We continue our countdown to kick-off with our series detailing one biggest concern for every SEC team heading into 2026. Today, we head to Auburn to talk about the biggest concern for the Tigers this season.
Can Alex Golesh coach a G6 roster to SEC level?
Arguably, no team in the conference saw more turnover this year versus last than the Auburn Tigers. That’s expected when you bring in a new coach and 39 new players from the portal. That’s not abnormal these days in college football. In fact, it’s almost standard.
Auburn is hoping it has copied the blueprint laid out from Indiana a few years back. When Curt Cignetti left James Madison for Indiana he brought with him 13 players from JMU to play for the Hoosiers. A third of Alex Golesh’s inaugural transfer portal class came from South Florida. Like Cignetti, he brought in exactly 13 players from his previous stop.
Can G6 players compete in the SEC right away, though? The turnover is staggering. When you look at Auburn’s projected lineup, only two starters from the 2025 team are expected to remain in those roles. There’s one returning starter on offense, RB Jeremiah Cobb, and one returning starter on defense, LB Xavier Atkins.
Alex Golesh isn’t Hugh Freeze. He seems to really get it when it comes to Auburn. He also has enough self-confidence and stubbornness to not be pushed around by his boosters. Golesh will get Auburn fixed, but will he be able to do it in year one? A lot of that will depend on how effective Byrum Brown can be in the passing game and how well Auburn can block up front for him.
The offensive line will feature five new faces. Only two of the five projected starters are from Power Four schools. Only 13 of their 39 transfers are from Power Four schools. That includes just four from other SEC schools. Also gone is a wealth of receiving talent that never fully developed at Auburn.
Former five stars like Cam Coleman and Perry Thompson were joined by high level four stars and contributors like Malcolm Simmons and Horatio Fields in leaving for greener pastures. Former top ten transfer player Eric Singleton did the same.
Bringing in a ton of portal players is not necessarily a recipe for instant success. Bringing in a portal class that’s predominantly filled with SEC and Power Four players isn’t either. But, this is a $30 million roster according to Alex Golesh, and that’s a big number for a program without a ton of marquee names besides the quarterback. Can Golesh coach up what is essentially a starting 22 of former G6 players in the SEC in year one? We shall see.
