Former Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace shared fiery comments about his experiences with Auburn coach Hugh Freeze on Saturday, criticizing his former coach for the way he speaks about players following losses.
A clip of Freeze talking about the turnover issues Auburn dealt with versus Arkansas during a postgame news conference spurred Wallace to write a long post on X in response.
“I know that there’s people open and I know that we’re running the football. We’ve got to find a guy that won’t throw it to the other team and we’ve got to find running backs that hold on to it,” Freeze said.
Wallace, who played for Freeze from 2012-14 at Ole Miss, reposted that video and questioned Freeze’s reaction to the five turnovers.
“We’re approaching the point that he’s thrown so many QBs under the bus, that maybe no one wants to play for him?? His offense helped me tremendously put numbers up when I blew my shoulder out…. But why is it someone else’s fault every time there’s a loss ?? … but when there’s a win I watch the press conferences just to count how many times the word ‘I’ is used… appreciate what he did for me, my son wouldn’t be playing for him (though).”
We’re approaching the point that he’s thrown so many QBs under the bus , that maybe no one wants to play for him?? His offense helped me tremendously put numbers up when I blew my shoulder out…. But why is it someone else’s fault every time there’s a loss ?? … but when there’s… https://t.co/ADJoR1BzYJ
— Bo Wallace (@bowallace14) September 22, 2024
When asked what prompted that post during an appearance on the “MPW Digital Postgame Show” Saturday night, Wallace said he was “just tired” of Freeze’s behavior.
“He continues to do the same things. I literally turn on his press conferences on Mondays, and I count how many times he says ‘I’ after a win. Then it’s just always somebody else’s fault, and I remember the feeling of being thrown under the bus constantly.”
Wallace added that he “had to take injections to practice” through injuries, but he felt that level of effort hasn’t been reciprocated by his former coach.
“Hugh Freeze has never called a high school coach, a college coach, anybody that I was about to interview with and helped me out when I laid my whole body on the line for him every day. I just think as a coach, that’s not how I would act. I want to protect my guys.”
The critiques are quite the contrast from a post Wallace wrote in November 2023 in which he called Freeze “a top 5 play caller in the country and the best culture builder I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Stating the fact y’all got beat by New Mexico State … your own fans are trying to run him off
… that guy is a top 5 play caller in the country and the best culture builder I’ve ever seen in my life .. y’all the ones that don’t even know what you have … the facts are you got… https://t.co/rOrQR8zT8u— Bo Wallace (@bowallace14) November 24, 2023
Wallace clarified on the “MPW Digital Postgame Show” why he was ripping his former coach.
“I am not criticizing him as a play-caller. I am not criticizing him as a coach. I am criticizing him on taking responsibility. No matter what happens, you take responsibility for your kids,” Wallace said. “It doesn’t matter if Payton Thorne turns around and throws the ball through the back of the end zone. You just say, ‘Hey, look. I told him to do that.’ Then when you get behind closed doors, you rip his a—.”
Wallace said he still loves Freeze and credited him with his college success, but reiterated his point about accountability: “Just take responsibility.” Messages to Wallace from The Athletic went unanswered on Sunday.
Auburn has disappointed a month into the 2024 season, losing at home to Cal and Arkansas, two games in which the Tigers were favored. They went 6-7 last year, Freeze’s debut season. Prior to Freeze’s hiring was the tumultuous Bryan Harsin era; Harsin went 9-12 overall in just over a season at Auburn. Harsin replaced Gus Malzahn, whom Auburn paid $21.4 million to go away, the highest buyout ever until Jimbo Fisher’s $77.6 million buyout, courtesy of Texas A&M last year.
Freeze came to Auburn with baggage, having been forced to resign at Ole Miss just over a month before the start of the 2017 season for what Ole Miss called “a pattern of personal misconduct.” There was also an NCAA investigation over recruiting violations. But Freeze beat Alabama twice while head coach at Ole Miss, then turned the Liberty Flames into a ranked program from 2019-22, which enticed Auburn to give the coach a second chance in the SEC.
(Photo of Hugh Freeze: Michael Chang / Getty)
