Auburn Tigers head coach Alex Golesh will seemingly have an increased NIL spend on offensive positions during his years on the Plains. That's what Auburn University AD John Cohen revealed at the SEC's spring meetings down in Destin, Florida.
Per Cohen to AL.com, “I think there’s been progress made ... There’s obviously a lot to discuss. You know, even in the last four or five hours. With the bill being dropped, I think we have to be productive. I think we have to be nimble, and I think there are going to be some tough decisions ahead of us... Yeah, I think we’re really competitive in that space ... I think we’re at a point to where, especially on the offensive side of the football, we’re excited about the future.”
Of course, it's not as though Cohen was cheap with Hugh Freeze offensively. Not only did he spend several million on Jackson Arnold and Payton Thorne, and even Ashton Daniels as a backup quarterback, over the past few seasons, but Cohen and Jimmy Rane also signed off on gaudy paychecks for Cam Coleman, Eric Singleton Jr., Malcolm Simmons, and Perry Thompson.
For the 2026 team, Golesh got a heavy investment at the skill positions, with Byrum Brown not coming cheap at QB and the Baylor Bears' Bryson Washington and incumbent running back Jeremiah Cobb also costing a good bit.
Rane and the rest of Auburn's donor class are not short on financial reserves. There's more money on the Plains than in Tuscaloosa at this point. That money needs to be spent on the right positions, though. Having an elite receiving corps like the Tigers had under Freeze in 2025 does nothing when you ignore equally important positions.
Auburn football badly needs good tackles on both sides of the line
Cohen's promising spending is great. But the only way to not keep setting all this tax-exempt NIL/rev-share money on fire is to spend it on an offensive line that could actually protect the quarterback. In particular, the tackle spot has been lacking since before the COVID-19 pandemic, with Prince Tega Wanogho and Jack Driscoll being the last tackles to adequately hold the fort down. It's been five years of being overpowered on the edge. That needs to stop.
Golesh seems to understand that on some level. Nabbing Michigan State Spartans transfer Stanton Ramil to protect the blindside is a sign that Golesh understands the problem. Ramil comes from a Thompson Warriors pedigree in Alabaster, which served him well in East Lansing. Ramil had an 82.0 run-blocking grade and ceded three sacks during his 344 pass-blocking snaps. He's a step in the right direction.
It has to be an every-year thing to grab at least one 4-star high school tackle or better during every cycle, though. Golesh coaxed Delaware product Layton von Brandt's commitment over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and then followed it up by adding Brentwood Academy's Rance Brown, a Gadsden area star in Class 6A, Region 8 football, and a lifelong Auburn fan.
The thoughtful spending has begun. As long as the team can strike gold with under-the-radar skill-position players, as Golesh did with the USF Bulls, a focus on QBs and tackles to protect them is the recipe for sustained success.
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