Former Auburn Staffer, Tennessee Man Arrested on Felony Theft of Trade Secrets

A former Auburn Athletics employee and current Tennessee student was accused of leaking information near the Auburn Athletics department.

A former Auburn football staffer and current Tennessee student was arrested on Monday. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Auburn Tigers’ Week 5 matchup against Tennessee is only continuing to get more interesting ahead of Alex Golesh’s return to Rocky Top.

24-year-old David Rudolph Jenrath, a native of Franklin, Tennessee, was arrested Monday on charges of theft of trade secrets and computer tampering, according to police and court records. Both charges are classified as felony crimes.

Reports from the Auburn police indicate that the charges stem from a series of events on the 300 block of South Donahue Drive, which is directly near Jordan-Hare Stadium, Plainsman Park and Neville Arena.

An unidentified business reported that information was stolen and distributed to competitors, and Jenrath was identified as the suspect after the course of the investigation. 

Records reported that Jenrath tampered with the information “with the intent to harass Auburn University Athletics by disclosing...to their opponents.” The specific information with which he tampered was not disclosed.

Warrants were issued for his arrest, prompting Jenrath to turn himself in on Monday.

Per reports, Jenrath’s LinkedIn profile includes an employment stop at Auburn University, where he served as Player Personnel Scouting Assistant from January 2026 through June 2026. Now, his account says he’s a sports analytics student at the University of Tennessee.

Additionally, his Instagram biography includes a “University of Tennessee, Knoxville ‘27” tag, meaning he’s a senior set to graduate next year.

Jenrath was booked into the Lee County Jail, and he’s currently being held on a $15,000 bond.