In today's edition of Auburn Tigers News, Roc Bellantoni talks about returning to the Plains, and the football program is gearing up for a big Junior Day
Last week, head coach Hugh Freeze and the Auburn football program hired Roc Bellantoni to coach the edge position on the defense. After defensive coordinator Charles Kelly parted ways with the Tigers to be the head coach at Jacksonville State and linebackers coach Josh Aldridge took the defensive coordinator role at East Carolina, additional hires had to be made.
Bellantoni previously coached on the Plains from 2021-2022 under Bryan Harsin but has not coached with anyone on the Tigers' current staff. Most recently, Bellantoni spent the last two seasons as the defensive coordinator at Florida Atlantic.
"It's very surreal," said Bellantoni, per Auburn Undercover. "You know just driving back into town when I got here a bunch of memories came flooding back but really good memories with some really good people. You know that the thing that was so special to me about my time at Auburn was the people. You know people like you, people in the community, people here on campus, the players that I got to be around. I just really love the people here. That's why I wanted to come back so bad."
Auburn football gearing up for Junior Day
With the transfer portal window closed and the Auburn football coaching staff's focus locked back in on high school recruiting, the Tigers are gearing up for a big Junior Day event at the end of the month.
On January 25, high school prospects from all over will descend upon the Plains to check out the Auburn football facilities and meet with the staff, and they will end the day in Neville Arena to watch Auburn basketball take on Tennessee.
According to Auburn Undercover, at least 20 prospects have confirmed they will attend the big event, including five of the Tigers' six commits in the class of 2026.