Auburn football flipping 4-star linebacker Joseph Phillips out of Booker T Washington in Tuskegee from Georgia was an example of new Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze “sending a message” to Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart — this, at least, according to Auburn Daily’s Lance Dawe.
“Stealing a player away from Kirby Smart and the Dogs is sending a message – one that hopefully is built upon in the coming months,” Dawe wrote. “Hugh Freeze has the ability to bring Auburn back to where they were just a few years ago.”
With AU and UGA remaining yearly rivals in 2024 with the SEC schedule recently announced, Freeze and Smart will become familiar with each other very quickly.