From Freeze Four to Golesh's Guys: Overhauling the Auburn WR Room

The Auburn Tigers have seen a notable group of wide receivers need to be replaced, and perhaps that's not such a bad thing

Auburn returns in 2026 with a whole new wide receiver room | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

In 2024, the Auburn Tigers brought in a highly touted group of recruits at the wide receiver position: five-star Cam Coleman, four-star Perry Thompson, four-star Malcolm Simmons, and four-star Bryce Cain, nicknamed the Freeze Four. However, just two seasons later, three of the four have transferred out, replaced by five new faces from the portal. So, can Auburn effectively replace the lost talent?

Well, if you’re judging solely on stars, the answer is an easy no. Head coach Alex Golesh brought in four receivers from his 2025 USF squad: Keshaun Singleton, Jeremiah Koger, Chas Nimrod, and Christian Neptune. Auburn also added Notre Dame transfer Scrap Richardson. 

All five of those players are rated as three-star transfers via 247 Sports, whereas Coleman is rated as a 5-star transfer. Simmons and Thompson are each 4-star transfers in their own right via 247 Sports. However, stars rarely tell the full story.

Recent seasons have proven that players who are highly effective at one level of college football rarely become useless when given a bigger chance. Indiana’s Curt Cignetti and Texas Tech’s Joey McGuire each have seen their teams take massive leaps forward thanks to targeting players who have proven production at both the Group of Five and Power Four levels.

In terms of production, the new blood has the outgoing transfers beat. Singleton out-produced any Auburn receiver, and Koger and Nimrod each out-produced all Auburn receivers other than Coleman. Even Neptune outproduced Thompson by nearly 200 yards despite Neptune being receiver number five on the Bulls’ 2025 depth chart.

The four USF receivers that Auburn brought in totaled 2,275 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2025, which is 169 yards and 11 touchdowns more than the combined season passing numbers of Jackson Arnold and Ashton Daniels. 

Now, obviously, the dynamic nature of new Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown, as well as Golesh’s high-flying offense, had some things to do with the much higher production among the incoming transfers. However, those incoming transfer receivers already have pre-established chemistry with Brown as their quarterback, and will be playing with a significantly better offensive line and running back room to lean on in 2026.

Coleman is clearly a prodigious talent and will be the top option for Arch Manning at Texas this season. Plainly speaking, Auburn does not have a new pass catcher on the level of the rising junior. Though outside of that, any of the top three USF options were arguably just as good on film in 2025 as Simmons. 

Singleton and Koger aren’t quite as athletic or sudden as Simmons, but they each are far more experienced and have more sure hands. They also each have valuable experience tracking the beautiful deep shots that Brown consistently takes, something Simmons has little experience with and struggled to do when given chances.

Additionally, Auburn’s incoming transfers have climbed in the recruiting rankings in this portal cycle, with Koger and Singleton each becoming top 50 receivers. Meanwhile, the outgoing transfers have slipped down, as Thompson has lost an entire star rating and Simmons is outside the top 20 receivers in the portal. 

The experience of the USF quartet, combined with the athleticism of returning wideout Bryce Cain and the upside of Notre Dame’s Richardson, should give Brown and Golesh more than enough options to light up the field in 2026.