The Auburn Tigers' Alex Golesh hiring has resulted in the top existing players leaving, like WR Cam Coleman, QB Deuce Knight, WR Malcolm Simmons, CB Kayin Lee, LB Robert Woodyard Jr., and CB Jay Crawford, but many of the USF Bulls' best skill position players are making their way to the Plains.
On3's Jake Crain believes Golesh's strategy, to get big, proven players at receiver and corner like Jeremiah Kroger (six-foot-three), and Gavin Jenkins (six-foot-two), not to mention six-foot-three, 232-pound quarterback Byrum Brown, and not bring over USF linemen into the SEC to compete in bigger and more athletic trenches, is a sound one.
Crain also compared backup QB Locklan Hewlett to Alabama Crimson Tide backup Austin Mack, who Kalen DeBoer brought with him over from the Washington Huskies when he replaced Nick Saban in January 2024. Crain believes Hewlett could be the QB1-in-waiting.
"As far as the players that he's bringing in, if you notice, he's really just bringing in the most ripe fruit off the tree, and then the best seeds to plant with the young guys. You look at Gav in the corner, they're really, really high on him. He didn't really play this past season that much, but they think he has a chance to be a special player," Crain said.
"Locklan Hewlett, the backup quarterback, he's like the Austin Mack version of what Kalen DeBoer did at Alabama. They think he has a chance to be the next guy up. And then obviously, you bring in your best players like Byrum Brown at quarterback, Kroger at wide receiver, (Nykahi Davenport), who's the back, that knows the system.
"What's amazing is he's not bringing any linemen either. He understands that the linemen are probably not going to be able to compete at this level, and so he's not bringing anyone with him. So he's bringing the best guys that have proven it and the best guys that he thinks can eventually prove it. So I like what he's done with USF."
Who will Auburn pursue next in the transfer portal?
Crain revealed several targets the program may pursue next after landing its primary building block under center. Among the most pressing was protection along the offensive line, with two targets in particular being of interest.
Purdue Boilermakers WR Nitro Tuggle and Baylor Bears RB Bryson Washington, the latter of whom had 54 yards on 14 carries against the Tigers in a 38-24 loss in Waco in Week 1, are the non-USF targets Golesh reportedly has his eyes on.
"Now it will always be, and now that you have the quarterback, there's other pieces you want to get. You look at Nitro Tuggle, (Golesh is) trying to get him in Auburn. There's a couple other guys out there at the field position. The running back from Baylor, I believe is going to visit, which that'd be a nice piece to add as well," Crain said.
"But you've got to go out and get offensive and defensive linemen. That's what this sport is about. He understands that. If you can get (Kevin Vass) from Kansas State, if you can (Ohio State RG Tegra Tshabola) as well, that's what's going to define Auburn's success."
Admittedly, Tegra Tshabola has not been popular in Columbus, often seen as not living up to his talent because of his work ethic. Crain is confident Golesh's culture will get the best out of anyone who walks through the doors of the Woltosz Football Performance Center, though.
Unlike his predecessor's.
"I think you're going to get the opposite of what we just had at Auburn. Golesh wants to mold great people, but he molds great people a different way, not through appeasement. He is going to mold them through putting them through the rigor together, having a super high standard, understanding that you're not going to reach your goals by just being talented," Crain said.
"They're going to have to earn it every single day, and you hear the term process-driven, and that's 100% true. That's why Nick Saban was the best in the world at making every Monday the same, every Tuesday the same, every Wednesday the same, every Thursday and Friday the same, and on Saturday, a lot of it was the same. You're going to go out there and rip somebody's a**, because that's just what you do on this day.
"And I think Golesh understands that. It's not about who you're playing, it's about yourself. It's not about, 'oh no, we play Bama this week, we better play good,' or 'oh, we play Mercer this week, so we can just play okay and get away with it.'
"That's not what he's going to do. It's a faceless opponent, and he is willing to be real with the players about where they stand. And at the end of the day, even to an 18- to 24-year-old, they're going to respect that more than you just telling them that it's okay and you love them regardless and here's some more NIL money."
We'll see how the new-look Tigers look this fall.
Golesh may just be onto something.