When Alex Golesh was hired as the new head football coach for the Auburn Tigers on the last day of November, he had no choice but to hit the ground running. The early signing period would take place in just a few days, and then the transfer portal window would open in just over a month.
Golesh was faced with trying to retain the talented players already on Auburn's roster while working to fill the gaps and make the team his own through the ranks of high school, junior college and the transfer portal. Though the new head coach maintained he wanted to retain as many guys who wanted to be on the Plains, there were plenty of big names who headed elsewhere, from Cam Coleman and Deuce Knight to Jay Crawford and Malik Blocton.
"There were some guys that said quickly, 'Man, I'm here. I'm all in,'" Golesh said, per Auburn Undercover. "And then there's some guys that are trying to figure it out, and respectfully, I get it, I really do. Here's this new guy comes in and everything is flipped upside down. Do I want to be a part of it?
"There were certain points where you're like, 'Dude, are you going to be here or not? I'm good, just tell me, so I know if I've got to go get another guy.'"
Golesh described how difficult it was to have to recruit your own roster while simultaneously trying to recruit other players, especially in one's first year at a new program.
"You're keeping guys warm, they're taking other visits, there's so many things that are going on at the same time," Golesh said. "These are things everybody is dealing with. I think when you're in Year 1, it's even harder, just because the retention part of it is so up in the air."
Still, it was a successful—if dramatic—recruiting season for the Tigers, who added 60 new players to the roster, including both freshmen signees and transfer portal additions. The transfer class ended up being ranked No. 13 by 247 Sports, and puts the Tigers in good shape heading into spring practices.