SEC Spring Meetings: Ole Miss’ Hugh Freeze talks!

Hugh Freeze isn’t new to the SEC but he’s new to the head coaching business. But he’s come to familiar waters – Oxford, Mississippi – to take over the new head coaching job.

Anyway, he talked to SEC TV’s Buzz Baker.

Here are some good excerpts of his conversation:

On coming back to Ole Miss: It’s been an exciting ride for my family. I feel honored and blessed to be a part of Rebel Nation.

The Blind Side (Freeze was the high school coach of one Michael Oher, Baltimore Ravens offensive linesman and big-time recruit who eventually came to Ole Miss): Our recruiting team has really used the film to recruit. It’s a great thing to have behind us. Michael Oher has also helped us with recruiting to the university, too.

Scholarships: I don’t know how many scholarships we’ve given out at the moment. Under Ed Orgeron we did a great job of recruiting – we had 20 players drafted to the NFL in the three years he was in charge. The campus sells itself through its beauty. If we can just get the kids to the campus, we should have a chance of competing for them. But we’ve also got to improve the talent pool.

On coaching: We need to install a competitive spirit, but also reasonable expectations for Rebel fans. But what I’ll be expecting from my first game at Ole Miss is that we keep playing for 60 minutes. The fans won’t mind losing so much as the team’s making an effort.

Style: A lot of people have labelled me as a spread offensive coach. I do believe in running the football, but I don’t mind throwing it, either.

The SEC: I’ve said that the two best teams in the SEC West were going to move to the NFC East – and they could’ve done – they were that good!