DESTIN, Fla. (AP) – Mississippi coach Hugh Freeze is “owning the mistakes” made during his tenure, which now includes NCAA violations, but said neither he nor his assistants knowingly did anything wrong.
Speaking at the Southeastern Conference’s annual meetings Tuesday, Freeze delivered a lengthy, prepared statement and then took several questions about violations involving first-round NFL draft pick Laremy Tunsil.
“I stand here owning the mistakes, but that is what they are, not some staff out trying to buy players,” Freeze said. “There’s not a single charge in our letter that charges a coach with (being) out buying players. While I have struggles in life that I don’t always get right, breaking the rules in recruiting is not one of them. I won’t do it.”
Ole Miss released a 154-page response last week to the NCAA’s notice of allegations received in January. The NCAA’s investigation began in 2012 after a university probe discovered academic and recruiting misconduct involving the women’s basketball program. Ole Miss later acknowledged the investigation had spread to the football and track and field programs.
The university’s self-imposed penalties to the football program include three years of probation and 11 fewer total scholarships over four years starting with the most recent recruiting class, limiting Ole Miss to 22 signees instead of 25 in each of the next three years.