Latest / The Auburn Undercover Podcast / PODCAST: Reviewing Golesh’s staff hires, signing day and the upcoming portal

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PODCAST: Reviewing Golesh’s staff hires, signing day and the upcoming portal · The Auburn Undercover Podcast

0:07
Welcome back everybody. Another edition
0:08
here of the Auburn Undercover podcast on
0:10
the 247 Sports Network. My name is
0:12
Nathan King. Joined here today by Jason
0:15
Caldwell and Christian Clemente. This is
0:18
not Thursday Night Live because football
0:20
season is over now and uh probably won't
0:22
be in that exact schedule anymore, but
0:24
uh still sponsored by AU Club. So, thank
0:26
you so much to them for uh for
0:28
sponsoring us. and go check them out if
0:29
you guys haven't. Hopefully, you heard
0:30
us all throughout football season uh
0:33
promoting them and talking about all the
0:34
great stuff you can get over at AU Club
0:36
and uh we definitely appreciate them for
0:39
for sponsoring us as usual. Sorry,
0:40
Christian. I were you were you about to
0:42
jump in?
0:42
>> Oh, I was just going to say look, it's
0:44
cold right now, but golf season is
0:45
coming up. Golf season around is around
0:47
the corner and AU club is one of top
0:50
five courses in the state of Alabama in
0:52
my opinion. I mean, it's it's up there.
0:54
>> Yeah, I agree. So, uh, definitely start
0:57
taking a look over there.
0:59
>> I mean, it was warm today or it is warm
1:01
today.
1:01
>> Well, it looks warm outside and it's not
1:03
as warm, but at least the sun's shining
1:05
for the first time in a week. So, that's
1:06
a positive. So,
1:07
>> I was going to say, yeah, it's a big
1:08
difference. That's a big difference. My
1:11
My wife bought some solar lights for the
1:14
front like at Sam's and had them set up
1:17
to be like red and green for Christmas.
1:19
I was all excited about it and then it's
1:21
been like they they just have well they
1:23
just haven't been turned on period.
1:25
Yeah. I haven't had any light at all. So
1:26
maybe today will be the day. Um we just
1:28
wanted to to kind of get together and do
1:30
a bit of a catchall podcast today as you
1:32
guys will be listening to this on
1:33
Wednesday morning. It will be day 10 of
1:36
the Alex Gooish era at Auburn. Uh lots
1:40
has happened since he's been introduced.
1:41
It kind of feels like the wheels are now
1:42
in motion. The first few days of a new
1:44
coach. It's seeing what you got going
1:46
on. Kind of honestly just getting to
1:47
know the guy. every, you know, everyone
1:49
in the fan base coming to know who the
1:51
coach is. And now, Jason, we've got a
1:54
staff. I mean, there there's a staff not
1:55
fully in place, but both of your
1:57
coordinators are now in place. Uh, we
2:00
would expect even more moves to be made
2:02
official on the coaching staff. Probably
2:03
by the time you listen to this, there'll
2:05
only be like three assistant slots left.
2:07
Um, what was interesting to me was when
2:09
we talked to Alex Golish on Monday at
2:10
his press conference, he said some guys
2:12
he's talking to are still coaching. He
2:15
he mentioned the word playoff. So, like
2:17
I mean I I think there he we initially
2:21
heard and reported that he wanted to get
2:22
the staff done as fast as possible and I
2:24
think he got as much done as possible as
2:27
he could, Jason. And now we're in the
2:29
final stages where it's just a couple
2:30
slots. I don't think he's ne necessarily
2:32
rushing those and especially because you
2:35
have both your coordinators in place.
2:36
That's such a big that's such a big
2:37
place to start.
2:38
>> Yeah. Yeah. And literally as we're
2:40
recording this, which is 1:00 on
2:42
Wednesday or t Tuesday, excuse me. Um I
2:46
just got a text and then it just got I
2:48
think just this just hit published from
2:50
Matt Zen. It's that Auburn's is expected
2:52
to hire Coleman Hutsler as defensive
2:54
ends coach, former defense coordinator.
2:58
So I honestly I was just getting ready
3:00
to text you guys going, "Hey, I just got
3:02
a text about this." And then boom, it
3:03
popped up. So um I would assume that one
3:06
would be would be moving pretty quickly.
3:08
But Zenith's just just put it out. So I
3:10
would I expect that once it starts to
3:12
get that kind of momentum. I would
3:14
expect that one to be done. Now may not
3:16
be officially done because we know
3:17
Auburn they they wait till these things
3:19
are are done from a contract perspective
3:22
until it's released. But there's another
3:24
one I think we can safely add to the
3:25
list is Coleman Hustler. And that's a
3:27
guy with a a pretty strong background of
3:29
of coaching in this league. So uh
3:32
another addition on the defensive side
3:33
of the ball.
3:36
the beauty of live podcasting. That's a
3:38
big hire. Uh if I'm if I'm reading
3:42
correctly, like you said, Jason, a lot
3:44
of SEC experience for him. Uh we can we
3:48
can we can pull back the onion here a
3:49
little bit on our workflow. Do you want
3:50
me to work on a story for that or are
3:52
you are you working on
3:54
>> Yeah, I I'll I can do it while we're
3:56
doing this because I can uh I just put
3:59
>> I can talk sign in day stuff with Nathan
4:00
a little bit for a while. bounce back
4:02
and forth, Jason, while you're working
4:03
>> notes up uh um on on the message boards
4:06
and let people know. But yeah, we can uh
4:08
we can work on that a little bit as
4:09
we're as we're going through this. But
4:11
yeah, that's uh that's the nature of
4:13
this job for sure.
4:14
>> All right, Jason has been excused from
4:16
the classroom for a little bit. Uh yeah,
4:17
we we'll we'll start there, Christian,
4:19
talking about signing day. I mean, it
4:20
was I I thought the way Gou go put it
4:23
yesterday, mate, was pretty apt. It was
4:25
kind of the best they could have done.
4:27
really the only and and you you know so
4:30
much more and so correct me if I'm wrong
4:31
but I mean the only one is Jacece
4:32
Matthews that's one that you maybe
4:35
wanted to get but obviously that's a
4:36
really prickly situation for him too
4:38
just having surgery a couple weeks ago
4:40
and I know he was going to cost a lot of
4:42
money regardless you wanted him in the
4:43
class he was he was committed to you um
4:45
but it seems like Christian in terms of
4:47
a transition class
4:49
pretty good job for this group and and
4:51
Alex Golish sort of in that same vein in
4:54
that same conversation
4:57
talked about his philosophy when it
4:59
comes to recruiting, which is, and he
5:02
wasn't intending to do this. It's kind
5:03
of the o not the opposite of Hugh
5:04
Freeze, but it's very different in in
5:06
terms of not putting all your eggs in
5:08
the recruiting basket. He said it's
5:10
great to, you know, recruit high level
5:12
players, but you don't want to win
5:13
signing day. He said winning football
5:15
games is more important. And that kind
5:16
of speaks broadly, as I'm sure you're
5:18
going to, speaks broadly to his mindset
5:21
and his process about what recruiting in
5:23
the portal will look like at Auburn.
