Charles Kelly has high expectations for his upcoming Jacksonville State head coaching tenure -- probably because of the work he did helping Hugh Freeze on the recruiting trail for Auburn football and under Nick Saban at Alabama for years before that. He had an uneven year under Deion Sanders at Colorado in between.
Kelly left an impact at AU, having always been known as a player-friendly coach with the Midas touch on the recruiting trail. It's evident in how one of his 2025 recruits, Eric Winters, spoke about Kelly's departure.
“I mean, it was heartbreaking,” Winters told AL.com. “But I told him, I respect it, and I’m happy for him because that’s what happens in his profession. You get a better job, you’ve got to take it.
“It was heartbreaking to see him go, but I’m proud of him.
“He never lets up, and he just keeps the gas on the pedal and just keeps that same bond. It just keeps getting stronger and stronger and stronger.
“They’re getting a great man, a great coach, and a guy that’s going to give them their all."
Winters is sticking on the Plains despite Kelly's exit. The safety sounded confident about AU's ability to rebound from the personnel loss.
“We’re getting a lot of guys that we want,” he said. “We signed a lot of guys that we wanted and needed, so we’re heading back on the right track.”
Auburn still has DJ Durkin as their sole defensive coordinator, while Hugh Freeze and Derrick Nix are largely handling offensive recruits.