Auburn to Add FCS Head Coach, Former SEC Assistant as Tight Ends Coach

Auburn's newest tight ends coach has head coaching experience and is a former SEC assistant.

Auburn's newest tight ends coach has head coaching experience and is a former SEC assistant. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Auburn Tigers are expected to hire Howard head coach Larry Scott as tight ends coach, per CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz. Scott has previous experience coaching the position in the SEC, working in the role with both Florida and Tennessee. Scott joins his son, Larry Scott III, who is serving as the assistant defensive line coach, on the 2025 coaching staff.

Auburn is expected to hire Howard head coach Larry Scott as its tight ends coach, sources tell @CBSSports.

Before Howard, Scott was tight ends coach at Florida and coached Kyle Pitts. Prior to that, was offensive coordinator at Tennessee and tight ends coach at Miami. pic.twitter.com/YxyuFp6Tgc

— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) December 15, 2025

Scott spent the last four full seasons of his coaching career as the head coach of the Howard Bison at the FCS level, where he led his team to an overall record of 19-30, including two MEAC Championships in 2022 and 2023. His Bison also lost to Florida A&M in the 2023 Celebration Bowl.

During his time with the Gators in Gainesville, Scott coached superstar tight end Kyle Pitts to a 770-yard season with 12 touchdowns that ended with Pitts winning the John Mackey Award for the nation’s most outstanding tight end. Pitts was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons No. 4 overall the following spring, making him the highest-drafted tight end ever.

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Scott also coached Tennessee’s Ethan Wolf in his final two years with the Volunteers, where Wolf finished No. 2 in career receptions and No. 3 in career receiving yards by a tight end. Between Tennessee and Florida, Scott coached tight ends for five seasons in the SEC, from 2016 to 2020.

Auburn desperately needs some success at the position, too. The 2025 season was plagued by errors at the position, especially drops. Maryland transfer Preston Howard and senior Brandon Frazier saw the majority of snaps at the position, and neither player recorded a touchdown or exceeded 100 yards for the entire season.

The most yards in a game by a tight end for the Tigers in 2025 was 33 for Howard against Georgia, and the most catches in a game this season by a tight end was Frazier with 5 at Texas A&M. Both players were often maligned by the fanbase, and the entire room seemed to be a net negative every time the Auburn offense was on the field.

However, the Tigers do have some young and incoming talent at the position. Freshman and former three-star recruit Ryan Ghea is a good athlete for his position, and should be able to develop much more effectively under Scott as he enters his sophomore season.

Auburn also secured the signing of three-star tight end DJ Broughton in the 2026 recruiting class on Dec. 3. Broughton, a former USF commit, decommitted from the Bulls to join Alex Golesh on The Plains. However, neither player should prevent Scott and the Tigers from heavily pursuing a tight end in the transfer portal should a good one become available.