5:24
>> Yeah. It's not star chasing. That's kind
5:26
of what it comes down to. You know,
5:27
Auburn signed the I think it's the
5:29
number 41 class in the country, only 18
5:31
signees. There were some fans that were
5:34
certainly upset about some of the the
5:36
movement, some of the late, you know,
5:38
the three star flips, the guys coming
5:40
over from USF and whatnot. Look, that's
5:43
not going to be the regular under Alex
5:44
Skolish. And he said that, you know,
5:46
this was it. They want to compete for
5:49
top 10 classes at Auburn. But when you
5:52
arrive on Sunday, get into Auburn on
5:54
Sunday afternoon, and your signing day
5:57
is on Wednesday,
5:59
and you're inheriting a group of, I
6:01
believe it was 12 commitments at the
6:03
time, and you decide to trim some of
6:04
those because you don't want to pay
6:07
previous agreements, you know, guys like
6:08
Payton Fzone and whatnot. Um, Nico Heppy
6:11
was a guy that Auburn didn't really want
6:12
to keep in the class, this new staff.
6:15
Brilland Wack flips out. you know,
6:16
that's a different circumstance. Auburn
6:18
wanted to keep him. That was a true
6:19
flip. When you trim it down from 12 to
6:23
nine and then you're rebuilding that
6:25
group a little bit, it's just not going
6:27
to be a bigger class. You know, when
6:28
Hugh Freeze first came in, he was hired
6:30
the Sunday after the Iron Bowl. I think
6:31
the news started to leak Saturday of the
6:33
Iron Bowl. That was when signing day was
6:35
still in mid to late December. Signing
6:37
day was like December 20th. So, he had
6:39
weeks to work on those guys. Not only
6:42
that, he had time to go out and recruit
6:43
them because that was still when contact
6:45
and open periods existed in December.
6:47
Visit periods as well. Get those guys
6:49
back on campus for second official
6:51
visits. Alex Gish had a couple days and
6:53
this staff had a couple days to make a
6:56
few phone calls, see what they could do.
6:58
And overall, you know, Nathan, you
7:00
talked about it about as good as you
7:03
could hope for. You know, Jace Matthews
7:05
was a loss, no doubt, but you mentioned
7:07
it. Auburn
7:10
and and Jason mentioned this on the
7:12
board yesterday, I think it was talking
7:14
about Horatio Fields transferring, which
7:16
we'll touch on later. Different staffs
7:18
evaluate guys differently and how much
7:20
they value them now goes into that
7:23
equation. The money part is just part of
7:25
the equation now. So, if you're looking
7:27
at it from Aren's perspective, look, I'm
7:29
not dissing Jace Matthews as a player,
7:31
as a person. I really like Jace. He's a
7:34
really good player, but he had ACL
7:36
surgery two to three weeks ago at this
7:38
point recording. If you were going to
7:41
make a heavy investment in him, he's
7:43
probably not even going to be playing in
7:44
year one and then he could just hop
7:47
right in the transfer portal and go to
7:49
Old Miss after a season or go to LSU or
7:52
go wherever. He obviously flips to Old
7:53
Miss now. Um, and I think his cousin
7:56
Dante Monreef being on that recruiting
7:58
staff and potentially being elevated to
8:00
an on-field role certainly played a part
8:02
in that as well. And so people were
8:04
upset when they lost Jace. But I think
8:06
it just comes down to where do you want
8:09
to invest your money? You do not have
8:11
unlimited money. You've got some cash
8:13
now. Nathan had a great story talking
8:14
about how they have built up the NIL to
8:17
kind of circumvent and go above the
8:19
salary cap. You've got that cash, but
8:21
it's not unlimited. So, is investing in
8:23
a receiver,
8:25
albeit a talented one, who is coming in
8:27
as a freshman and probably out for the
8:29
whole season, investing a bunch of that
8:31
money into him a smart idea? To me, I
8:35
don't think it is. Guys will have
8:36
different opinions on that and whatnot,
8:38
and everyone can have their different
8:39
take. Um, you know, you look at some of
8:42
the other, you know, a loss on signing
8:44
day of Brilan Wack, you lose him a
8:46
couple of days beforehand. Um, it's a
8:49
guy that Auburn obviously wanted to
8:50
keep. Once DJ Durkin, it was announced
8:53
that he was retained. Um, Auburn put the
8:55
gas on him again to try and get him to
8:57
flip back on signing day. Just wasn't
8:59
able to quite pull it off. Um, and, you
9:02
know, now that the news came out on
9:03
Tuesday that TJ Russian isn't even being
9:05
retained as the safeties coach, you
9:07
would have had to wonder if he signed
9:09
and then, you know, decides to hop in
9:10
the portal in January or something like
9:12
that or asks out of his paperwork or
9:14
something. Um, so it this class kind of
9:17
uh I label it as it is what it is. Um,
9:19
you got some really quality pieces um
9:22
that I like in this class that Jason
9:23
likes, you know, that we've seen a good
9:25
bit. Jquz Wilks, Jadarius Toodel, um,
9:28
Adam Boligun Ali, there's your
9:30
linebackers that DJ Durkin got held on
9:32
to. Wilks being the top rated guy in the
9:34
class. Signing day was kind of headlined
9:37
by some familiar faces coming in for the
9:41
USF staff. Reese Brush there at
9:43
quarterback, Male Lundy Foster, the
9:45
offensive lineman. Those two guys were
9:47
committed to USF, as was tight end DJ
9:49
Brotten Jr. Um, and then offensive
9:51
tackle Mason Matthysse, who flipped on
9:54
Friday in the final day of the early
9:55
signing period. But the real headliner
9:57
of actually signing day, you know, on
9:59
Tuesday, you got Deshawn Spencer to flip
10:01
from Sarah Land. That's a guy that Jason
10:03
and I have seen a bunch. Saw him in the
10:04
state title game on Friday. We love that
10:06
kid. We We absolutely love him as a
10:09
receiver from Sarah.
10:11
stock up in a huge way for him. But the
10:14
headliner of signing day was the
10:15
defensive lineman. So you look at DJ
10:17
Durkin, you look at Vontrol Keane
10:19
Williams, a guy that we expect back. Not
10:20
part of that first official, you know,
10:22
release, but I think just working
10:24
through contract things, working through
10:26
who's coaching where, you know, now
10:28
you've get get the uh the Coleman
10:30
Hustler news as well. So now you have a
10:32
better idea of who's doing what up front
10:35
on the defensive line. But you get
10:36
Tavian Branch in the fold, a guy that
10:38
Auburn liked a good bit uh from up there
10:40
in Pennsylvania. He had one of the
10:42
weirdest final probably days to a
10:44
recruitment ever. And it kind of just
10:46
speaks to what signing day in college
10:48
football is now. His So he was committed
10:50
to Penn State, reopened his recruitment
10:52
because James Franklin was fired. His
10:54
finalists were Penn State, Virginia
10:56
Tech, where James Franklin went, Old
10:58
Miss, which then had a coaching change,
11:01
and then Auburn, which was going through
11:03
a coaching change. It it was I mean the
11:08
poor kid like on on Tuesday like good
11:11
luck trying to figure out where you want
11:12
to go. Um and you know it was it was on
11:15
Tuesday night where he was called by
11:18
Vontrell and told hey I'm staying. I'm
11:20
going to be at Auburn. DJ's obviously
11:22
already been announced as staying. We
11:25
want you here. And that was kind of what
11:26
put it over the top to get him in the
11:28
class. So that was a big win. And then
11:30
the Wells brothers finally come full
11:32
circle. Um, we had been expecting them
11:34
to join the class since the Ball State
11:36
home opener. Um, it was after that, you
11:39
know, Chris Wells took his official
11:41
visit. Then Corey tagged along. He had
11:43
already taken his official visit in
11:44
June. It was at that point that they,
11:47
you know, kind of committed behind the
11:48
scenes. They were planning to flip and
11:50
then nothing came out of it. Um, and
11:53
then they show up again for the Georgia
11:54
game. Once again, we're like, things are
11:57
still looking really positive. Things
11:58
are still looking really good. Felt like
12:00
Auburn was in a great spot. still
12:02
nothing happened publicly. Um and then
12:05
they they come back for the Iron Bowl
12:06
and then finally they announce it on
12:08
signing day. Chris Wells is more of a
12:10
developmental piece there at the edge.
