AUBURN, Ala. – Jeremy Garrett knows Auburn well. He knows what it’s like to come in as an opponent and play at Jordan-Hare Stadium. He’s been on the visiting sideline as a player. But last November, when he flipped on the Auburn-Texas A&M game to watch Carnell Williams, there was a new level of appreciation.
Both teams were 3-6. Nothing to play for. And yet, the Auburn fans packed the stadium to support Williams, one of their own, who was making his home debut as the interim head coach.
“You would have thought they were playing for the SEC Championship with how into it they were,” Garrett said. “I watched how the kids played for him. I watched how excited the fan base was. You turn the TV on and see the excitement and see what Auburn is – the family atmosphere, the fans rallying the troops and supporting the program. It was great to see.”
Less than a month later, Hugh Freeze called and asked Garrett, his defensive line coach at Liberty last season, to follow him to Auburn and serve in the same role. The choice was easy.
Obviously, the fans had shown Garrett how special a place Auburn can be – both when he played there as a defensive lineman at Ole Miss and when he watched that game on TV last fall. But he also knew the history and the names associated with Auburn on the defensive line: Tracy Rocker, Nick Fairley, Derrick Brown. That’s just to name a few. Since 2008, Auburn has had 16 defensive linemen drafted.
“Auburn has a great tradition of really good defensive lines,” Garrett said. “That’s attractive to me because I believe we can build a really good front here at Auburn. It’s been proven. This is one of the top five jobs in the country to have as a defensive line coach.
“You can go all the way back and look at Tracy Rocker. You can look at Nick Fairley. The aggressiveness they played with. You can even look at the guys from last year’s team – Colby Wooden. You just look at how those guys played and the history of draft picks in those positions. Guys come here and reset the line of scrimmage, rush the passer, good edge-rushers. You look at the history of those guys, it’s here.
“That mentality is what we want to instill in these guys, and we’re constantly talking to them about history and how it is our responsibility to uphold that. To go out and set that standard in how we play and how we perform.”
Garrett brings a unique perspective with him to Auburn. Since 2018, he’s coached at the high school level, the college level and in the NFL – spending two seasons with the Cleveland Browns in 2020 and 2021. When a freshman arrives on campus, he knows where they’re coming from and the environment they just left. At the same time, he also knows where his players are trying to go. He’s been at that level, too.
“I love my process,” Garrett said. “I love the journey that I took because I think I know where these guys are coming from and I know where they’re trying to go. So, now it’s developing a plan for them to achieve their goals and walking them through this thing called life and football.
“I want to be a great teacher and a developer for these guys and really develop them on and off the field. I think it’s critical because if you have distractions outside of football, you’re not going to be your best football self. I believe in developing these guys so that 10 years from now, I can see their success – whether it’s in the NFL, whether it’s with a family, whether it’s on their job – whatever it may be. I want to see that success in my players.”
At every stop along the way, Garrett has reached out to the same person for advice. Hugh Freeze. Before he took a job at Ensworth Academy, he called Freeze. Before he took a job at Vanderbilt, he called Freeze. Before he went to the NFL, he called Freeze.
“Throughout my entire career, he’s always been like a mentor,” Garrett said.
The two first crossed paths in 2006 when Garrett was a defensive lineman at Ole Miss and Freeze was a position coach working with the tight ends. Freeze never coached the defensive line, but he still formed a great relationship with Garrett – a relationship that carried on even after the two went their separate ways.
“How many d-linemen have great relationships with receivers’ coaches? It’s bigger than just football with him,” Garrett said. “When people come on our campus, not only do they see it, but I’m an example of knowing him since 2005 and just how every time I called, he picked up the phone. He wasn’t even my position coach.”
In January 2022, it was Freeze who called Garrett – not the other way around – and asked him to leave the NFL to be his defensive line coach at Liberty.
“I was just thinking, ‘Now is my time to return the favor, return the support and go be there for him when he needs a defensive line coach,’” Garrett said.
Eighteen months later, the two are still together. This time at Auburn where Freeze is trying to rebuild the Tigers into a national contender and Garrett is trying to assemble a defensive line reminiscent of what Auburn fans grew accustomed to watching over the years.
“Looking at the history here and what’s been played up front, we want to be able to go and try to match that,” Garrett said. “Let’s try to give this place what they deserve. That’s a front that’s dominant in the SEC.”
