Former Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze speaks at Liberty University on Wednesday January 24, 2018.
On Wednesday, former Ole Miss football coach Hugh Freeze made his first public appearance since resigning as the team’s football coach in July by speaking to students at Liberty University.
Freeze showed remorse and asked for forgiveness in speaking to the students and faculty.
“I had to say to people that I loved, ‘I am sorry, please forgive me,” Freeze said during the school’s Convocation. “And today is really the first day I can tell the faith family, ‘I am sorry, please forgive me.'”
Freeze, who was accompanied by his wife, Jill, and their pastor, Chip Henderson, spoke for about 20 minutes followed by a Q+A with David Nassar, host of the Liberty Convocation.
“My world got rocked in 2017 and all the walls came crumbling down,” Freeze said. “In what I thought was a private sin that I had struggled with, confessed to my wife, to two of my friends in 2016, what I thought was private, became public knowledge in July of 2017.”
Hugh Freeze began to question whether his faith was real and ask himself if he could have a genuine faith and come back from a struggle in sin and brokenness.
“When my walls came crumbling down around me, the faith that I stand on through the son of God, Jesus Christ,” Freeze said. “It is a solid rock. A solid foundation. And when all hell is breaking loose around you and everybody has their opinion about what is going on, and you know that you’ve hurt the heart of God, His love never changes. Ever.”
You can watch the entire speech from Hugh Freeze below.
Hugh’s wife Jill Freeze also spoke saying that the forgiveness she offered to her husband was the first step to her own healing for what he had done.
“I’ve lived with him for 25 years,” Jill Freeze said. “This man is the godliest man I have ever known. I am who I am in Christ because of this man and the impact and influence he has had on me. I know this man, and I know his heart. I know he loves God, and I know he’s going to do what it takes to get right with God.”
Freeze coached at Ole Miss from 2012 until his resignation in July of 2017. He said that despite the trials that came their way in 2017, he is looking ahead to brighter days in 2018 and beyond.
“My mind is set. It is settled. My eyes are clear. My heart is full,” said Freeze. “My feet are pointed forward. And I am looking forward, with thanksgiving, to what God has for me and my family next, because of His great love, and His great forgiveness.”
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.” – Ephesians 1:7
TreVeyon Henderson in February 2026 at Super Bowl LX. (Adam Hunger/AP Content Services for NFL)
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Geremy Davis is a former NFL wide receiver who played six seasons with the New York Giants, San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers and Detroit Lions from 2015 to 2020. In college, he was a standout wide receiver at UConn, where he caught a pass in every game he played for the Huskies.
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Justin Simmons retires as a Denver Bronco, April 19, 2026. (Photo via X/@Broncos)
After nine NFL seasons, including two Pro Bowl selections, Justin Simmons is calling it a career. He made the announcement on Wednesday — 10 years to the day since he was selected in the third round as the No. 98 pick by the Denver Broncos.
He spent his first eight seasons in Denver before playing the 2024 season with the Atlanta Falcons; he didn’t play in 2025. He retires with 32 career interceptions, which ranks second in the NFL since 2016 behind Kevin Byard, and his 30 picks in a Broncos uniform rank sixth in franchise history.
“Being a Denver Bronco was more than just a team. It was my heart, my home and my story,” Simmons wrote in an Instagram post.
He was full of gratitude during his formal press conference on Wednesday as well.
“This is more than I deserve,” Simmons said. “This is truly one-of-one. I can’t put into words how thankful I am for the generosity and the hospitality that you’ve shown my family and I. Like I said, this is beyond my wildest dreams. Ten years ago to the day, walking into the building, eyes [wide] like this, not knowing whose hands I’m shaking, but just wanting to make a difference on the field.”
After a standout career at Boston College, Simmons made his mark on the NFL through appearing in 134 games (118 for Denver), including 124 starts. He was a second-team All-Pro four times, a two-time Pro Bowler, the NFL co-leader in interceptions in 2022, and Denver’s Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year nominee three different times.
The Broncos created a video montage with Simmons recapping his career, including some of the highlights, such as being named All-Pro and earning his first NFL sack — when he took down New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady as a rookie.
“Being a Denver Bronco was more than just a team. It was my heart, my home and my story.”
His tenure in Denver came to an end after the 2023 season when the Broncos opted to release him in order to save money in cap space. Even then, he responded with gratitude toward the organization that gave him a chance in the NFL.
After the transaction became official, he showed up at the team’s headquarters to say “thank you” and “good bye” to team employees.
“There is so much that goes into playing well on Sunday. Even outside of practice. The nutritionist, the athletic trainer, those in the training room, the people upstairs in the front office who help with logistics, and so many others,” Simmons told the Denver Post in June 2024. “I might not have said ‘thank you’ every day I walked in, but I wanted to make sure that my last time roaming those halls as a player I said ‘thank you’ and took time to let them all know that their work and words behind closed doors meant so much to me and played a big part in my success.”
Denver Post columnist Troy Renck wrote, “Employees who have been with the Broncos for the past two decades could not recall a player more gracious in his departure, more intentional in his purpose.”
Those thank-yous continued to come in bulk Wednesday during his retirement press conference. Simmons thanked everyone from the top of the organization and down, including former coaches, players and other staff members.
He also explained what led to his decision to retire. When the Broncos released him, he still wanted to play football and be somewhere that provided a chance to play in the playoffs, as the Broncos never made the postseason during his time with the team. He felt the Falcons gave him that, though it proved tough to be in a new city while his wife, Taryn, and three kids continued to live in Denver and commute to games on the weekends.
“Literally a week-and-a-half into it, it was the most miserable part of being in Atlanta. It was hard,” he said in the press conference. “I felt like I was parenting on FaceTime. It was hard being away from the kids. It was hard seeing Taryn struggle with them out here — not on her own but without dad it’s hard. I missed my wife. I missed my kids. I missed what was so familiar for eight years. It’s things that I took for granted and you don’t know until it’s gone.”
When the 2025 season came around and he was a free agent, he still wanted to play but felt like he needed to be very specific about where that would be. Nothing panned out with the few teams he was interested in.
“But while I was sitting on the couch cheering for the Broncos and watching some of my guys play around the league, there was a sense of peace that I hadn’t really felt before,” he said in his press conference. “Honestly every day that when by, I was still training, still hoping to play, but every day that went by I felt like my relationship with my family was growing. For eight years, I didn’t have that.
“… It came to the surface, like, it’s just time. Praying about it. We wanted to be very diligent and taking our time, but it was just time. I’ve always been so thankful for the crew that I’ve had around my life, the village of people that it takes because they helped me make that decision.”
Those who know Simmons are not surprised by any of this. His character on and off the field is fueled by his faith in Jesus. He describes himself on X as “an imperfect and unworthy follower of Jesus, saved by grace.” On Instagram, he calls himself a “child of the King.” He has long been outspoken about his faith and detailed his journey of coming to salvation in Jesus in an “I Once Was” video with Sports Spectrum.
In a devotional Simmons wrote for the Summer 2024 edition of Sports Spectrum Magazine, he said, “When you’re in tune with the Lord, His signs are glaring. Then it’s ultimately up to you to allow the Spirit to work within you to make you start walking in the direction of that sign. God knows what you’re going through. God knows what you’re praying for. Dive into what He’s trying to tell you. Don’t run away from it.”
