Auburn’s season on the field has been uneven, but the recruiting side keeps giving Alex Golesh reasons to sell the future.
The Tigers are 3-2 after five games, with losses to Florida and Tennessee, and the roster still shows the kind of talent gaps that come with a Year 1 rebuild. Auburn leaned heavily on the transfer portal to put this team together, but Golesh has made clear that he does not want that to be the long-term blueprint.
Now he’s working his first recruiting cycle at Auburn, and the early returns have been solid. The 2027 class already features 25 commitments and sits 12th nationally in 247Sports’ team recruiting rankings.
The bye week opened up time for the staff to get out on the road, and Golesh was among the coaches making the rounds. He even traveled by helicopter to multiple games in the Birmingham area on Thursday, including a stop at AH Parker for its matchup with Jasper. Major 2028 DB target CJ Craig-James plays for Parker.
The timing also made for a good moment to look at the commits already in the fold who are producing big numbers this fall. Here are seven Auburn pledges putting together strong senior seasons.
Khamoni Williams, a 3-star running back at Southwind in Memphis, has been especially productive. Through seven games, he has piled up 68 carries for 951 yards and 16 touchdowns, plus 5 catches for 114 yards and 2 more scores.
Gary Chatman Jr. is doing damage with both his arm and legs at Brookwood in Snellville, Georgia. The 3-star quarterback has completed 72 of 113 passes for 1,231 yards, 14 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. He’s also added 343 rushing yards and 6 rushing touchdowns on 37 carries.
The rest of Auburn’s impressive senior class includes Brylan Oduor, a 4-star receiver at Riverdale in Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Nate Kamba, a 4-star defensive lineman at Corvian Community in Charlotte, North Carolina; Deshawn Hall, a 4-star receiver at Prattville in Prattville, Alabama; Rion Jackson, a 4-star edge rusher at Annapolis in Annapolis, Maryland; and George Lamons Jr., a 4-star tight end at Brooks County in Quitman, Georgia.
All stats via MaxPreps unless otherwise noted.
In Other News...
Auburn's Offensive Line Fix Hinges On A Reality Fans Hate
Auburns offensive line has been one of those problems that has lingered through multiple coaching staffs, and it is still shaping the conversation around Alex Goleshs first steps with the program. His plan leans heavily on a reality fans often dislike hearing: the quickest fix is not always the best one. Instead of trying to patch the unit together year by year, Golesh is focusing on developing young linemen already in the building, including Kenneth McManus and Wilson Zierer, while also making high school recruiting the backbone of the rebuild.
That approach stands in contrast to the more transfer-heavy stopgap methods Auburn has leaned on before, and it asks for patience at a position group where patience is usually in short supply. The upside is obvious if the development takes hold, because a stable offensive line can change everything for a program trying to reset itself. The downside is just as clear, since the current performance issues are not going away overnight, and the Tigers are still waiting to see whether this longer-term strategy can turn into real protection and consistent push up front. [Read more 🡒]
Kirby Smart Is Already Framing Auburn As Georgias Next SEC Test
Georgias win over Alabama kept the Bulldogs unbeaten in SEC play, but Kirby Smart was quick to remind anyone listening that the league schedule only gets harder from here. After a tight 20-17 finish against the Crimson Tide, Smart leaned into the familiar message about staying locked in week to week, a warning that matters just as much for the teams chasing Georgia as it does for the team trying to protect its place.
Auburn is next on the slate, with the matchup set for Oct. 17 and Georgia entering as the favorite. For the Tigers, it is another reminder of how quickly the SEC race can shift, especially when a team like Georgia is already looking at the next challenge before the celebration from the last one has fully faded. [Read more 🡒]
Auburns Bye Week Puts Alex Golesh Under Real Pressure
Auburn heads into its bye week at 3-2, and the timing feels less like a breather than a checkpoint after a 24-14 loss to Tennessee exposed a few too many familiar issues. The offense kept getting bogged down by penalties and slow starts, while the defense and the play-calling never quite found a rhythm that could steady the game when it started slipping away.
Alex Golesh has a stretch now to sort through the problems before Auburn sees Georgia next, and it is hard to overstate how much is riding on the answer. DJ Durkin will also be part of the conversation as the Tigers try to clean up the defensive breakdowns, but the bigger question is whether the bye week becomes a reset or just a pause before the same issues show up again. [Read more 🡒]