Freeze Tapped To Return Titles To Ole Miss
OXFORD,
Miss. -- A Mississippi native, inspirational leader and one of the
nation's top rising coaches, Hugh Freeze was the first choice to return
championships to Ole Miss Football and was introduced as the Rebels'
37th head coach Monday to a capacity crowd at the Gertrude Castellow
Ford Center for the Performing Arts on campus. “This is home to me,” said Freeze during the emotional announcement. “This is a destination job.” Freeze,
a noted speaker and recruiter throughout his career, has enjoyed
success at nearly every coaching level over the past 18 years, from
high school to NAIA to FBS, and each stop has featured a high scoring
offense and the ability to motivate young people. The most recent stop
for the former Ole Miss assistant was a record-setting run at Arkansas
State. With Freeze as head coach this season, the Red
Wolves captured the Sun Belt Conference championship and became just
the third school in Sun Belt history to finish undefeated in league
play with a perfect 8-0 mark. The 10-2 overall record marked the
program's first 10-win season since 1986, when ASU was a member of the
I-AA Southland Conference. In the best debut season ever
by an A-State head coach, Freeze became just the 14th FBS first-year
head coach to win 10 regular season games. He also returned ASU to a
bowl game for the first time since 2005. “Once we
completed our interviews, our No. 1 choice was crystal clear,” said
Mike Glenn, who joined Archie Manning as co-chair of Ole Miss’ search
committee. “Our No. 1 choice was Hugh Freeze.” While
dominating the Sun Belt statistical categories, Freeze’s Red Wolves
rank top-25 in the nation in total offense (25th), total defense
(20th), passing offense (17th), rushing defense (15th), pass efficiency
defense (17th), scoring defense (15th), tackles for loss (12th) and
sacks (17th). They are also one of only two teams in the NCAA to lead
their conference in both total offense and defense. Freeze's
high octane offense has seen quarterback Ryan Aplin shatter the school
record for career pass completions. This year, Aplin established new
single-season standards for total offense and passing yards per game
while ranking No. 10 in the nation in total offense. Wide receiver
Dwayne Frampton broke the Red Wolves' single-season record for
receptions and ranks 11th nationally. The Freeze defense
also impressed in 2011 led by senior lineman Brandon Joiner, who is
fourth in the NCAA in sacks. Senior DB Darryl Feemster registered six
interceptions and is tied for 11th in the nation in that category. Freeze's
first season in Jonesboro saw him serve as Arkansas State's offensive
coordinator, guiding the Red Wolves' offense to a record-breaking year
in 2010. He made an immediate impact on ASU's program,
leading the offense to a No. 43 national ranking in total offense one
year after the Red Wolves finished toward the bottom of the NCAA FBS
rankings at No. 95. In just their first year under Freeze's
up-tempo spread offense, the Red Wolves broke nine offensive school
records that included 4,841 yards of total offense ranked No. 2 in the
Sun Belt Conference. Freeze led the ASU offense to other
school records such as total plays (856), first downs (262), pass
attempts (438), pass completions (266), completion percentage (.607),
passing yards (3,057), passing yards per game (254.8) and passing
touchdowns (23). The Red Wolves' potent offensive attack
averaged 403.4 yards per game, eclipsing over 300 yards all 12 times it
took the field for the first time in the history of the program.
