The pressure is mounting on Auburn football Head Coach Hugh Freeze as the 2025 season approaches. After consecutive losing seasons, tangible progress is crucial if Freeze hopes to keep his job on the Plains.
Despite landing two Top-10 recruiting classes in the last two years, many remain disappointed with the team’s performance since Freeze took over following Bryan Harsin’s firing. Auburn hasn’t won more than six games in a season since 2019 and has yet to secure a bowl victory since 2018.
Over the last two seasons, much of the criticism for Auburn’s struggles centered on quarterback Payton Thorne, who has now exhausted his eligibility and signed as an undrafted free agent with the Cincinnati Bengals following the 2025 NFL Draft. With Thorne gone and several other QBs entering the transfer portal, the Tigers will enter the fall with an entirely new quarterback room.
Paul Finebaum believes that swapping Payton Thorne for former Oklahoma QB Jackson Arnold could be a game-changer for Hugh Freeze and Auburn, giving fans reasons to stay hopeful for 2025.
“I came away from talking to Hugh Freeze pretty upbeat,” Finebaum said on his podcast, according to Auburn Tigers on SI. “He’s got a lot of players that he didn’t have. He was honest about that yesterday. I like their quarterback situation.”

During spring training, Jackson Arnold and incoming 5-star freshman Deuce Knight were the only two quarterbacks on campus, sharing all the reps in practice while developing a strong bond as teammates. Coach Hugh Freeze has spoken very positively about both QBs, even though he officially named Arnold the starter for the upcoming season.
The Tigers will kick off their 2025 campaign on August 29 against Baylor.