12:11
But then Corey, they just don't make a
12:13
lot of human beings quite like Cory
12:15
Wells 6'5 330 a monster up there as a
12:19
nose tackle. Really tough to move. Um,
12:21
and he's a guy who needs a little bit of
12:23
work, needs a little bit of seasoning,
12:25
some time in that strength and
12:26
conditioning program, but once you get
12:28
him going, we've seen what Vontrol King
12:30
Williams can do with those young
12:31
defensive linemen up front. And they
12:33
they love to rotate guys. They like to
12:35
get guys in the mix. Um, so he's a guy
12:37
that has a chance to certainly be an
12:38
instant impact guy right away. Um, and
12:41
then I'll touch on as well trying to
12:43
fill some time here for Jason to keep
12:44
working on his story and keep moving
12:46
along. Damonte Tab. Um, late addition
12:49
there on Friday, the Thompson safety.
12:51
Third straight recruiting class that
12:53
Auburn assigned a safety from Thompson.
12:55
You can never really get enough of those
12:57
guys. Not not only safeties, but just
12:59
guys coming from Thompson. They play in
13:01
a pretty college level program
13:04
at Thompson. Jason, I think, has won six
13:06
of the last seven state title games um
13:09
in the 7A classification in Alabama. Uh
13:12
Damonte Tab, a guy who was a basketball
13:15
kid, played receiver for a little bit
13:18
and then moved to safety as a junior,
13:21
pretty solid as a junior. And then as a
13:24
senior, you know, listed at 62 180 as a
13:26
senior picks off 11 passes. I mean,
13:29
that's a pretty pretty staggering number
13:32
uh to do at 7A. Um he was a guy that
13:36
officially visited South Florida the
13:37
final weekend um of the regular season.
13:40
So this staff was in on him. Cincinnati
13:42
and West Virginia, some of the other
13:44
schools that had hosted him for an
13:45
official visit. But a guy that didn't
13:48
have a ranking, wasn't really targeted
13:50
super heavily. We had known about him
13:52
because we had seen Thompson play, but
13:54
we weren't really keeping a super close
13:56
eye on him. And then he gets offered on
13:58
Friday, signs on Friday. Um sent him to
14:01
the rankings guys. They quickly tab him
14:04
with an 89, which is the highest three
14:06
star that you can get. Number 20 player
14:08
in Alabama. Kind of reminiscent of Caleb
14:11
Harris, who didn't have a ton of
14:13
attention his senior year. Auburn kind
14:15
of shows up towards the end there, says
14:18
like, "Look, this is a big physical
14:20
safety from Thompson who's been really,
14:22
really productive.
14:24
We've got space. Let's let's take a
14:26
chance." And now, especially with the
14:27
news that the SEC is jumping up to 105
14:29
scholarship spots, makes a lot of sense
14:32
to take a guy like that. And, you know,
14:33
I think the ranking of him that our that
14:36
our team put out kind of helps back that
14:38
up. I mean, giving him an 89 and making
14:40
him the number 20 player in the state of
14:42
Alabama certainly helps. So, all of that
14:45
wrapping back to say from what Alex
14:47
Golish kind of talked about on Monday
14:48
recapping his signing class. Look, he
14:51
knows this is not the standard. It's not
14:53
the standard that he wants to be
14:55
recruiting at at Auburn, but I don't
14:58
signing day class of 2026 was always
15:00
kind of a lost cause, especially, you
15:03
know, once Hugh Fes got fired. Once the
15:05
previous staff, it was clear that they
15:07
weren't still going to be here and there
15:09
was going to have to be a reset because
15:11
signing day has moved up so much. Now,
15:14
it's just kind of a lost cause. You do
15:16
what you can. you sign who you can there
15:18
in those couple of days after a hire is
15:20
made and then you focus on roster
15:22
retention and you focus on the transfer
15:23
portal and Alex Golish talks about that
15:25
dur during his introductory press
15:27
conference saying that roster retention
15:29
was his top priority and I think he's
15:32
been completely honest and right about
15:34
that. I think they've been working a ton
15:36
on meeting with the current guys
15:38
potentially trimming some spots focusing
15:41
on some guys that they really want to
15:42
bring back and whatnot and that's kind
15:44
of where they focus. So signing day, not
15:47
as eventful as fans have become
15:49
accustomed to, certainly under Hugh Fes,
15:52
but if the proof of concept is there on
15:55
the field for Alex Galish and his staff
15:58
in the upcoming years, I think Auburn
16:00
will be recruiting at a top 10, top 15
16:02
rate pretty consistently.
16:05
>> Yeah. And that and that word you just
16:07
used, Christian, is one that we had
16:09
expected Alex Golish to circle back to,
16:13
proof of concept. Um, I wrote about that
16:16
a little bit. You mentioned the money
16:17
story. He he talked about that several
16:20
times at USF, so it was not a surprise
16:22
for him to come in on Monday and say in
16:26
in not so many words, like the Portal
16:28
will be more of a focus early on for
16:31
them because he wants to put, which I
16:33
know this is music to Auburn fans ears,
16:35
he wants to put as good of a team as
16:37
possible on the field in year one, which
16:39
everybody wants to do that, but some
16:40
people like Hugh Freeze did, and I'm not
16:43
saying one's going to get better results
16:45
than the other, but Hughes wanted a
16:47
longer term build right away. And year
16:50
one, he was during the season talking
16:52
about, well, we don't have our guys in
16:54
here yet. I don't think you're going to
16:56
see that from Alex Gooish because he's
16:58
going to bring in as many guys as
16:59
possible he thinks are going to win in
17:00
year one. And then it kind of it kind of
17:03
goes back to the thing we always say,
17:04
which is like Auburn kind of
17:05
automatically recruits at a top 15, top
17:07
10 level if you're like a competent
17:08
staff. I mean, Gus Melison was not
17:10
didn't like the world on fire as a
17:11
recruiter and he comes to Auburn and
17:13
just fills out a good staff and does a
17:15
good job with that. And so, um, you
17:16
mentioned the portal though, Christian,
17:18
as we can kind of go through the news
17:20
that we've had so far there. Um, in
17:22
terms of guys who have entered the
17:23
portal, I've pulled up your, uh, your
17:25
portal tracker here. Uh, I mean, Deari
17:27
Austin is way back during the season. We
17:29
knew that was going to happen. By the
17:30
way, the portal, these guys have not
17:31
entered the portal. Um, they have just,
17:34
what was your phrase?
17:34
>> Declared their intention.
17:36
>> Declared their intentions. whatever
17:38
that's the best way I can phrase it. Uh
17:41
I talked to Nathan about it on Monday. I
17:43
was like, I guess I'm just going to
17:44
headline all of these stories the same
17:46
because it all they're doing is
17:48
technically declaring that they intend
17:50
to enter the portal.
