presents its own challenges."
More: Missouri football loses two key defensive players to season-ending injuries
Not many questions were posed to Auburn's coach or players about the Mizzou defense, but AU tight end Rivaldo Fairweather did get one and pointed to Missouri's starting defensive tackles — likely Chris McClellan and Kristian Williams — as strengths.
But not unmanageable strengths.
"They've got two good interior D-linemen, but our O-line is gonna hold them up, though," Fairweather said. "We're not really too worried about it. We're gonna be good. … Every week we see a good SEC defense, so we're just gonna go out there and just execute our offensive game plan."
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: What Auburn coach Hugh Freeze, AU players said about Missouri football
