David Pollack, a college football analyst, predicts that the Auburn Tigers will improve in 2025, following their fourth consecutive losing season.
Following the departure of Bryan Harsin in 2022, the Tigers have yet to find success under head coach Hugh Freeze. However, the program had significant issues after finishing 9-12 under Harsin, and Freeze faced a daunting assignment in cleaning up the mess.
Auburn won six games during Freeze’s first campaign and some recruiting success led to higher expectations in Year 2. Those hopes weren’t fulfilled, though, as the Tigers dropped to 5-7 last season.
And at a historic program like Auburn, losing ways won’t be tolerated for long.
Freeze, a former head coach at Arkansas State, Ole Miss, and Liberty, is widely considered as a top offensive mind in the game. Surprisingly, Auburn’s offense has been in the bottom of the SEC for the past two seasons.
According to Pollack, such element should improve for one specific reason.
“I think the QB position has a lot more upside than the QB position you had last year,” he said on “David Pollack College Football.”
“Auburn’s defense has not been the problem in Hugh Freeze’s first two years,” Pollack said. “The offense has been really bad, which is surprising because Hughes always found a way, it seems like, to have great quarterback play wherever he’s been.”
The Tigers used two quarterbacks in 2023, Payton Thorne and Robby Ashford, before settling on Thorne as the starter in 2024 after Ashford transferred to South Carolina.
As the offense continued to struggle, Hank Brown was given the opportunity to help turn things around. But that short-lived experiment didn’t work either, and the Tigers finished 30th in overall offense and 71st in scoring offense.
The position looks significantly different in 2025 with the acquisition of former five-star prospect and Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold. He is expected to compete for the role once Thorne graduates and Brown transfers to Iowa.
The 6-foot-1, 211-pound passer showed some potential with the Sooners, throwing for 1,421 yards with 12 touchdowns and three interceptions while also gaining 444 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
In addition, the Tigers signed Deuce Knight, a five-star quarterback in the 2025 class. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound true freshman could give Arnold some interesting competition.
The Tigers will open the 2025 season at Baylor on Aug. 30.
