Why Liberty’s Hugh Freeze coached from a hospital bed

Liberty football kicked off their college football season Saturday by hosting a ranked Syracuse team, and while Liberty coach Hugh Freeze was confined to a hospital bed as he recovered from serious health issues, he didn’t miss the Flames’ season opener.

Freeze – who took the Liberty job last December, two months before the NCAA vacated 33 of his wins at Ole Miss – underwent surgery on August 16th to address a severe staph infection that was life-threatening, according to Syracuse.com.

As of a few days ago, Freeze wasn’t sure if he’d be well enough to attend the game, and his movement was limited. The Associated Press reported that Liberty had set up Freeze to oversee practices from a hotel room, and the coach communicated with players via walkie-talkies.

Even back surgery can't keep @CoachHughFreeze from coaching his @LibertyFootball team. But now he's doing it from a nearby hotel room! pic.twitter.com/urdVjeAwAK

— Game On LU (@GameOnLU) August 22, 2019

On game day, Freeze delivered a pregame speech and monitored the game from a bed in the coaches’ box.

Coaching from a hospital bed, @CoachHughFreeze gets @LibertyFootball fired up to take on @CuseFootball. #TougherTogether pic.twitter.com/f5IPQmESpZ

— Game On LU (@GameOnLU) August 31, 2019

Here's Hugh Freeze coaching from his hospital bed pic.twitter.com/SSURR2KErM

— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) August 31, 2019

Here’s a look at Hugh Freeze’s seat in the coaches’ booth.

Freeze will essentially videoconference with his team pregame and at halftime and do so during postgame press conference.

The plan is to fly him to Louisiana next week to be with the team on the road. pic.twitter.com/YA1HAXiQ43

— Nate Mink (@MinkNate) August 31, 2019