A former Auburn football staffer is facing felony charges after police say he shared confidential recruiting materials with rival programs.
Auburn police arrested David Rudolph Jenrath on Monday on counts of theft of trade secrets and computer tampering, according to documents and sources cited by CBS Sports. The case centers on allegations that Jenrath transmitted Auburn athletics information to other schools without permission and did so “with the intent to harass Auburn University Athletics by disclosing trade secrets of Auburn University Athletics to their opponents.”
Jenrath, 24, was hired by first-year coach Alex Golesh’s staff in January and later fired in the spring, sources told CBS Sports. Police and sources say he used a pseudonym email address, “Don Julio,” to send 10 documents containing personnel information on high school recruits Auburn had targeted for the classes of 2027, 2028 and 2029. The subject line on the email also included Golesh’s home address, a source said.
The material included Auburn coaches’ evaluations of recruits and information about which players the new staff was targeting and not targeting. The emails did not contain game plan information, according to the source.
One recipient questioned how sensitive the material really was, noting that Jenrath was not a major figure in the Auburn front office. Multiple sources told CBS Sports that Jenrath was dismissed after he was seen at an Auburn baseball game after telling staff he was sick.
“Your high school slash JUCO evaluation pipeline and how it gets from the intern to the head coach is not confidential information,” a source said.
CBS Sports also obtained part of an email Jenrath reportedly sent in July to dozens of front office staffers. One source said 85 different email addresses were included, among them their own.
The document was labeled an “Auburn personnel manual” and listed names, phone numbers and email addresses for recruiting staff and scouts. It also included scouting office rules and expectations, plus an explanation of the recruiting and scouting services used by Auburn’s scouting department.
Another source said some of the listed addresses belonged to people who had already moved on to other jobs. “It's almost as if he asked AI for a list of recruiting staff members.”
The materials also included Auburn’s grading system for recruits. At the top were the “no-brainers,” described as players coaches would take “regardless of roster spots,” with “All hands on deck recruiting.
Little to no questions on traits/character. Will be one of the best players in college football.”
At the other end were the “rejects,” defined as a “player not good enough to help us win. Documented off the field issues/concerns.
Lacks work ethic, coachability, and/or competitiveness. Multiple medical issues that cause durability concerns.”
An Auburn organizational chart showing the path a player takes through the evaluation process before reaching Golesh was also included.
A source said the individual player emails Jenrath sent to rival programs were random, and one player had already enrolled in college by the time the message was sent. Another source called the situation “unhinged.”
Jenrath currently lists himself on social media as a student studying sports analytics at the University of Tennessee, Auburn’s opponent this week. His LinkedIn profile, which has since been removed, identified him as a player personnel scouting assistant at Auburn, where he helped with running backs, special teams and player recruitment. He also played football as a high school kicker.
Police investigated the anonymous emails for at least two months before identifying Jenrath as the source, sources said. One of Auburn’s competitors who received the information turned it over to Auburn, police said.
Jenrath turned himself in to Auburn police on Monday and was taken to Lee County Jail, where he was being held on a $15,000 bond.
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