17:54
>> Yeah. I mean, they're technically saying
17:55
they're going to enter the portal, but
17:57
uh that also doesn't mean these guys are
17:59
completely out
18:00
>> pre-portal and window shopping. based on
18:03
our understanding, you just talked about
18:05
it a little bit in your previous answer,
18:08
having those conversations with the
18:09
coaching staff, as we have come to
18:11
understand it, especially on offense,
18:14
it's not so much of, hey, get out. It's
18:19
here's where we see your fit. Maybe you
18:21
won't have as big of a role. And then
18:23
it's hey, take that information for what
18:25
it is. or more often than not,
18:28
Christian, I think, and and and Jason
18:30
and I have been talking about it early
18:31
this week, when you're a new staff that
18:33
comes in here, you're learning about
18:34
what people's NIL contracts look like,
18:37
and you're saying, "Oh, really?" when it
18:39
comes to some of these players, uh, and
18:42
then if you're Alex Gooish, all you can
18:44
say is, "Hey, this is what we can offer
18:47
you. This is what we feel like you're
18:49
worth. This is what you've proven so
18:51
far. Take it or leave it." Um and and
18:53
you've seen a few different guys um put
18:55
their names forward. I'll run down the
18:57
list here. Antonio Coleman, the freshman
18:58
defensive tackle, suspended, didn't
19:01
play. Not a surprise there. I know he
19:03
was a promising recruit, but this was
19:06
this was something that the writing had
19:07
been on the wall for a while. Uh Rayon
19:09
Strader, backup quarterback on the move
19:11
again. Uh the big one in terms of former
19:14
recruit is Perry Thompson. We'll talk
19:15
about him in just a second. Um as we
19:18
understand it, he was one of the highest
19:19
paid guys on this team. And so I think
19:21
that was a situation of them kind of
19:23
looking at that production hadn't been
19:25
super high through two seasons. Uh
19:28
Horatio Fields at wide receiver, this
19:30
was yesterday. Of course, the Wake
19:31
Forest transfer who's going to get a
19:32
medical red shirt. Didn't play much last
19:34
year but looked pretty promising. And
19:35
then Aman Lane Ganes uh the red shirt
19:38
freshman quarterback who is now moving
19:40
on as well. I don't know what thoughts
19:42
you have about those guys. Christian, I
19:44
mean Perry is the one that sticks out to
19:45
me. It's former really highly rated
19:47
recruit, a guy that Auburn wanted to
19:50
work out and he had some flashes this
19:52
year, but it's not surprising that some
19:55
of these top recruits who signed under
19:56
Hugh Fes are going to say, "We feel like
19:59
we're worth a little more than that and
20:00
and we're going to try to we're going to
20:02
try to get it going somewhere else."
20:03
>> Yeah, I think the receivers are the ones
20:05
that have gotten the most reception from
20:08
fans or the most reaction from the fan
20:10
base in terms of Perry and Horatio. Um,
20:13
but you kind of hit the nail on the head
20:14
there. These are guys that were invested
20:17
in heavily by the previous staff. The
20:19
previous staff put a lot of money into
20:22
that wide receiver room. And that's not
20:25
to say that Alex Gish and his staff are
20:27
just like, "Oh, we're going to bargain
20:28
bin the wide receiver room. We're going
20:30
to we're not going to pay for any of
20:31
those guys.
20:33
They're clearly going to pay for some
20:35
guys. They are going to work to keep Cam
20:37
Coleman. They're going to work to keep
20:38
Malcolm Simmons. Probably Eric Singleton
20:40
as well if the money can work out. But
20:42
you can't make a huge investment in so
20:44
many guys. And so I think as they were
20:47
going down the list, a guy like Perry
20:50
Thompson who, as you touched on, was
20:52
more productive as a sophomore, but
20:54
still wasn't quite to the level of what
20:58
he was as a recruit. Um, and look, we
21:01
love Perry, but he's a guy that just
21:03
didn't quite work out so far at Auburn.
21:06
um his transfer portal grade is in as a
21:08
a three star 88 which is solid but it's
21:13
not a super you know he's not going to
21:15
finish as a top 10 guy in the transfer
21:18
portal he is right now because there's
21:20
not that many guys and there's not that
21:21
many guys that are ranked but he'll be
21:23
somewhere in the like
21:26
I'm trying to think back I think Jackson
21:27
Arnold was a 90 last year and he was
21:29
like the number 120 player in the portal
21:31
so if Perry's ranked as an 88 he's in
21:33
the 150 to 200 range He'll be in the
21:36
200s, I think.
21:37
>> Yeah. So, somewhere in there. And then
21:38
Horatio, a guy that we really liked,
21:40
really sure-handed, big, physical
21:42
receiver, doesn't get a ton of
21:44
separation, but it doesn't necessarily
21:46
really matter because of how sure-handed
21:48
he was. I just don't know if this staff
21:50
really thought he was a complete fit for
21:51
this offense. Um, especially at the
21:54
price point. So, he'll pro he'll move on
21:56
as well.
21:58
I haven't seen anything so far that
22:01
breaks the Auburn roster to me. And even
22:04
if a huge guy does go in, a guy going
22:08
out and all that money going out means
22:12
January 2nd once the portal opens,
22:15
you've got money to to spend on a guy
22:17
coming in. So look, this next month of
22:20
guys pre-portaling and declaring their
22:23
intention to go,
22:25
it might be a long month because the
22:27
only thing that can happen is guys can
22:29
leave and so people and fans will
22:32
probably start to panic a little bit
22:33
more. But let's just wait and see what
22:35
happens by the end of January. Once the
22:38
portal window is closed, by the end of
22:40
January, you probably will have your
22:42
entire roster set because now there's no
22:44
spring portal window. So, you'll know
22:46
who's coming in, have a complete idea of
22:49
where things are at. I know I'm asking
22:51
for a lot here, but let's try and be
22:53
rational. Let's try and uh let's just
22:56
see what Let's just see what happens by
22:58
the end of everything
23:00
uh all being wrapped up. And I'm not
23:02
saying it's it's going to work out for
23:03
Auburn. I'm not making some guarantee.
23:05
I'm just saying right now there's
23:07
there's nothing that it is what it is.
23:10
Guys are going out and you'll bring guys
23:12
in. That's just the way college football
23:14
is now.
23:15
>> Yeah. You have to have a mindset shift
23:18
if if you're and Golish talked about it
23:20
yesterday. Look, he said this new
23:23
transfer portal calendar, this new
23:25
college football calendar, while chaotic
23:27
for a lot of programs, especially those
23:29
that are hiring, firing, that sort of
23:31
thing. I think about somebody like a and
23:33
I'm not to say that Auburn got a better
23:36
hire here with Alex Golish over John
23:38
Sumall. We're not going to know that for
23:40
a while, but John Sumall is going to
23:42
continue to be coaching at Tain. You've
23:44
got teams and programs in those sorts of
23:47
situations where they're not all the way
23:49
in one way or another. Golish said he
23:52
actually likes this calendar right now
23:54
because now him and his staff, they get
23:57
they get a lot of uh they got a lot of
24:00
cushion here to evaluate the current
24:02
roster. Like he's got time here to go
24:05
through. He talked about watching
24:06
practice film from some of these guys
24:08
like having long individual meetings. He
24:11
said he said one meeting took like six
24:12
hours. Um, I mean, he's he's got time
24:15
here to evaluate and then once guys
24:17
start to make decisions, they can start
24:19
to evaluate their transfer board.
