Auburn’s safety room is shaping up as one of the more interesting groups on the roster heading into 2026, and Tim Banks isn’t shy about why.
Now serving as the Tigers’ first-year co-defensive coordinator while also coaching the safeties, Banks sees a unit that can help anchor the defense in Alex Golesh’s first season. Auburn is trying to climb after finishing in the bottom half of the SEC in passing yards allowed per game last year, and Banks believes the pieces are there for a stronger showing.
What stands out to him first is the depth.
“You like to be able to play, you know, six guys, you know, four on the hash and two at the start position,” he said on Tuesday. “I think that’s important in this day and age of football.”
Champ Anthony is the name at the top of the group. The senior safety played in seven games in his senior season before a leg injury ended his year, and he also broke his thumb against Baylor to start the season. Anthony was at SEC Media Days in July, and Banks is counting on him to help set the tone on defense in 2026.
Behind him, Auburn has already seen several returners step up. Kaleb Harris, Eric Winters and Sylvester Smith-Reed all had productive seasons after Anthony went down in 2025, and each finished with more than 25 total tackles. They’re back on the Plains, and Harris in particular has drawn Banks’ praise for how quickly he processes the game.
“Kaleb’s been awesome,” he said. ‘He’s super smart; he can see it, and that’s rare. Sometimes, guys can see it on the board; they understand it, but when they get between the grass, they’re always a tick behind.”
“It takes them a minute, but he’s not that. He’s not that way.”
Auburn also added more options to the mix. Junior Fred Gaskin II arrives from USF with a sack and two interceptions on his resume, while sophomore Newboy Fegans is working back from an early injury this past year and trying to get back into the rotation before the regular season.
There’s also the possibility that someone like Texas A&M transfer Jacoby Mathews can be unlocked into the kind of player he was recruited to be.
That kind of flexibility matters with Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss and Alabama all looming on the schedule, among others. Banks knows the Tigers will need the room to come together quickly, but he also believes the numbers can work in Auburn’s favor if the group is ready by October.
“We talk a lot about getting what you deserve, and if you got a bunch of good players that can play, we’ll find roles for them,” he said. “So, yeah, we’re going to play as many as we can. That is the plan.”
In Other News...
Auburns New Era Is Already Turning Heads Across The SEC
Alex Golesh has barely settled into his new job at Auburn, but the early signs of his reset are already drawing attention around the SEC. After a stretch of instability that saw the Tigers cycle through six head coaches across a run of losing seasons, Golesh arrives with the kind of conference background that gives his voice some instant credibility, and he is wasting little time trying to change the feel of the program.
One of the clearest examples has come during fall camp, where players are staying together in a hotel as part of Goleshs effort to build a different culture. SEC analyst Paul Finebaum has already signaled support for the approach, seeing it as a positive step for a program trying to steady itself. For Auburn, the real test is still ahead, but the new staffs message is being noticed well beyond Tuscaloosa and the Plains. [Read more 🡒]
Kodi Burns Is Changing What Auburn Demands From Its Receivers
Kodi Burns is back at Auburn, and his message to the wide receiver room has been plain from the start of fall camp: catching passes is only part of the job. The new wideouts coach is pushing a more physical, versatile standard for a group that figures to be deep in Alex Goleshs offense, where keeping tempo means leaning on a heavy rotation and asking plenty of players to be ready for meaningful snaps.
For Auburn, the shift matters because the role of a receiver is becoming about more than route running and production on the stat sheet. Burns has already drawn praise from players like Keshaun Singleton and DeShawn Spencer, who say his impact has shown up in their development on and off the field, and the broader challenge now is clear - earn trust by doing the dirty work, adapt to multiple assignments, and prove you can stay on the field when the tempo starts picking up. [Read more 🡒]
Former Auburn Staffer Just Surfaced Inside Alabamas Program
A familiar football family is showing up around Alabamas practices, with Dave Wommack and Dominic Studzinski both spending time around the program. Dave Wommack, a retired defensive coordinator, has been around as a resource at practices and games, while Studzinski has been helping in the weight room even though he is not listed on the staff directory.
The connection runs deep, stretching back to their shared coaching days at Ole Miss in 2012 and 2013, when the same circle of personnel worked together in the South. For Auburn fans, the name attached to Studzinski may stand out even more because of where he worked before, making his quiet presence in Tuscaloosa the kind of detail that tends to get noticed long before it gets officially explained. [Read more 🡒]