Auburn coach Alex Golesh hit the ground running in the Plains after leaving the South Florida Bulls in November. Golesh has overseen one of the biggest roster overhauls in college football through the transfer portal and high school recruiting in the two months he’s been in charge of the Tigers.
Alex Golesh Optimistic Amid $30 M Roster Rebuild
Golesh and his staff brought in 40 players via the transfer portal and 21 recruits, for a huge 60-player roster overhaul, as the Tigers attempt to improve on their woeful 5-7 record from last season, which saw them miss out on bowl eligibility.
According to On3 reporter Justin Hokanson, the Tigers backed Golesh’s roster reconstruction by dropping $30 million on new players. While speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Golesh was optimistic that his massive roster rebuild would help return the Tigers to their former glory.
“This is one of the most historic, blue-blood programs in the history of college football. You can be the reason to get us back. And it’s been as simple as that,” Golesh said. “I would tell you that collectively, at least up until this point, we brought the right guys in.”
The Tigers’ transfer portal class is ranked No. 13 in the country by 247Sports, while the freshman recruitment class is ranked No. 22, dropping from the consecutive top 10 classes recruited by former Auburn coach Hugh Freeze.
Golesh Details Roster Building Concerns
During his news conference, the outspoken Golesh further detailed the difficulties of rebuilding the Auburn roster after Hugh Freeze’s abrupt departure last season and the different considerations for structuring his roster ahead of a long season.
“When you’re trying to recruit at the same time you’re trying to figure out who you’re retaining,” Golesh said. “That’s the part that, I think that juggling act there, those first couple weeks of the portal being open.
“You’re sitting there, you’ve got 105 scholarships and you’ve got 105 roster spots, but, man, do you squish that down into 70, 60? In an NFL model, is it 53? Or do you spread it out knowing that, one, it’s a long season, and two, the caliber of player you’re getting based on how much you’ve got to spread out?”
Golesh poached 13 players from his former team, the USF Bulls, via the transfer portal, mirroring a common strategy of new coaches bringing players they have worked with in the past to help ease into their new environment.