24:20
Talking to him on Monday, he already has
24:21
an idea. Um, which was funny in in
24:24
talking to Jason, I think he was almost
24:26
trying to get Jason to tell him like,
24:27
"Hey, what do you think I should because
24:28
you know more than I do like in terms of
24:30
transfer board."
24:31
>> I think we can all answer a lot of
24:33
those. So,
24:34
>> I think so. Yeah. He's like, "Oh, you
24:35
guys have been here." But he you he
24:38
already has an idea, right? Like he
24:39
mentioned like, "Hey, running back is is
24:41
solid at the top. What's behind it?"
24:43
Hey, offensive line was really
24:45
experienced. Now it's not going to be.
24:47
Um, of course, the quarterback, everyone
24:48
knows, a wide receiver, everybody knows,
24:50
is talented as well. And so, yeah, you
24:52
you mentioned it, Christian, that is his
24:54
number one priority right now is having
24:55
those conversations with current guys on
24:57
the roster. Uh, we understand, as we
25:00
understand it, and this is no surprise,
25:01
that guys like Cam Coleman are being a
25:04
heavy heavily prioritized uh with
25:07
meetings. Guys like Duce Knight is
25:09
they're going, they've already had
25:10
meetings with him. They're going to
25:11
continue to have meetings with him.
25:12
Xavier Atkins, I think, is a guy who's
25:13
going to be first team all SEC probably
25:15
in about 28 minutes when that comes out.
25:18
Uh, he's going to be a big priority for
25:20
this staff. But, yeah, you're right,
25:22
Christian. It has to be a it has to be a
25:24
mindset shift for not just Auburn fans,
25:26
but a lot of different fans because you
25:29
quite literally cannot do anything else
25:31
except watch a lot of your players say,
25:34
"I don't for one reason or another, I
25:36
don't want to stick around on this
25:37
coaching staff." I mean, Golish said it
25:38
yesterday. He was like, "These guys
25:40
didn't choose me." like, "Sorry, like I
25:43
I can do the best I can." He I thought
25:45
he put it really well when he said,
25:46
"Look, I choose them. Like, I I'm I'm
25:48
going to do my best for whoever's on
25:50
this team, but it's just the nature of
25:52
these things. There's going to be a lot
25:54
of roster turnover, Jason. Um on this
25:56
team, and there's going to be a guy at
25:59
some point where people are going to go,
26:00
"Oh, that really hurts." Yeah.
26:02
>> But it's just how this goes. And like we
26:05
already talked about,
26:07
>> correct? It's really hard this year.
26:09
>> Yeah. It's gonna happen. and and hey,
26:12
bringing back DJ Durkin doesn't mean
26:14
that that won't happen on defense. I
26:15
mean, I think they're going to be a
26:17
defensive guy that somebody goes,
26:19
>> man, that's a guy you you wish you
26:20
wouldn't have lost. Um, it's just the
26:22
nature of the game right now is you try
26:24
to hold on to as many guys as possible,
26:27
see what you can add from a portal
26:28
perspective. And I think you are going
26:30
to have a little bit more room this
26:31
year. And something I was just kind of
26:33
thinking about yesterday is look, this
26:36
may be an opportunity to to take a run
26:38
at maybe a junior college type player.
26:42
Those guys have gotten kind of lost in
26:44
the weeds a little bit, but maybe
26:45
there's a junior college running back or
26:47
maybe there's a junior college defensive
26:49
tackle where you go, I don't know if
26:51
that guy's quite ready yet, but maybe
26:53
he's more ready than a high school guy
26:55
you're looking at. So, you're going,
26:57
look, how much can this guy help us
26:58
early? maybe he can develop and he's
27:00
still got two years to bridge that gap a
27:03
little bit in between that and maybe
27:05
maybe there's a portal guy that you go
27:07
kind of like him but I'm not really
27:09
sure. Maybe there's a guy that has more
27:10
upside but you go he hadn't done it yet
27:12
that you can take a run on at a position
27:14
or two. So I do think it gives you some
27:16
flexibility with uh with what you're
27:18
doing.
27:19
>> Well I I just want to bring up that
27:21
note. I mean think about a guy that you
27:23
took like that last year. Xavier Atkins.
27:25
>> Yeah. He didn't play at all as a
27:26
freshman at LSU. And that was a guy who
27:28
DJ Durkin had evaluated Texas A&M and
27:30
said, "Look, that is my dude. That is my
27:32
guy. I believe in him." And Xavier felt
27:34
the same way. So, he went to go play for
27:36
him. Look how it turned out. And I'm not
27:37
saying they're obviously not all going
27:39
to work out like that. But there are
27:41
guys that get away. There are
27:42
evaluations that you love that just end
27:44
up going to another place, especially
27:46
from, you know, guys coming from USF
27:48
where they maybe couldn't pull a top guy
27:49
or a fringe fourstar guy who decides to
27:52
go stay
27:55
wherever go to Georgia Tech instead of
27:57
going to to Auburn or to to USF, excuse
28:01
me. And so those guys are out there and
28:03
it'll be really interesting to see kind
28:04
of how this portal class fills out.
28:08
>> Let's uh let's talk for a minute, Jason,
28:09
now that you've now that you've
28:11
published your uh Coleman Hutler story.
28:13
I was looking back here. This actually
28:15
makes sense. I don't know if you noted
28:16
it in there. Him and DJ Durkin worked
28:18
together at Florida on the staff two
28:20
separate times
28:21
>> and Old Miss as well.
28:23
>> Miss as well. Okay. So, makes a lot of
28:25
sense as a guy that they're familiar
28:27
with. Um, you'll take an Alabama
28:29
assistant from the Nick Saban era as
28:31
well on the defensive side of the ball.
28:32
>> Yeah. You look at you going, "Hey," and
28:34
I went back and just there's the few
28:36
names. There's a few names that that
28:38
jump out. There's Jonathan Bostic at
28:40
Florida. Um, I loved and and the way he
28:43
played Alex Anzalone, he was back at
28:45
Florida again. I didn't have a chance to
28:46
go through the South Carolina gears, but
28:48
in 2017, he was a finalist for the BUS
28:50
award at South Carolina as a linebacker
28:52
coach. And then you look at at obviously
28:55
two years at Alabama. Um Will Anderson
28:58
Jr. and Dallas Walker go like I mean
29:00
excuse me not Dallas Walker but uh um I
29:03
just went blank on um
29:05
>> pass rusher um
29:08
>> Alabama um
29:11
oh goodness Dallas Turner.
29:13
>> Dallas Turner.
29:13
>> So yeah you go look hey two guys who who
29:16
did pretty dang good job. So yeah, um
29:19
you know, there'll be people that point
29:20
to, hey, what Mississippi State did on
29:22
defense the last couple years, listen,
29:24
he's hired as a position coach, and as a
29:25
position coach, he's been really, really
29:27
good. And so I think that's where you
29:29
look at it. And again, familiarity with
29:30
what DJ Durkin's doing that allows you
29:33
to hit the ground running. You know
29:34
exactly what that guy expects, what he's
29:36
looking for in players, all those
29:38
things. And we talked about, look, you
29:40
hire guys that, you know, um that's part
29:42
of what this business is all about. Uh,
29:44
and so I think you look at DJ Durk and
29:47
he's like, I'm going to get a guy that I
29:48
know, guy that I know what he brings to
29:50
the table a little bit too. So I think
29:52
that's a uh, you know, you know, you get
29:56
word then it gets out and so it looks
29:58
like that one is uh, all but done. We'll
30:01
know maybe maybe it gets done quicker
30:04
from a an actual contract standpoint
30:06
than we expect, but might take a couple
30:08
days for it to become official, but it
30:10
looks like that one's happening for
30:11
sure.
