The Auburn Tigers were able to out-recruit the Georgia Bulldogs for Sharpsburg, GA, native Chance Gilbert. The 4-star Peach State defensive back's commitment elevated the Tigers into the top 10 for the 2027 high school cycle.
Alex Golesh continued his strong recruiting run with this addition, but DawgNation's Jeff Sentell doesn't believe Kirby Smart and UGA are out of the running for the East Coweta Indians star. With that said, Sentell did concede that Auburn has an advantage that Athens can't contend with.
"There are a few things to note here. The first is that Georgia saw Gilbert as a cornerback. Auburn projects him to play safety. ... This recruitment is definitely not over, either. The expectation here is that the Bulldogs will continue to put in the effort to flip the 6-foot-1, 170-pound rising senior. Gilbert is definitely talented enough for the Dawgs to play the long game here," Sentell wrote.
"While most will center on financial incentives here, there’s one additional aspect of Gilbert’s decision that did favor the Tigers. ... That was their campus location. The Auburn campus is only about 50 minutes away from his home in Sharpsburg. That’s one thing that really matters to Gilbert across his recruiting process. ... He wanted to stay close to home. Auburn was a lot closer to Athens. That also had to play a factor here."
Some good, some bad news on Gilbert. It goes without saying that recruitment is never done for anyone, but you do have to worry about Georgia being in Gilbert's previous top four before AU entered the mix late.
Smart has a perennial contending program that may be hard to say no to. Especially if their product is far superior to what's being put on Pat Dye Field from the home locker room.
Alex Golesh HAS to show proof of concept at Auburn in 2026 to keep strong 2027 recruiting class
Golesh is building an extremely strong 2027 class so far. 4-star Appoquinimink (DE) left tackle Layton von Brandt, 4-star The First Academy (FL) IOL Reed Ramsier, 4-star East St. Louis running back Myson Johnson-Cook, and 4-star Bessemer City DE/DT Donivan Moore are the early headliners for the class. It's a well-rounded group that's obviously offensively focused. Golesh and Co. have a lot more offensive cupboards to replenish than DJ Durkin and Co. due to the lack of continuity. The work has already begun.
Of course, the work cannot stop. Golesh can't recruit well and then call it a day, ignoring the actual football part like his predecessor did. There needs to be actual proof of concept on the Plains. Many of these recruits are buying into the idea that things are finally going to be different under Golesh. No one is committing to an SEC school with zero hopes of being featured on a winner.
Golesh doesn't need to deliver a championship, but there cannot be any controversy or lack of alignment. It's been too many consecutive tenures of coaches whose time on the Plains made it seem like not the Loveliest Village. Golesh needs to bring the feeling back. He seems to understand the assignment, but it's only the offseason. Things will be a lot different when the games start in a few months.
Win football games, and the rest will sort itself out. Keep losing? Well, these recruits are only committed on paper right now.
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