A-State posted at least 400 yards of total offense in seven games
during the 2010 campaign, the most ever as an NCAA FBS member. ASU,
ranked 42nd in the nation in scoring offense, finished the season
averaging 30 points a game and recorded at least 20 points in 11
consecutive games for the first time in school history. Freeze's
offense scored 46 touchdowns, including 23 on the ground and 23 through
the air, for the fourth most in school history and the most since the
1975 season. While the Red Wolves' 23 passing touchdowns broke
the school record, their 23 scores on the ground were the most by an
ASU team since 2002. Their 360 total points were the most since
1987 and tied the fourth most in ASU history. Under
Freeze, the A-State offense was among the most dangerous in the Sun
Belt Conference in 2010. The Red Wolves were ranked among the top
two teams in the league in scoring offense, passing offense, total
offense, pass efficiency, red zone offense and first downs. In
addition to its No. 40 national ranking in total offense and No. 42
spot in scoring offense, ASU ranked among the top 50 teams in the
nation in red zone offense at No. 28. In addition to
working as ASU's offensive coordinator, Freeze was also the
quarterbacks coach for the Red Wolves. Under Freeze's direction,
Aplin exploded onto the scene in 2010 to emerge as a Sun Belt
Conference Player of the Year candidate as a sophomore. Aplin not only
broke the ASU records for total offense, passing yards, passing
touchdowns and completions, he posted numbers that rank among the top
10 in Sun Belt Conference history in the same categories. Aplin
was named the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week three
times during the 2010 season. Prior to his arrival at
Arkansas State, Freeze compiled a 20-5 record over the 2008 and 2009
seasons at the helm of the Lambuth University football program. Freeze
was named the American Football Coaches Association's Southeast Region
Coach of the Year in 2009 after leading the Eagles to their best
regular season in school history with an 11-0 record. Under
Freeze's direction, Lambuth won the Mid-South Conference West Division,
advanced to the second round of the NAIA playoffs for the first time
since 1999, finished the year with a 12-1 mark and ascended to the No.
6 ranking in NAIA. The Mid-South Conference Coach of the
Year oversaw the offense and called the plays for a Lambuth team that
averaged over 40 points per game and ranked ninth nationally in total
yards per game (465 ypg). The Eagles also ranked first in the nation in
fourth down conversions, fourth in first downs per game and third down
conversions, fifth in passing offense and eighth in scoring offense per
game. Prior to taking over as head coach at Lambuth,
Freeze served on the Ole Miss staff from 2005-07, including the final
two seasons as an assistant coach. He originally arrived in
Oxford as Assistant Athletics Director for External Affairs before
being named the Rebels' recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach
before the 2006 season. In his first year as recruiting
coordinator, he helped bring in the nation's ninth-ranked recruiting
class, the highest recorded rank in the history of the program.
Ole Miss' 2007 signing class was tabbed 25th nationally, and he was
responsible for nine commitments in the 2008 signing class. While
maintaining his duties as recruiting coordinator, he moved to wide
receivers coach in 2007 and tutored current NFL star Mike Wallace
to a top-10 SEC finish in receiving yards. Before going
to Ole Miss, Freeze served 13 years at Briarcrest Christian School in
Memphis, Tenn., as a classroom teacher, coach and administrator.
He was the Saints' head football coach from 1995 to 2004, running the
no huddle "spread system" for six years that led to six straight state
championship games. Freeze compiled a 99-23 record, which
included an undefeated season in 1996, while at Briarcrest and led the
school to state championship titles in 2002 and 2004. Briarcrest
won regional championships in 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001 and 2002,
and Freeze was named the Region 8-AA Coach of the Year five times and
Associated Press Coach of the Year four times. Among his
talented pupils during that period were eventual Rebels and current NFL
starters Michael Oher and Greg Hardy. Before
assuming the role of head coach at Briarcrest, Freeze served as the
Saints' offensive coordinator and defensive backs coach from 1992-94,
as the Saints reached the TSSAA state semifinals twice. A
1988 graduate of Senatobia High School, Freeze received an associate's
degree from Northwest Mississippi Community College in 1990 and earned
his bachelor's degree in mathematics with a minor in coaching and
sports administration from the University of Southern Mississippi in
1992. It was while attending USM that he became active in
mission projects, serving as a missionary in Houston, Salt Lake City,
St. Petersburg, Russia and Australia. Freeze also served as the state
president for the Mississippi Baptist Student Union. Hugh, 42, and his wife, Jill, are the parents of three daughters, Ragan (13), Jordan (12), and Madison (9).
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