What Hugh Freeze said about returning to Ole Miss after Liberty's loss

Liberty coach Hugh Freeze returned to Oxford on Saturday for a football game for the first time since Nov. 26, 2016.

The former Ole Miss coach who resigned before the 2017 season after phone records revealed that he was in contact with an escort service via a university cell phone is in his third season as Liberty's coach. The Flames are 7-3 but lost 27-14 to Ole Miss on at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Freeze's postgame comments showed a measure of gratefulness in his return to his former home.

“Just first I want to say to the Ole Miss people, thank you for your kindness to me and my family," Freeze said. "It couldn’t have gone any better from that regard. Obviously I don’t like losing and wish we had a chance to win at the end, but as far as the reception from the Ole Miss people last night at the hotel in Tupelo when we arrived or when we’re walking into (the locker room) at halftime, I felt they were just incredibly kind."

Freeze then paused as his voice trembled.

"It’s an answered prayer for Jill and I," he finished.

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Ole Miss football's Twitter account was less appreciative, mocking Liberty and Freeze with a pair of memes related to his time in Oxford.

Freeze's name has come up for other Power 5 head coaching jobs over the last couple seasons, and that is already coming up again this year. 247Sports reported Friday that Freeze, 25-9 at Liberty, and Texas Tech have had communication about the school's head coach opening.

All that aside, Freeze appreciated the reception he and the Flames got this weekend in Mississippi.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: What Hugh Freeze said about returning to Ole Miss after Liberty's loss