It's been nearly 18 months since Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze took the reins of the Tigers.

There's been highs — Auburn landed the No. 10 recruiting haul in the Class of 2024, according to the 247Sports Composite — and lows — the Tigers finished 2023 with a 6-7 record. But from an overall standpoint, prominent booster and AU trustee Jimmy Rane is satisfied with where the program sits ahead of Freeze's second season.

"I really like Hugh," Rane said Thursday at his foundation's banquet at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Montgomery. "I think he's a good guy, a good person and a good coach. I think it's obvious to anybody that follows football that his teams were better than the ones that were there before him. I don't have any reason to think he will not continue to work hard and improve. I'm very happy with him."

Rane has been on Auburn's Board of Trustees since 1999. He represents District 3.

The Jimmy Rane Foundation, which was founded in 2000, has awarded more than 700 students with scholarships over the last 24 years. Thursday's banquet gave this year's recipients an opportunity to be recognized.

"It's the biggest event we've ever had. There's over 1,000 people here tonight," Rane said. "We've raised over $2 million in one night, and I'm staggered at that amount of interest."

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Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football: Why Jimmy Rane is 'very happy' with Hugh Freeze