Hugh Freeze Opens Up on NCAA, Frustration and Ole Miss' Perception

HOOVER, Ala. — The final day at SEC media days at the Hyatt Regency Birmingham-The Wynfrey Hotel was the most anticipated of the four-day event, thanks to the presence of Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze and the ongoing NCAA investigation surrounding impermissible benefits and academic fraud.

Freeze did his best to handle the situation honestly and be as forthcoming as possible while also holding back the fact that he can't comment on specifics of the case due to the ongoing investigation. 

Ole Miss released its response to the NCAA's notice of allegations this spring. That response includes 11 scholarship reductions over four years, three years of probation, the recruiting suspension for two assistant coaches and a decrease in evaluation time. 

While Ole Miss has responded to the NCAA, the organization continues to investigate the program after images leaked online during the 2016 NFL draft suggesting staffers paid former offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil.

"I remain very confident in who we are, our core values and how we do things," Freeze said in the main ballroom. "We have fully cooperated with the NCAA."

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Freeze confirmed in Destin, Florida, at SEC spring meetings in May that, of the four Level I violations involving the current Ole Miss program and staffers, the program is only disputing one—which relates to impermissible contact between a recruit and booster.

"We believe our response to the notice of allegations stands on its own," Freeze said in the main ballroom Thursday. "As a head coach, I understand that I'm held accountable for the things that happened within our building and even outside the walls of our building.

"Our compliance team is working extremely hard to seek a resolution to this case and into the—and also into the events from NFL draft night, and we look forward to the conclusion of this entire process. No one looks forward to that more than I do."

It was a tough spot for Freeze to be in.

With one response to a notice of allegations out and other lingering issues popping up when the process was nearing a close, thanks to Tunsil's draft night debacle, the situation could wear on the head coach. Freeze doesn't feel that frustration.

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"I'm really not [frustrated], Freeze told Bleacher Report while making the rounds. "Do I come across like I am frustrated? Because you're the second one who's asked me about that.

"I really believe that all things work together for good. I don't like going through it. But really, think about this—there are only a few players involved in that deal. What about those 82 or 83? These families chose to come play for me. So how in the world can I not be motivated every day to go to work for them?"

The unresolved aspect of the case—the screen shots that were released on Tunsil's allegedly hacked Instagram account that suggest Ole Miss associate athletic director of football operations John Miller had been in discussions for small payments to cover Tunsil's mother's electric bill—have kept a dark cloud hovering over Oxford. 

When it comes to Tunsil's level of cooperation with the NCAA, Freeze is in the dark.

"I have had zero [input on the level of Tunsil's cooperation]," he told Bleacher Report. "I have not been talked to about it, interviewed about it or anything. I ask questions all the time, but it's just not something that I'm included in. The investigation with this new stuff, I'm just not involved in it."

It isn't taking a toll on Freeze, though.

He has passed the point of fighting the battle of perception and is content with pleasing the people most closely associated with his program.

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"Initially it was difficult," Freeze said of the constant PR hits. "You get to a spot, though, where you ask yourself, 'Who are you living to please?' You get to that spot, and you kind of just kind of callus to the other. Not in a bad or angry way. I know what my family thinks about me, I know what my players think of me and I want to honor my God and how I do things. Should we be held accountable if wrong is done within our program? Yes, and that day will come.

"I have a lot of things, Barrett, that I don't do very well. Being tempted to cut corners to be successful, I have zero interest in that. So I'm confident in who I am and the tone I set around our place. That kind of gives you a peace."

Peace will come when Ole Miss meets with the Committee on Infractions in the fall. 

Until then, Freeze just wants to focus on football.

Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com unless otherwise noted. Recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee