Watch: Auburn HC Hugh Freeze gets thrown into the pool after flipping another 5-star recruit from his SEC counterparts

Hugh Freeze was tasked with resuscitating the Auburn football program and his tenure has already shown good signs. His latest move is considered a huge masterstroke and for his efforts, Freeze was dunked into a swimming pool.

The Auburn head coach managed to flip prospect Perry Thompson, considered the best wide receiver of the 2024 class, from rivals Alabama Crimson Tide.

Thompson is a 205-pound, 6-foot-3 prospect who is ranked No. 14 among the nation's best prospects by 247Sports and No. 2 in Alabama. He had committed to Nick Saban's Alabama in June 2022.

Freeze flipping him is a huge coup for Auburn and will earn him a lot of bonus popularity points due to the intense rivalry between the two schools.

The moment Thompson announced his decision, Auburn players lifted Hugh Freeze and threw him into the pool as a way of celebrating his influence in the recruitment.

Thompson was the second five-star recruit flipped by Freeze in the past week. Demarcus Riddick committed to the Georgia Bulldogs of Kirby Smart in 2022, but opted to de-commit and join Auburn closer to home.

Freeze also got a commitment from four-star prospect Malcolm Simmons. The last time Auburn managed to convince a five-star recruit to join them was in 2019. Freeze has now convinced two to join in just a week.

Hugh Freeze's controversial legacy

Hugh Freeze

Hugh Freeze is the man of the moment for Auburn, but he has a checkered past from his professional career.

Freeze resigned as Ole Miss head coach after his phone records were looked into and he was found to be contacting escort services on the school-issued phones. Ross Bjork, the athletics director at the time, explained why they had to let Freeze go.

"We proactively looked into the rest of Freeze's phone records and found a concerning pattern."

Freeze's explanation for the escort service numbers found on his phone was roundly criticized at the time.

"I've got no idea, to be honest," Freeze said. "I was in an 813 area code and that was a 313 number. I think that might have been a misdial. I don't think there was even a conversation. There's nothing to it."

The school also committed several infractions related to recruitment and academic infringements. Shea Christopher, Ole Miss' quarterback at that time, told NCAA officials that Freeze lied to the prospects about the charges during recruitment.

Apparently, one prospect was even helped with his college entrance exams and others were given impermissible cash gifts to entice them to join the program.

As a result, 27 of Freeze's wins during his time as head coach there were expunged. The program was banned for two years from post-season play.