A first-year head coach never likes to take a step back in recruiting during his first offseason. Alex Golesh has been on a recruiting tear with the Auburn Tigers, but a player who committed at the beginning of June is already gone.
4-star St. Mary's (MO) running back Kingston Miles flipped to the Missouri Tigers on Monday afternoon. It's a tough loss no matter how you slice it, but it's a classic tale of a recruit returning to his home state team because of a large amount of money being thrown at him. A classic tale if you find anything dating back to 2021 to be classic.
Miles gave the typical shoutouts to the position coach, in this case, Mizzou RB coach Curtis Luper. Per Miles on the flip, "I like how he treats his running backs like his own. ... He was telling me how they come over on weekends and he cooks for them. Also, the thing I like about his coaching is how is very passionate on making sure he develops guys. He was just telling me how important I am to the program."
Either way, Auburn is down an RB in 2027. You know what, though? Golesh was prepared. On Sunday night, the Tigers flipped Southwind star RB Khamoni Williams from the West Virginia Mountaineers. On paper, it's a talent downgrade, but star ratings are not the be-all, end-all. Especially since Miles could flip again, since it's clear he's driven by money and a relationship with a coach willing to put in the work in the relationship-building department. And even beyond the individual talent, the Miles hedge of flipping Williams shows Golesh gets this business.
Alex Golesh has a clear plan at Auburn
Golesh understands the SEC is cut-throat. He was cut-throat himself in taking a West Virginia commit out of Morgantown. He understood the assignment once it was evident that Miles wasn't closing his recruitment down.
This is a replicable formula among many more positions in the months and, hopefully, years ahead. Golesh has a chance to make a lasting impact on the Plains by actually lasting in the seat. It's been stop-and-go for a while in the Loveliest Village. Stability would not only be nice, but it's needed.
Shoring up the roster and keeping anxiety to a minimum is how that's done. The lows were pretty high in the Gus Malzahn era, just never high enough. The swings from year to year will be more drastic in this era for Golesh, but he has Jimmy Rane and the booster class's backing. This could be done.
To wrap it back around, getting it done happens when you hedge losses and prepare to play spoiler yourself. There is a little more than five months left to convince the 2027 class. There will be more decommitments. As long as there are more hedges, this program will be in competitive shape.
Miles leaving is not great. It is great, however, that Golesh and Co. didn't sit back and sulk about it for a second.
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