Hugh Freeze Couldn't Bring Himself To 'Spend A Million Dollars' On Transfer QB, But Never Say Never

Auburn coach Hugh Freeze felt comfortable enough with his quarterback room, led by Payton Thorne, to not go out and spend a million dollars on a transfer. But that doesn't mean it won't happen in the future. 

The chatter around college football continues to revolve around the transfer portal and how coaches can use it to their advantage when it comes to finding a player of need on either side of the ball. The conversation took another turn on Tuesday, when Brian Kelly of LSU came out and said that his program is not in the business of going out and buying players, especially ones that might not fit when it comes to the culture within a team. 

But there is also the ongoing scenario that is causing frustration among coaches in the business about the amount of time they actually get to pursue a player. As Hugh Freeze described it, coaches get a 24-hour window to make a lasting impression that could decide the immediate success at one position. 

Among other topics, coaches are looking for a quick fix if they can find one, but overpaying for a player is a hard decision to make, especially when the NIL collective is trying to run payroll. 

For Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze, even though the Tigers did not go out and spend a million dollars on a transfer quarterback this time around, it doesn't mean they won't do it in the future. For the time being, Freeze felt as though the QB room could be developed, led by Michigan State transfer Payton Thorne. 

Good Enough for 2024, But Hugh Freeze Will End Up Spending $$ On QB

At the moment, the Tigers feel as though the three guys in the room were good enough for what this squad is trying to accomplish in 2024. With Hank Brown, Walker White and Holden Geriner in the same room as Thorne, this was enough to make Hugh Freeze feel as though they can find success this season. But at the same time, Freeze is not in denial about what the portal can offer. 

"The options that you’re presented with are: develop Payton (Thorne), develop Holden (Geriner), develop Hank (Brown), develop Walker (White) or go spend a million dollars on this guy," Freeze told Cole Cubelic and Greg McElroy. "I couldn’t bring myself to doing that, because I wanted to put all the pieces together. 

"Now, I'm not saying I won't do that in time, but just currently, I think the guy's proven. I watched his (Payton Thorne) Michigan State film a thousand times, he had two NFL wide receivers, and he was pretty dang good."

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - JULY 18: Head Coach Hugh Freeze of the Auburn Tigers speaks during Day 2 of the 2023 SEC Media Days at Grand Hyatt Nashville on July 18, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images)

There was a time during the first few months of the Hugh Freeze era at Auburn where spending money on a quarterback in the transfer portal was going to be a viable option, outside of Payton Thorne. But there were hurdles when it came to one QB in particular that led to the Tigers sticking with what they had. Still, Freeze was willing to have the Auburn collective spend money if the right situation would've presented itself. 

There will come a time, if high-school recruiting doesn't pan-out, that Hugh Freeze will spend a good amount of money on a premier quarterback. As for LSU's Brian Kelly, he is pointing out the same concerns of bringing in players that demand a lot of money, but his approach was not met with as much praise. 

Brian Kelly Says LSU Will Not Buy Players, He Should've Said Not Overpay

While coaches around the country continue to spin word salads when it comes to explaining how they approach buying tansfer portal players, Kelly should've explained his position as not wanting to overpay for certain athletes. 

But that wasn't the case on Tuesday when Kelly sat down with a local Baton Rouge television station to explain his approach to the transfer portal. 

Well, I think I made it pretty clear in a number of press conferences that I had that we were in the market in recruiting and the transfer portal for defensive linemen," Brian Kelly told WAFB. "It hasn't fared very well quite frankly cause we're selling something a little bit differently. That is why we want to recruit, engage, build relationships, develop, retain and have success. 

"We're not in the market of buying players, and unfortunately, right now, that's what some guys are looking for. They want to be bought. Look, i understand NIL is a part of this, and we have an incredible collective. We have very generous opportunities around the greater Baton Rouge area for NIL opportunities. So, they are here, but we're not gonna go out and buy players, that's not what this is about and was never about that. We will develop you, we will get you ready for the next step, as we did with Jayden Daniels, as we did with Malik Nabors, as we did with Bryan Thomas. We developed three defensive linemen that all got drafted this past year and we'll do that again."

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - SEPTEMBER 04: Head coach Brian Kelly of LSU Tigers looks on during the game against the Florida State Seminoles at Caesars Superdome on September 04, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Honestly, this is how college athletics could potentially look in the future when it comes to renting players for a year or two. Teams, and collectives, are smartening with their money. NIL Collectives have had a three-year trial run with the portal, and a good amount of them have realized that overpaying for players have either hurt the bottom line, or they did not get a return on investment. 

So, as we continue to plow through this era of collegiate sports, coaches are going to have to make tougher decisions on how to spread out their money, and how to allocate it. 

But for now, we'll continue to see premier players from the transfer portal ask for outrageous sums of money, even if they know it's a longshot. Luckily for them, some schools will partake in the bidding-wars, and the cash will continue to flow.