30:12
Speaking of, and we'll run through the
30:14
staff here, the guys that we've that we
30:16
know of. Um, speaking of bringing guys
30:19
that, you know, you wrote a story
30:21
yesterday and and Alex Gooish had really
30:24
interesting things to say about his new
30:25
offensive coordinator. Well, Auburn's
30:26
new offensive coordinator, not his new
30:28
offensive coordinator, uh, Joel Gordon,
30:30
who is going to be the primary play
30:32
caller. He already referenced that in
30:33
his intro press conference, but he
30:34
didn't say him by name because it hadn't
30:36
been set up yet.
30:37
>> Um, also going to handle the
30:38
quarterbacks. a guy that was obviously
30:41
when you look at I mean you look at all
30:42
those USF offensive numbers under
30:44
goalish I mean Gordon's right there as
30:45
his as his coordinator and guy who's
30:48
helping him call plays. It is the and
30:51
we'll have this conversation more down
30:52
the road if a guy like Byron Brown ends
30:55
up hitting the transfer portal. Um but
30:57
it is this kind of new age thing you and
30:59
I were talking about yesterday of when
31:01
you bring over an offensive minded coach
31:04
you want him to have all his guys.
31:05
you're you're you're saying take your
31:08
operation and move it from point A to
31:10
point B and let's see if we can keep it
31:12
going. Let's see if we can have the same
31:14
sort of success. Um and so Joel Gordon
31:17
is brings the continuity there. Uh Tyler
31:20
Hudinick for uh for the offensive line,
31:23
real young guy, guy who played at UCF
31:24
not too long ago is going to be the
31:26
offensive line coach. And then Cody
31:27
Burns, obviously I think we've talked
31:29
about him on the show before after
31:31
Golish was hired. He's going to be the
31:32
receivers's coach. uh he's going to be
31:34
the the associate head coach. He's he's
31:36
Golish's right-hand man. So, lots of
31:38
continuity. Still got to figure out
31:39
running backs, but lots of continuity
31:40
for Alex Gooish's offense here at
31:42
Auburn, which is what you come to expect
31:44
when you hire an offensive minded coach.
31:46
>> Yeah. No, I think it's really valuable
31:48
that you're keeping the
31:51
um the system in place. And it's not
31:53
necessarily the system that you're
31:55
running on the field, it's the system
31:56
that you're running off the field.
31:57
That's a really valuable part of this
31:59
that again, we just talked about it. DJ
32:01
Durkin, you hire somebody you're
32:02
familiar with because you know exactly
32:04
how it works and you know what he that's
32:06
what that's what Auburn's getting right
32:07
now on offense. you're getting three
32:09
guys that have been working together to
32:11
formulate an offensive plan and then
32:13
Joel Gordon then calls the plays and I
32:16
think as valuable as anything look at
32:17
the quarterback development that Joel
32:19
Gordon has had in his career you know
32:21
going back to Brock Perie and then you
32:22
look at him you know in the hooker world
32:24
with Alex Gooish and then you look at at
32:26
at now you know Byron Brown what he's
32:28
done there the combination of those two
32:31
guys and the quarterbacks and what
32:32
they've done in this offensive system is
32:34
really important and yeah I kind of
32:36
talked about it today Alex goes talked
32:38
about, look, we we like to fit players,
32:42
fit our things to what the players do.
32:45
And I think there's some people that
32:47
have got that a little bit misconstrued.
32:49
It's like they're not saying they're
32:51
changing the offense based on who the
32:53
quarterback is, but they're saying they
32:55
tailor the offense to what that
32:57
quarterback does the best. And that's
32:59
the thing that you do. You can find a
33:01
quarterback to run any offense you
33:03
wanted to. Like like I could run the
33:05
triple option. it wouldn't be any good,
33:07
but I could do it. Um, that's the that's
33:10
the point now is like, look, you can
33:12
find guys that that fit your scheme, but
33:15
how can you fit your scheme to that guy
33:17
to make it better? And I think that's
33:19
the thing that they've done a good job
33:20
of. And they've done it with different
33:22
types of quarterbacks. And so, um, I
33:25
really like this trio and the way it
33:28
fits. And I think Alex Gooish is a guy
33:30
that listen we've heard for years can
33:33
have a coach that says, "Look, I I I've
33:35
got guys I trust. Let them go do their
33:37
jobs." It sure feels like that's what
33:39
this is. I think, you know, obviously
33:40
he's involved on the offense, but he's
33:42
got guys he trusts, and I think that's a
33:43
big deal.
33:45
>> Yeah. And then on the defensive side of
33:47
the ball, of course, DJ Durkin was a
33:49
huge was a huge move. Um, we had heard
33:53
from the very beginning that uh, you
33:55
know, the way it was sort of described
33:56
to me, I wrote about it very shortly
33:58
after Golish was hired, but every Auburn
34:01
coach they interviewed said one of the
34:03
first questions they asked was, "Hey,
34:05
what does your ideal staff look like?"
34:07
That's just people have to realize how
34:08
important those things are because you
34:09
got to get that that ball moving as soon
34:11
as possible. Um, we saw that because
34:13
Cody Burns was literally here day one
34:14
when Golish got hired. Um, so many of
34:17
those coaches said DJ Durkin because
34:18
they just knew
34:20
what that would mean. Not just from a
34:22
familiarity standpoint, but Golish
34:25
talked about it yesterday. Here's a guy
34:27
who's seen the SEC the last two years.
34:29
Golish hadn't been here. He's been in
34:31
the American. He was in the SEC not long
34:32
ago. Um, but here's a guy who's been
34:34
game planning for these coaches, these
34:36
players, the guys, you know, in this
34:37
league. Um, and that's not to mention
34:39
the familiarity and and what you could
34:41
get from a retention standpoint. But
34:43
when I asked him about it yesterday, I
34:44
was like, "Hey, do you think that's
34:45
going to help you guys keep some
34:46
players, he was very clear and said,
34:48
"Look, when when Durkin was the interim
34:49
coach, it was not just, and we knew this
34:51
from talking to guys those last three
34:53
games, it was not just defensive
34:54
players. Offensive players were really,
34:56
really jazzed up about it, too. He's a
34:58
guy who who made a good impact on a lot
35:00
of different people across the roster.
35:02
Um, and so you know, we mentioned kind
35:03
of keeping your guys, Christian, uh,
35:06
Durkin keeps one of his guys, a guy that
35:09
in Montreal King Williams, or at least
35:11
that has not been official yet, but but
35:12
we believe is going to happen. Um,
35:16
I mean, we think he's a rising star and
35:18
so many people at Auburn think that you
35:20
look at recruiting and that 2025 class,
35:23
like defensive tackle was the was the
35:26
headliner. Um you may just mention what
35:28
he did in short order here for the 26
35:30
class and then results in the last
35:32
couple years like that group has not had
35:34
a superstar other than Kel Faulk and
35:36
he's kind of been out of that position
35:37
that Mont Bontrell coaches. He keeps
35:39
getting really good production out of
35:42
tons of guys he brings in there. That
35:44
group was so solid this year. Um I just
35:47
think no I hesitate to say no-brainer
35:50
because you can hire a lot of good Dline
35:51
coaches out there. But for what Auburn
35:54
has done recently and for what people at
35:56
Auburn believe Vontrol King Williams is
35:58
and can become, I just think that was a
36:00
huge hire for them to make.
