Quarterback
Almost total roster reset
Auburn returns just 3 starters (1 offense, 2 defense) — among the most extreme roster turnovers in the SEC entering 2026. New-staff/new- QB unders are a real early-season consideration.
SEC FOOTBALL COMPANION GUIDE • ALPHABETICAL 3 OF 16
AUBURN TIGERS
2026 Season Snapshot • Auburn, Alabama
5-7 (1-7 SEC)
SEC
2026 Schedule
Live schedule, lines and results for Auburn.
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HEAD COACH
HANDICAPPING PROFILEHEAD COACH
Alex Golesh — 1st season at Auburn
LIFETIME COACHING RECORD
23–15 (3 seasons, South Florida)
Turned USF from a 1-11 program into back-to-back bowl teams, culminating in a 2025 USF unit that ranked 2nd nationally in total offense (501.7 ypg) and 4th in scoring (43 ppg). Previously OC/TE coach under Josh Heupel at Tennessee (2021-22) and UCF (2020). First Power 4 head-coaching job.
AUBURN ATS RECORD
New hire — no Auburn ATS history yet
Replaces Hugh Freeze, fired Nov. 2 at 4-5 after going 15-19 (6-16 SEC) over three seasons. DJ Durkin went 0-3 as interim before Golesh's hire. Auburn finished 2025 at 5-7 (1-7 SEC).
HEAD COACH SALARY (2026)
$6.75M
TEAM NIL VALUATION (EST.)
Not disclosed
PRIMARY NIL COLLECTIVE
On To Victory
Coach salary per Auburn's released term sheet (6-yr, avg. $7.4M/yr, rising to $8M by 2031). Auburn has not disclosed a team NIL figure.
HANDICAPPING NOTES
- Almost total roster reset: Auburn returns just 3 starters (1 offense, 2 defense) — among the most extreme roster turnovers in the SEC entering 2026. New-staff/new- QB unders are a real early-season consideration.
- Golesh's tempo teams have been road-tested vs. ranked foes: His 2025 USF squad beat both Boise State and Florida as ranked opponents; how that up-tempo identity translates against SEC-caliber defenses is the swing question for totals.
- Defense retained continuity: DC DJ Durkin stayed on, and the D returns much more talent than the offense — a potential "defense carries early, offense catches up late" script worth watching.
COORDINATORS & SCHEME
OFFENSE / DEFENSEOFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
Alex Golesh calls plays • Up-tempo, multiple
Golesh's own USF system: tempo-driven, spread concepts blending Heupel's veer-and-shoot with a physical run game rooted in the Toledo coaching tree. Brought QB Byrum Brown and several skill pieces with him from USF.
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
D.J. Durkin — 3rd season • Physical, multiple front
Retained from the Freeze staff; also served as interim HC for the final 3 games of 2025. His 2025 unit ranked 12th nationally in rush defense and 30th in total defense — Auburn's lowest yards-per-carry allowed (2.86) since 2003.
2025 SEASON RECAP
RECORD & VENUE NOTES2025 RECORD
5–7 (1–7 SEC)
Freeze fired Nov. 2 following a 10-3 loss to Kentucky; Durkin went 0-3 down the stretch as interim. Offense was the season-long problem despite a talented WR room.
HOME FIELD
Jordan–Hare Stadium
Natural grass, Auburn, Alabama. One of the loudest true road environments in the SEC (Tiger Walk, Toomer's Corner tradition) — a real home-field factor for a rebuilding team trying to find its footing early.
PRIMARY SKILL PLAYERS
2026 PROJECTED STARTERS| SLOT | PLAYER | YEAR | HS Stars | NOTES / NFL OUTLOOK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB1 | Byrum Brown | Sr | ★★★★★ | USF transfer and Golesh's 3-year starter there; brings 14 rushing TDs worth of dual-threat production and total command of the new offense. |
| RB1 | Jeremiah Cobb | Jr | ★★★★★ | Auburn's lone returning offensive starter; ran for 968-969 yards at 4.97 ypc in 2025 when healthy — the offense's clearest known commodity. |
| WR1 | Keshaun Singleton | Soph | ★★★★★ | USF's leading receiver in 2025 (877 yds, 8 TD) and part of a five-player USF-to-Auburn package that followed Golesh and Brown to the Plains. |
| WR2 | Jeremiah Koger | Soph | ★★★★★ | Three-star signee (St. Frances Academy, Baltimore). USF's No. 2 receiver in 2025 (597 yds, 8 TD); another piece of the USF pipeline giving Brown built-in chemistry from day one. |
QB1Byrum BrownSr★★★★★
USF transfer and Golesh's 3-year starter there; brings 14 rushing TDs worth of dual-threat production and total command of the new offense.
RB1Jeremiah CobbJr★★★★★
Auburn's lone returning offensive starter; ran for 968-969 yards at 4.97 ypc in 2025 when healthy — the offense's clearest known commodity.
WR1Keshaun SingletonSoph★★★★★
USF's leading receiver in 2025 (877 yds, 8 TD) and part of a five-player USF-to-Auburn package that followed Golesh and Brown to the Plains.
WR2Jeremiah KogerSoph★★★★★
Three-star signee (St. Frances Academy, Baltimore). USF's No. 2 receiver in 2025 (597 yds, 8 TD); another piece of the USF pipeline giving Brown built-in chemistry from day one.
