Taking over after Hugh Freeze meant stepping into a massive roster rebuild. With over 30 players hitting the transfer portal, Freeze’s successor, Alex Golesh, didn’t just inherit a team at Auburn. He actually inherited a blank canvas. That is why Golesh’s recruiting pitch could not rely on recent momentum. It had to be built purely on honest and authentic relationships.
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“I wanted to be at Auburn, or I was passionate about Auburn, I think,” Auburn’s head coach Alex Golesh said on Next Up with Adam Breneman. “Maybe the biggest thing that’s changed in recruiting is the fact that the guys at this level have every option imaginable. And so, going back to, man, we have to recruit based on relationships.”
“We have to recruit based on honesty and truth because at the end of the day, you play at the highest level, you know this is gonna get really, really hard. And whether it’s in the fourth quarter, whether it’s in the first quarter, whether it’s week one or it’s the Iron Bowl, there’s gonna be some really, really, really tough moments,” Golesh added.
After a troubling season and losing almost 40 players to the portal, Auburn needed a major boost in its team’s depth. When Alex Golesh took over, he brought in 21 commits to the class and tried keeping some of the former players, too. But through all of it, he noticed how players are not that connected to the team, as NIL and the transfer portal have made it all about which team offers them the most money.
The concern is the same with their 2027 class. Auburn just has four commits so far in the and keeping also into the team is a major task. Teams bring in five-star players with heavy investments, but they end up losing them to others who offer big paychecks, just like Ole Miss did with Clemson, taking in their linebacker Luke Ferrelli.
Alex Golesh on the biggest thing that needed to change at Auburn when he first arrived on The Plains👀🦅 via Next Up with @AdamBreneman81
Remember how their 2027 class took a major hit after one of their top recruits decided to flip to another team. Three-star tight end Trae Proctor flipped from Auburn to Kentucky. Now, you know the kind of fear Alex Golesh is talking about. It’s very easy for other teams and their head coaches to change a player’s mindset with a big paycheck. Just take Bryce Underwood’s example, how he moved from LSU to Michigan for $10.5 million.
Then comes tampering, which also breaks down team culture. Last year, many cases of tampering in the case of Ferrelli and Darian Mensah, who moved to Miami for better paychecks, came out. For coaches, it has become very easy to change a player’s mindset. So, now Alex Golesh is not focusing on bringing more recruits to the team, but focusing on making better performance on the field, so the players themselves come in.
“The one thing that we’ve kind of committed to is just keep recruiting and see what happens,” Golesh said. “I feel like we’re trending in the right direction… I think by the end of June, you’ll feel like you know where you want to be.”
Now, alongside developing his team, Alex Golesh is also doubling down on their new eligibility rules.
Alex Golesh opens up on the eligibility rules
Alex Golesh talks about a new NCAA rule that could change how long college athletes can play. The rule says players would get five years to play five seasons, starting from when they turn 19 or finish high school, whichever happens first. Golesh likes this idea and thinks it will help both players and teams. He clearly says the change “can only help,” which shows he believes it is a good move.
One main reason for this new rule is to remove confusion about how long players can stay in college. After COVID-19, many rules became unclear, and some players got extra time, which made things confusing. This new rule tries to make everything simple and clear for everyone.
The plan has already been sent to the Division I Cabinet, which is an important group that makes decisions in the NCAA. They will meet again in May to talk more about it and decide if it should move forward. Now, let’s wait and see if, after this move, players find some consistency and stick with one team or take advantage of this, too.