36:02
>> Yeah, it makes a lot of sense. I mean,
36:03
you touched on it. Look, the production
36:06
that he's gotten out of the guys in that
36:08
room has been really, really good. You
36:10
look at Malik Blockton, really high
36:11
three star coming out of high school,
36:13
instant impact type guy last year as a
36:15
freshman, even better as a sophomore. A
36:17
guy that's towards the top of your list
36:20
when you talk about roster retention.
36:22
want to keep him on for next year. You
36:25
look at the transfers that they've
36:26
brought in. Not necessarily super highly
36:28
regarded, but he's gotten good
36:30
production out of them. Dallas Walker
36:32
this year coming in from Western
36:33
Kentucky. He wasn't super ranked in the
36:36
portal. He wasn't coveted by a ton of
36:38
teams. It wasn't a huge battle, but
36:40
Auburn evaluated him, really liked him.
36:42
He was really solid this year. The year
36:44
beforehand, Philip Bedy comes in from
36:46
Indiana. He was a guy that was solid in
36:49
his role. he's just gotten really good
36:51
production out of his guys and they've
36:53
recruited at a really high level um at
36:56
that spot. And so it's been really
36:58
impressive to watch for a guy who, you
37:00
know, when Jeremy Garrett left for the
37:02
NFL, there was the whole kind of
37:04
discussion of who's going to be the
37:05
defensive line coach. Uh is Vontrell
37:08
going to get elevated into that
37:11
position? The players kind of called for
37:13
it. Players went and kind of met with
37:14
Hugh Freeze and said, "Look, this is our
37:16
guy. We want him to be the guy." Um, and
37:19
so far it's worked out really, really
37:22
well to be honest. And then, you know,
37:23
from my front, from the recruiting
37:25
front, the in-state defensive line class
37:27
in 2027 is loaded. Donovan Moore from
37:30
Hueytown, really good. Elijah Brown from
37:32
Pratville, really good. Carlos May from
37:34
Ramsey, really good. You look at some of
37:37
the guys that are over nearby in
37:38
Georgia, Wayan Wooten at Grayson, some
37:40
of those other guys as well. Ton of guys
37:42
to choose from. Auburn has laid the
37:43
groundwork with a lot of them. Von Trail
37:46
has Auburn in a really good spot for a
37:47
lot of them and keeping him really helps
37:50
you. Um, you know, you only signed two
37:52
interior defensive linemen in 2026 just
37:55
because of how the numbers kind of
37:56
worked out. Always felt like it would be
37:58
bigger in 2027. So, having that
38:00
continuity of keeping Vantrell on staff
38:03
should help you quite a bit there at
38:04
that position where you always want to
38:06
keep reloading year after year.
38:09
>> Yeah. guy that that you mentioned, the
38:11
guys he brought in.
38:12
>> Um I'm not so sure Bobby Travis wasn't
38:14
their most complete defensive tackle
38:17
this year, too. I mean, he was he what
38:20
he did was really really impressive.
38:22
>> Um he just wasn't ready to play when he
38:24
first got here. Like he was he was he
38:26
admitted he was out of shape.
38:27
>> Um just did not look like an SEC player,
38:30
did not operate like an SEC player. And
38:32
so for him to take that jump in year
38:33
two, it was I mean just the defensive
38:35
front in general, front seven was was
38:37
obviously like a huge thing for Auburn
38:38
this year despite a bad season.
38:40
>> And and I think about it too, it's like
38:42
because I just mentioned because
38:44
somebody said, "Look, they they like the
38:45
hire of of Hutsler." Um you know,
38:48
they're like the questions about the the
38:50
youth of of you know, the offensive line
38:52
coach. Um and I said, "Well, look, he's
38:54
got more experience than than Bontrael
38:56
had last year." And that worked out
38:58
really well. And somebody said, "Yeah,
39:00
but I'm not sure he has the horses that
39:01
Bono had to work with last year." And I
39:03
went, "Well, Dallas Walker wasn't a
39:05
horse before last year. Aus Walker
39:07
wasn't a horse. Bobby James and Travis
39:09
wasn't a horse before last year." Like,
39:11
like who was proven out of that group
39:14
coming back? That was why it was the
39:16
biggest question mark on this entire
39:17
team for most of us going into last
39:20
year. They worked out pretty darn well.
39:22
And so, um, I think you got to give a
39:24
lot of credit to the coaching side of
39:25
those things. And um yeah, you can't do
39:28
it without guys period, but there there
39:31
wasn't a whole lot of proven commodities
39:33
on the interior defensive line last year
39:35
uh coming into this season.
39:37
>> Well, and to that discussion point,
39:38
Tyler, I think it's Hudnik. Hudinick.
39:41
>> Okay. I mean, he has coach Hoodie that
39:44
I'm I'm just going to call him Hoodie
39:45
the whole time to be completely honest.
39:47
Um so from now on when I say Hoodie,
39:49
that's who it is. He's got the chance to
39:51
have some guys on that offensive line
39:53
though, some horses that he could
39:55
inherit. Connor Lou could be back. Kale
39:57
Ellis, obviously a young piece who could
40:00
be back. Xavier Chaplan has another
40:02
year. He could be back. You look at some
40:04
of those young guards. DeAndre Carter
40:06
was a guy who never really got the
40:08
chance, but you wonder, former highly
40:10
ranked guy. Could he step into a role
40:12
there? Jacobe Ward, a guy who moved up
40:15
the depth chart really quickly despite
40:16
arriving in the summer. Tai Buster, a
40:18
guy that the last staff, you know, raved
40:21
about. I want to see the Tyler Johnson
40:24
dream come true.
40:25
>> I agree. That's a guy with with athletic
40:27
ability and you gota look, can you keep
40:28
him around and see if it's his turn? I
40:30
mean, like
40:31
>> I agree, Christian. I think there's
40:32
there's guys there that have the
40:34
ability. You're obviously
40:35
>> It's not a complete rebuild of the
40:37
offensive line.
40:37
>> No, it's it's nothing compared to what
40:39
it was three years ago.
40:41
>> And you're going to spend in the portal.
40:43
>> You're going to spend in the portal for
40:44
that group.
40:44
>> You're you're going to go get a couple
40:46
guys, but yeah, it's nothing compared to
40:47
what it was three years ago. Not even
40:49
close.
40:50
Hopefully, if anybody cringed a little
40:53
bit when Christian mentioned Xavier
40:54
Chaplain, I just want to Jason and I
40:56
were talking about this a couple weeks
40:57
ago. The way he played the last three
41:00
games of the season was like night and
41:02
day. It's kind of hard to quantify.
41:05
Like, I can't really point to anything,
41:06
but he was so much better once they went
41:09
up more uptempo for this offense.
41:11
>> See, that's that's where I can because
41:13
what what do we learn about him this
41:14
year?