OFFENSIVE LINE
2026 PROJECTED| PLAYER | POS | YEAR | HS Stars | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full unit rebuild | OL | — | ★★★★★ | All 6 day-to-day starters from 2025 are gone (5 to the NFL Draft, LT Xavier Chaplin transferred to FSU with Ashton Daniels) — a completely new starting five entering fall camp. |
Full unit rebuildOL—★★★★★
All 6 day-to-day starters from 2025 are gone (5 to the NFL Draft, LT Xavier Chaplin transferred to FSU with Ashton Daniels) — a completely new starting five entering fall camp.
HANDICAPPING NOTE — O-LINE
- Total turnover up front on top of a first-year staff and first-year QB is about as much variance as one offense can carry into a season — treat Auburn's O-line as unknown until it shows up on tape in live SEC games.
DEFENSIVE LINE
2026 PROJECTED| PLAYER | POS | NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| Jared Smith | DE | Projected starter after spring; part of a deep front-seven rotation (up to 8 deep) under Durkin. |
| Cody Sigler | DT | Projected starter at defensive tackle entering fall camp. |
| Dallas Walker IV | NT | Leading returning tackler on the D-line after the top six departed; granted an extra year of eligibility to anchor the nose. |
Jared SmithDE
Projected starter after spring; part of a deep front-seven rotation (up to 8 deep) under Durkin.
Cody SiglerDT
Projected starter at defensive tackle entering fall camp.
Dallas Walker IVNT
Leading returning tackler on the D-line after the top six departed; granted an extra year of eligibility to anchor the nose.
LINEBACKERS
2026 PROJECTED- Linebacker is Auburn's deepest returning group: All-SEC junior Xavier Atkins (84 tackles, 17.0 TFL, 9.0 sacks in 2025) headlines a unit that also returns Demarcus Riddick and Elijah Melendez — three of the top four tacklers at the position are back. A real strength to build the defense around while the offense find its footing.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
2026 PROJECTED| PLAYER | POS | HS Stars | NOTES / NFL OUTLOOK |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaleb Harris | S | ★★★★★ | Former three-star signee; one of Auburn's only three returning starters program-wide, anchoring a secondary that also brings back a good chunk of its 2025 two-deep. |
| Raion Strader | CB | ★★★★★ | Two-star signee (Penn Hills HS, Pittsburgh). Miami (OH) transfer and 2024 MAC Cornerback of the Year (led FBS with 18 PBU); started opposite the departed Auburn corners in 2025, back for a second season in Durkin's scheme. |
Kaleb HarrisS★★★★★
Former three-star signee; one of Auburn's only three returning starters program-wide, anchoring a secondary that also brings back a good chunk of its 2025 two-deep.
Raion StraderCB★★★★★
Two-star signee (Penn Hills HS, Pittsburgh). Miami (OH) transfer and 2024 MAC Cornerback of the Year (led FBS with 18 PBU); started opposite the departed Auburn corners in 2025, back for a second season in Durkin's scheme.
SPECIAL TEAMS
KICKING, PUNTING & RETURN GAME- Overall: Auburn's kicking specialists were a bright spot in 2025 (Alex McPherson, standout placekicker), and new Arkansas ST coordinator Chad Lunsford's departure means a new voice coordinates the unit in 2026 — worth confirming Auburn's kicker/punter competition closer to Week 1 given the staff turnover across the roster.
Betting profile — vs. the number
2025 ATS
4-8
33.3% cover rate — 72nd of 82
2025 Straight up
5-7
Point differential +73
Scoring environment
47.4
Combined points per game — 68th highest of 82
Home / road ATS
1-6 · 3-2
Totals 4-8 O/U (1-6 home, 3-2 road)
Points scored / allowed
26.8 per game scored (49th) · 20.7 allowed (27th)
Margin & schedule
Margin of victory +6.1 (34th) · Strength of schedule +0.4
- Home / road: Home 1-6 ATS, road 3-2 ATS (neutral-site games excluded).
- Home / road: Totals 4-8 O/U — 1-6 at home, 3-2 on the road.
- Trend: 2025 ATS 4-8 (33.3% cover rate) across 12 games.
- Trend: Averaged 26.8 points and allowed 20.7, a 47.4 combined per-game scoring environment.
Power ratings — strength against the field
SRS power rating
+3.8
39th of 82 — projected points vs. a league-average team on a neutral field
Offensive SRS
-1.3
50th of 82
Defensive SRS
+7.9
16th of 82
Points (margin of victory)
+6.1 · 34th of 82
Against the spread
4-8 (33.3%) · 72nd of 82
Totals (combined PPG)
47.4 · 68th of 82
Computed from CollegeFootballData 2025 results and closing consensus lines.
Notes
Saved Just J research for Auburn.
Scheme
Golesh's tempo teams have been road-tested vs. ranked foes
His 2025 USF squad beat both Boise State and Florida as ranked opponents; how that up-tempo identity translates against SEC-caliber defenses is the swing question for totals.
Personnel
Defense retained continuity
DC DJ Durkin stayed on, and the D returns much more talent than the offense — a potential "defense carries early, offense catches up late" script worth watching.
Offensive Line
Offensive line outlook
Total turnover up front on top of a first-year staff and first-year QB is about as much variance as one offense can carry into a season — treat Auburn's O-line as unknown until it shows up on tape in live SEC games.
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