Alex Golesh surely knew that the job as the Auburn Tigers head football coach wasn't going to be an easy one after reportedly agreeing to take the job on Sunday. His first order of business is one that hits close to home:
Will he keep Deuce Knight and keep the current offensive gameplan in place, or bring Byrum Brown to the Plains with him?
Surely, Knight won't want to sit on the bench for another year after sitting behind Jackson Arnold and Ashton Daniels in 2025. Especially when it'd be for a coach who didn't recruit him to begin with.
On one hand, Brown is more of a sure thing. His gaudy numbers leading the USF Bulls' attack (2,883 passing yards, 24 passing touchdowns, seven interceptions), combined with a 9-3 record this past season, would give AU a veteran who's been there and done that, albeit at the Group of 5 level. Brown has NFL prospects, but probably not enough to be taken on the first two days of the draft. More money may be available at the collegiate level.
On the other hand, though, Knight was the team's future. While Arnold had several years of eligibility left, the idea was that if he were good enough, he'd be in the NFL sooner rather than later, and Knight would take over under Hugh Freeze and Derrick Nix. Now, though, Arnold is a likely goner, and Knight's future is up in the air.
Assuming Brown returns to college, and logic dictates he'd follow Golesh to East Central Alabama, Deuce may find it makes sense to hit the Transfer Portal and find a new home.
Ole Miss could emerge as a Deuce Knight suitor
A school that should have plenty of NIL spending money, after Lane Kiffin takes much of the roster with him to the LSU Tigers, is the Ole Miss Rebels. Situated in Knight's home state, the University of Mississippi previously logged interest in the Lucedale, MS, product. Knight was even seen rushing the field at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium last year after a 28-10 win over the Georgia Bulldogs.
Perhaps Ole Miss could consider Hugh Freeze as their next head coach, with so many options off the board, if it meant landing Knight. Freeze did recruit well at Auburn, even if the on-field results didn't reflect that success.
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if Freeze can choose on competent person to run the offense.