When the Auburn Tigers made the decision to fire head coach Hugh Freeze, the fanbase was excited for the future. Under Freeze, the Tigers always had elite talent, but he couldn't develop a quarterback that was good enough to capitalize on all the other talent. The decision to hire Alex Golesh was controversial as the fanbase and team seemed united on elevating Defensive Coordinator DJ Durkin, but Golesh's background gave everyone hope for the offense.
In this era of college football, a head coach's first month on the job is far and away the most important stretch for determining success. The head coach is tasked with trying to keep a recruiting class intact while recruiting the roster to prevent significant losses to the Transfer Portal.
Alex Golesh would get an F for his starting stretch at Auburn
When Alex Golesh took over, Auburn fans would've likely given him two absolute musts which were hanging onto wide receiver Cam Coleman and freshman quarterback Deuce Knight. Coleman is one of the best wide receivers in the country, and was certainly the most talented player on Auburn's roster. Deuce Knight appeared to be the future of the program after signing with the Tigers as a 5-star recruit.
On Monday Afternoon, Alex Golesh failed arguably the biggest challenge as Cam Coleman entered the Transfer Portal. Coleman was an absolute must keep for the Tigers, and he now becomes the top wide receiver in the Transfer Portal and arguably the top player.
2026 Transfer Wide Receiver rankings
On Tuesday, bad luck struck the Tigers again as Deuce Knight announced he would be transferring. While it was assumed that Golesh would bring a veteran quarterback in, it was important to keep Knight on the roster as he's clearly an elite talent, but Auburn now loses it's long term plan at quarterback after he started just 1 game.
It's not just with the two biggest stars where Alex Golesh has left the Auburn fanbase feeling highly disappointed.
The wide receiver room has been decimated when you consider the fact that Auburn lost Cam Coleman, Malcolm Simmons, Perry Thompson, and Horatio Fields accounting for 4 of the team's 5 leading receivers. The final of the Top 5 is Eric Singleton Jr who could either return or look to the NFL Draft or the Transfer Portal once again.
One of the biggest additions of the 2025 Transfer Portal class was offensive tackle Xavier Chaplin who entered the year with the potential to be a 1st round pick. Chaplin had far from a perfect season, but he was a player this team certainly could've used back.
Alex Golesh is going to need to attack the Transfer Portal in a major way if the fanbase is going to feel good about the roster going into next season. This group appeared to be a quarterback away, but it's now trending toward being a roster that needs an entire talent overhaul.