Who will ever forget a constant muttering to coach Burt Cotton in the Oscar-winning Sandra Bullock film The Blind Side? Cotton coach in the film is really a coach Hugh Freeze, now a resident Mississippian got his dream job when he was appointed the new head football coach at the University of Mississippi.

Freeze, a graduate of Southern Mississippi in 1992, got his first coaching job at Briar Crest Christian School (the actual name of the movie Wingate Christian School) in the same year. He was the team’s offensive coordinator and defensive backs coach before being named head coach in 1995. Freeze won two state titles (2002 and 2004) at Briar Crest and was named the Region 8-AA Coach of the Year five times and the Associated Press coach of the Year six times.

Freeze, then followed his excellent offensive attacker, Oher, Mississippi, where in 2005 he became assistant athletic director for football external affairs. The following season, he was the tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator, positions he held until 2007 when then-coach Ed Orgeron was let go. Freezing in 2008 found himself training at NAIA Lambuth University (TN), where he was 20-5 in two seasons, including a perfect 11-0 regular season in 2009. Freezing in 2010 joined the Arkansas State coaching staff as offensive coordinator after Steve Roberts resigned at the end of the season, Freeze was named the new coach. The Red Wolves thrived under freezing powerful spread offense that, but, surprisingly, are also very good on defense, ranking 15th in the country in scoring defense allowing 19.3 points per game.

Freeze inherits a team that does not win an SEC game this year, going 0-8 in conference and 2-10 overall, one of the wins against FCS (I-AA ex-Div.) Southern Illinois.