Hugh Freeze didn’t seem to believe Kirby Smart led UGA to the national championship game in year 2

ATHENS — Hugh Freeze was out of college football for the 2017 season, so you could forgive him for not being totally plugged in as to what was happening around the sport.

Freeze, now Auburn’s head coach, was speaking about what Georgia head coach Kirby Smart had built in his time in Athens. Georgia has won back-to-back national championships and enters Saturday’s game against Auburn as the No. 1 team in the country.

“I played Kirby his first year when he was still at Ole Miss. I know what he inherited because I coached in that game and I know what the outcome was,” Freeze said at his press conference on Monday. “It’s a great testament to his vision, to his work ethic, to his staff to his administration that allowed him to go have the years he needed to go to recruit. The dividends are paying off greatly. They are one of the gold standards in college football right now. You’re recruiting a top 3 class every single year. That’s hard to compete with and they’re well-coached. You know, you have to give them credit. I know it’s a rivalry game but the truth is the turh. He’s built a dang good football program.”

But Freeze then began to note that Smart needed time to get Georgia to where it was. Freeze’s Ole Miss Rebels beat Georgia 45-14 when they met back in 2016. Georgia went 8-5 that season, with the loss to Ole Miss being the most lopsided.

“I don’t know how long it took him, three years or so to get there or four years. Some of y’all could do the research,” Freeze told reporters.

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