One Aspect of Hugh Freeze that Auburn Football’s Alex Golesh Would Do Well to Replicate

Lord knows I am far from Hugh Freeze’s biggest fan, or, really, any kind of fan of his at all, but even I have to admit that he absolutely cleaned house when it came to recruiting for the Auburn Tigers.

Sure, none of Freeze’s top-rated athletes succeeded under his rule due to what appeared to be a lack of effort at the top, but some of the best players in the country were once Auburn Tigers, which has to account for something.

Now, Alex Golesh has also been on fire on the recruiting trail as of late, with some organizations even ranking his 2027 class within the top-10 in the nation, a far cry from what was expected of him as he came in from USF.

With that said, Golesh has struggled to do one thing that Freeze did incredibly well in recruiting: recruit in-state prospects. Yes, the Tigers have two of Alabama’s best, but there are 18 other blue-chip prospects from the state that are still ripe for the taking, and Golesh would do well to follow in Freeze’s footsteps, at least the ones that lead to in-state recruiting prowess.

“An interesting angle to look for is whether [Golesh] can make more headway in the state,” The Athletic's Grace Raynor and Antonio Morales said. “There are 20 blue-chip prospects in Alabama, but Auburn has commitments from just two of them… Hugh Freeze had his faults, but he cleaned up in-state during his last full recruiting cycle on the job (2025), when he signed nine of the top 15 players from the state. We’ll keep an eye on how Golesh progresses there."

Perhaps Golesh’s in-state woes are due to a lack of time out on the golf course, where Freeze seemed to flourish, or perhaps he is biding his time as he looks for the right recruits for his program, not just the ones that happen to have the highest ratings.

The narrative could also quickly flip, as Auburn is trending for two of Alabama’s best, including Karlos May, a four-star defensive lineman from Birmingham who is currently rated as the fifth-best player in the state, as well as four-star defensive lineman Marquis Evans, the No. 10 prospect in Alabama.

Additionally, even though the Tigers have not had as much success in-state as they have in prior years, they have had immense success in a neighboring state: Georgia. The Tigers currently hold six commitments from the Peach State, including four-star safety Chance Gilbert, three-star linebacker Kareem Palmer, three-star tight end George Lamons, three-star cornerback Nash Johnson, three-star offensive lineman Jaylon Moore and three-star quarterback Gary Chatmon.

So, though the Tigers have not been quite as active in in-state recruiting this year, they may not even need to be at the rate Golesh is working. However, snagging at least one of May or Evans would push Alabama into the rank of second-most recruits in Golesh’s class, which would bode well for the future of the Tigers’ in-state recruiting.

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