SEC Network Analyst Explains Auburn’s Rebuild: ‘There’s Not a Better Team With Continuity’

Although Alex Golesh is in his first season with the program, he brings a plethora of players who he coached at USF.

Auburn Tigers head coach Alex Golesh speaks to the press during SEC Football Kickoff Media Day at the Tampa Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

If you have been keeping up with the Auburn Tigers’ football program over the offseason, you have likely heard the word ‘familiarity’ thrown around a lot, particularly in reference to the litany of USF transfers who have followed their coach and their offensive scheme to the Plains.

Without a doubt, the advantage of having players that already know your system, expectations and schema is a massive one, though SEC Network’s Chris Doering believes that Auburn is not only set up well; he believes that they are among the most well-connected teams he has ever seen in a first year under a new head coach.

"In terms of year #1, there's not a better team with continuity that I've ever seen before." - @ChrisDoering on Alex Golesh's first season at Auburn pic.twitter.com/6YEHiwCY7d

— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) July 27, 2026

“For me, Alex Golesh, as soon as he came in, he started hitting on some hot-button words that were music to Auburn’s ears,” he said. “They play physically, they’re intent on running the football… In terms of year #1, there’s not a better team with continuity that I’ve ever seen before. You keep D.J. Durkin and a lot of the defensive players, you’ve got continuity on that side. You bring Byrum Brown over and five or six of his receivers from USF, you bring his center over, so there’s a lot of continuity there.”

Auburn’s 2026 team is likely going to end up looking like a tale of two different 2025 units: USF’s 2025 offense with, of course, a few upgrades, and Auburn’s 2025 defense, both of which ranked among the best in their respective groups. 

On offense, Auburn is set to rely on the aforementioned Byrum Brown, who is one of just a few quarterbacks in this decade to pass for over 3,000 yards and rush for over 1,000 in the same season– the others to do it are all now in the NFL– as well as a potent rushing attack built on the legs of Brown, Auburn returner Jeremiah Cobb and Baylor transfer Bryson Washington, pending the health of the latter.

In the air, Auburn is set to rely almost exclusively on USF’s 2025 receiving core, including four of the Bulls’ top-five 2025 receivers. The lone exceptions to this rule are the Tigers’ tight ends, who are non-USF transfers, and one Tiger returning receiver, Bryce Cain.

Defensively, of course, is where the Tigers are set to look the strongest, particularly after the season they had last year. Headlined by Xavier Atkins, the SEC’s leader in tackles for loss last year, the Tigers’ unit is set to be just about as dominant as it was last season, except for the loss of NFL first-rounder Keldric Faulk, who has been replaced by four-star Ole Miss transfer Da’Shawn Womack.

The Tigers are largely made up of two units who came into the 2026 preseason already knowing exactly what their coaches were expecting of them, how their schemes worked and what the culture would be like, which could prove to be a massive advantage, particularly early in the season.

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