41:16
>> He can't hear. If you're standing at the
41:18
line of scrimmage waiting to hear a call
41:20
instead of getting to the line of
41:21
scrimmage and snapping the football,
41:23
that's a really difficult thing to do
41:24
for anybody involved, much less for a
41:27
guy that's that has some issues. You got
41:29
to the line of scrimmage and snap the
41:30
football this these last three games.
41:32
And I thought he was a much different
41:34
football player in every aspect. Um, and
41:37
so again, Fitz sometimes is not just
41:40
about a quarterback or a wide receiver.
41:42
It can be about an offensive lineman,
41:44
too. and that offensive line group
41:46
looked so much better um when they were
41:49
doing those types of things than they
41:51
did early in the season. And look, it's
41:52
also because what we hear Alex Gullish
41:55
talk about in his in his press
41:57
conference to start to start things. We
41:59
talked to him just over a week ago. He
42:00
said, "Look, we'd like to go fast
42:02
because what? It limits what the defense
42:04
could do." He he said it. We've been
42:06
saying that for years. We saw that the
42:08
last three games and hey, voila, it made
42:10
a difference for the offense, too. And
42:12
and I think that's part of the reason
42:13
why that's successful.
42:16
>> Yeah. And and a guy like Durkin has
42:18
worked with I think that's why he's he's
42:21
attractive to keep in this role is he's
42:23
got a lot of different experience with a
42:25
lot of different types of offenses
42:26
because it does present a different
42:27
challenge for the defense when you have
42:29
to. But I think and this is getting like
42:32
way off topic, but with the amount of
42:33
guys Auburn played last year on defense,
42:35
they were ready for a fast offense. like
42:37
they would have been okay with the
42:38
goalish offense because they played a
42:40
ton of guys on defense. Uh speaking of
42:43
defense, I mean we we'll we'll round out
42:44
here with the other defensive assistant
42:46
that we know uh guy who was here day one
42:48
as well, Demarcus Van Djk. Uh Christian,
42:51
you were pointing out to me like Florida
42:52
State has a has a quarterback's coach
42:54
opening after Pat Zertain senior was was
42:56
let go. Like they want Demarcus Van Djk
43:00
or he's somebody that's like up there up
43:02
there viewed as a highly rated recruiter
43:03
in the state of Florida. That's what
43:05
we've heard about him so far. a guy who
43:06
played at Miami not long ago. Um was a
43:08
third round draft pick not too long ago.
43:11
Uh held a quarterback position role for
43:13
one year at Miami and then was at FIU
43:15
was at FAU. Sounds like he is going to
43:17
be I mean this staff has tons of
43:19
experience in Florida. Like they know
43:20
how to they were just there. But he is
43:23
viewed as a he is viewed as a highly
43:25
rated uh highly rated guy there. And so
43:27
it'll be interesting to see what the
43:28
what the defensive back situation looks
43:30
like with him and needing to bring in
43:31
another coach. Yeah, because you had the
43:33
news about TJ Russian um not expected to
43:35
be retained. We do know Kron Dog Wesley
43:37
McGriff is still around. Not entirely
43:40
sure what his role will be. He could
43:41
still be on the field. He could move off
43:43
the field. We've heard that as a
43:44
potential possibility as well. Um he's a
43:47
guy who I believe was DVD's mentor, I
43:50
think, if I'm remembering correctly. Um
43:52
they've at least known each other and
43:53
been around each other a good bit. Um so
43:56
I think there's a very good chance that
43:57
he is still at Auburn in some capacity.
43:59
Crime Dog that is. um DVD kind of not
44:02
really entirely sure what role he'll be,
44:04
but he'll be one of those secondary
44:06
coaches. U and then you mentioned
44:08
recruiting in Florida. I think he'll see
44:10
a bit of a shift from this staff. Not to
44:13
say they won't recruit Mississippi
44:15
because they will. But the last staff
44:17
had more ties in Mississippi, so they
44:19
targeted that as one of their, you know,
44:21
top secondary states compared to the
44:23
state of Alabama. I think this staff
44:25
will go back into Florida a little bit
44:26
more because that's where their
44:28
connections are.
44:31
Yeah, makes sense. Um, and like you
44:33
said, like it's I mean, when you have a
44:34
staff coming from USF, um, but it just
44:37
seems like from what we've heard about
44:38
Demarcus Van Djk, he is he is viewed as
44:41
a guy who on the defensive side of the
44:42
ball is really going to help them there.
44:44
And then the last, uh, I hesitate to say
44:47
onfield because we were talking to
44:48
somebody yesterday and it's like h that
44:50
just doesn't you have your 10 assistants
44:52
quote unquote, but like you're able to
44:53
do all sorts of stuff. Uh, Jacob
44:55
Bernowski comes over from Pit as the
44:57
special teams coordinator for Auburn.
44:59
Not going to coach tight ends um like
45:01
the like he did at Pit. Um, three return
45:05
touchdowns for his PIT special teams
45:07
over the last two seasons. But before
45:09
that, when he was the special teams
45:11
coordinator at Miami, Ohio, Jason, they
45:13
had the number one most efficient
45:15
special teams unit in the country in
45:17
202.
45:19
>> Yeah, I think it was 22 23 one of those.
45:21
Yeah, I guess what? four seasons he's
45:23
had the top 10 efficiency special teams
45:27
two out of the four years he's been a
45:29
special teams coordinator that's pretty
45:31
strong
45:31
>> yeah pretty solid um so of course that
45:33
means Chad Lunsford um is not getting
45:35
retained he has already been according
45:36
to Brandon Marcelo he has already been
45:37
hired in Arkansas
45:38
>> yes which we learned a very funny story
45:40
about Chad Lunsford
45:42
>> when this when the hire of Alex Golish
45:44
went down
45:44
>> yes so if you guys remember the video of
45:47
Alex Golish or if you guys have seen it
45:48
since he's been hired with Tom Herman
45:50
and that whole saga of them getting I'm
45:53
saying this to our listeners by the way.
45:54
I know both of you all know this. Um
45:56
they met at midfield and Golish just
45:58
kind of brushed them off. That was
46:00
because a year prior as Chad Lunford
46:02
explained to us because Chad Lunford was
46:04
the special teams coordinator at FAU
46:06
under Tom Herman. They kicked an onside
46:08
kick late in that game
46:10
>> 20 or 30 and they kicked an on-site kick
46:13
in the fourth quarter and and Chad tells
46:15
us there was some talk on the headsets
46:17
like
46:18
>> are we sure we want to do this coach?
46:21
like that's that's interesting. Well,
46:22
they decided to do it. Uh next year,
46:25
Golish's USF team goes to Boca Raton and
46:28
beats the snot out of FAU. And so when
46:31
Golish has the opportunity to see Tom
46:32
Herman again, to be fair, he did shake
46:34
his hand, but it was a very quick
46:36
>> It was a flyby. Yes,
46:37
>> it was it was a drive by hand shaking.
46:40
And then the funniest part to me is that
46:42
as Tom Herman is still harassing him in
46:44
his ear, all Golish is doing is going to
46:46
FAU players and he's like, "Good game,
46:48
guys. Good game." just pretending like
46:50
he's not even there. So, there's a
46:51
little bit of backtory there,
46:53
>> but yeah, Chad, uh, look, he lands in
46:56
the SEC, so good for him. Good spot for
46:58
him.
46:58
>> Oh, and great, great dude. Great dude.
47:00
Love
47:01
>> uh there was the other defensive
47:02
assistant who got announced in the press
47:03
release as well yesterday. Correct.
47:05
>> