Cole Skinner didn’t come to Auburn for a quiet final season. The 6-foot-5, 322-pound offensive lineman arrived after three years at South Florida, where he worked at multiple spots up front, mostly at left and right guard, and he’s already making his case for what this group has to be under Alex Golesh.
For Skinner, it starts with attitude. The line, he said, has to be the tone-setter for everything else around it.
“The offensive line has to be the most physical group on the field,” Skinner said. “We just saw it (in practice).
If the offensive line is the most physical, it brings that out of everything. The defensive line goes harder, the linebackers go harder, the receivers start going harder.
“We need to be the best component on the field to be able to pick up everyone else around us. If it’s not going right with us, it can’t go right with anybody else.
We’re not giving the quarterback time; he can’t get the ball out to the receivers. That’s on us.
We need to start it up front.”
That message fits neatly with what Auburn wants to be on offense. Golesh’s system is built around tempo and a heavy emphasis on running the ball, and Skinner sounds fully on board with that direction.
In 2025, South Florida’s offensive line, coached by Tyler Hudanick, helped the Bulls finish No. 10 nationally in rushing at 224 yards per game and No. 6 in yards per carry at 7.47. Hudanick also served as the running game coordinator.
Auburn’s backfield gives that approach some real teeth. With Jeremiah Cobb and Baylor transfer Bryson Washington among the names in the room, Skinner sees the ground game as the centerpiece, not just a complement.
“I love running the ball,” Skinner said. “I mean, I came from a triple-option offense out of high school.
Running the ball, it definitely puts it on the o-line. If you’re passing the ball all the time, it shows you can’t trust your front to move people and create holes for the back.
“I think (Alex Golesh) leaning on us to be able to run the ball is putting some pressure on our backs that we can handle. We’ve got to be able to go move that front.
We’re playing against the best of the best every single week. So, you’ve got to put it on us to go move that.”
Auburn brought in a portal class on the offensive line with plenty of mileage already on it. Stanton Ramil and Jack Leyrer each bring multiple years of Power Four starting experience, while Joseph Simmons, Cole Best and Skinner all started for successful Group of Five teams in 2025.
That experience should matter once camp opens the first week of August, when the battle for playing time up front becomes one of the summer’s most important decisions.
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Now at Texas for the 2026 season, Coleman has already started to justify the buzz in spring work. Steve Sarkisian has been impressed by the way Coleman has approached the move, and the Longhorns are expecting him to be a real factor in a receiving corps that could use his blend of size, skill and competitiveness. The early signs have been strong enough to make him one of the must-watch players in the country, even if the biggest question around his fit is still unfolding. [Read more 🡒]