Let’s keep it a buck—Hugh Freeze’s seat at Auburn ain’t exactly cool right now. Back-to-back .500 seasons got fans side-eyeing, and SEC insiders ain’t been shy about keeping it real. But just when it felt like the walls were closing in, DJ Barber’s name popped up in a way that might just change the narrative. And not a moment too soon.

On January 28th, Auburn Insider Zac Blackerby hit up the Senior Bowl practice and chopped it up with Auburn’s departing linebackers, Eugene Asante and Jalen McLeod. With both of them heading to the league, the big question was obvious—who’s gonna step up for Hugh Freeze’s defense? And without skipping a beat, Asante dropped a name that should have Tigers’ fans paying attention.

“DJ Barber.” That’s the first thing out of Asante’s mouth when asked who’s next up. And he didn’t stop there. Along with Robert Woodyard, Barber’s expected to fill those big shoes left behind on Auburn’s defense. Now, if you ain’t familiar with D’Angelo Barber yet, that’s about to change real quick.

Barber, a redshirt freshman, stands at 5-11 and 219 pounds—small by linebacker standards but built like a missile. He barely saw the field last year, but that ain’t because of a lack of skill. Auburn had some straight dogs at linebacker, and cracking that rotation as a freshman was like trying to get into an exclusive club without knowing the bouncer. But those who’ve watched him up close have been saying the same thing for a minute—don’t sleep on DJ Barber. Darrell Dapprich co-signed that sentiment hard on the ‘Locked On Auburn’ podcast, saying, “I remember when that signing class came through, a couple different people told me, ‘Don’t sleep on DJ Barber… he’s gonna be a dog.’” 

And Barber’s got the receipts. Back in December 2019, he straight-up saved the state championship for Clay-Chalkville. With 5 seconds left, his squad was clinging to a 31-28 lead against Saraland. Instead of playing it safe, Saraland went for the win—fourth-and-five, ball on the 10-yard line. Their QB, KJ Lacey, saw a lane and took off. But Barber wasn’t having it. He tracked Lacey down, spun him around, and got some help from teammate Carlos Ivy to finish the job. Game over. State title secured. And oh yeah, Hugh Freeze and linebackers coach Josh Aldridge were both in the stands watching that moment go down.

Can DJ Barber cool off Hugh Freeze’s hot seat?

Fast forward to now, and Freeze could use that kind of clutch energy more than ever. SEC insider Braden Gall ain’t sugarcoating it—he straight-up put Freeze on the hottest of hot seats, saying on the SEC Mike podcast, “Freeze is absolutely at the top of the list [of people on the hot seat]. Because you never can predict Auburn.” And honestly, he’s not wrong. Auburn boosters don’t do patience, and two straight years of mid football ain’t the move.

That’s what makes Barber’s emergence so important. Auburn needs a difference-maker on defense, and if Barber can translate all that raw talent into production, Freeze might just have a shot at flipping the script. It’s do-or-die time, and DJ Barber might just be the wild card Hugh Freeze needs to stay in the game.

One thing’s for sure—Auburn’s about to find out real quick if Barber actually built for the spotlight. And if he is? Best believe that might just keep Hugh Freeze from getting run outta town. Then again, football is not 1-man sport like boxing and tennis.