Alex Golesh Set to Face Iron Bowl of Recruiting For Nation’s No. 1 OL Prospect

The Auburn Tigers will go against the Alabama Crimson Tide for one of the top recruits in the entire country.

Auburn and Alabama are both fighting for 2028 recruit Joey Fleming, who is the best player from the state of Alabama. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Alex Golesh and the Auburn Tigers have wasted no time pivoting to recruiting the 2028 class after an impressive run in the 2027 class, of which ESPN ranks their class No. 9 in the country. Notably, the Tigers did not land a single five-star in their 2027 class, but that trend could quickly end in the 2028 class, as the Tigers are locked in a race for the No. 1 interior offensive lineman in the country.

The prospect in question is Joey Fleming, a Huntsville, Alabama native who is currently ranked as the No. 1 interior offensive lineman in the class as well as the best in-class player from the state. A true five-star, Fleming could be the solution to the offensive line concerns the Tigers have been facing over the past few months, but they will have to beat Kalen DeBoer and the Alabama Crimson Tide if they want him on their roster.

That’s right– the race for the No. 1 prospect in Alabama is, rather poetically, coming down to the state’s top two programs, who conveniently are bitter rivals. As it stands, Alabama has a slight edge with a 21% chance to land Fleming, according to Rivals’ Recruiting Prediction Machine, while the Tigers follow closely behind with a 19% chance.

As mentioned, the public perception of the Tigers’ offensive line has been quite a bit spotty over the first few months of Golesh’s tenure, as he has maintained his confidence in them, but little comments here and there have created a lot of doubt in the Auburn faithful.

After all, the Tigers’ offensive line lost six different 2025 starters ahead of Golesh’s first year, forcing him to reload one of the most crucial units on the field in something of a hurry, resulting in an early press conference snippet of Golesh asking for prayers for the unit. Later, he backtracked that statement, saying his prayers had been answered, but during SEC Media Days, he was pretty clear that the unit had made him ‘want to rip [his] hair out’ at times.

So, not only could Fleming be good for the Tigers’ frontline down the road, but also potentially for Alex Golesh’s hair, which is always a plus. However, they will have to wrestle him away from Alabama, who are not famed for losing out on recruits and has already snagged one Tiger recruit, Cedrick Simmons, from right out of the Tigers’ 2027 class.

Sign up for our free Auburn Tigers newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news!