Auburn HC Alex Golesh Has High Praise For True Freshman Receiver

Don't be surprised if this new Auburn Tiger bursts onto the scene in first year on the Plains in 2026.

True freshman DeShawn Spencer can make waves for the Auburn Tigers in 2026. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Every year, at least for the past few seasons, it seems like the Auburn Tigers have relied on a mix of very young and very experienced receivers, with little room in between.

This season, it appeared as if that trend was changing, but new Auburn head coach Alex Golesh’s comments about a specific freshman may imply that the tradition is alive and well.

The Tigers lost quite a few highly talented wide receivers when Hugh Freeze was fired, including Cam Coleman, Malcolm Simmons, Eric Singleton and Perry Thompson. Golesh reloaded his room with a litany of more experienced USF receivers, but a specific class of 2026 receiver is garnering his attention: DeShawn Spencer.

Spencer’s name was not known by many Tiger fans for some time, but after A-Day, where his 93-yard receiving day earned him Offensive MVP honors, he quickly jumped onto Tiger fans’ radars. Golesh may be even more impressed with Spencer than the Auburn faithful are, though.

“He’s really, really intelligent,” Golesh said. “He’s a really good football player. Like he did so much at Saraland that for him to just hone in at playing receiver and he’s really locked in on playing in the slot.”

That last sentence may need some context for Tiger fans, as surprisingly, Spencer has not been a wide receiver for the entirety of his career. Standing at 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds, he started and spent most of his career as a running back before making the switch ahead of his commitment to Auburn.

Spencer was a three-star prospect at the time of his commitment, hailing from Saraland, where Ryan Coleman-Williams famously made his mark on high school football. Unlike Coleman-Williams, though, Spencer was all Auburn, even from the start.

“He was a young man that was literally sitting on his official visit when I walked into the facility that Sunday, kind of with a big old grin on his face,” Golesh said. “And all along through the recruiting, his whole deal and his family was, he wanted to be at Auburn. So he’s come in and been exactly what we thought.

Initially, Spencer was not expected to make a massive impact on the Tigers’ offense in 2026, simply due to his lack of experience at a collegiate level. However, after his performance at A-Day, questions are beginning to arise about whether he will, in fact, see playing time this season.

Even if he does not log many or any minutes this year for the Tigers, his standout performance came off the arm of Oregon State transfer quarterback Tristian Ti’a, whom the Tigers are expecting to start next season after Byrum Brown’s eligibility is up. Essentially, even if Spencer is muted this season, the future of the Tigers’ passing game is evidently in fantastic hands.

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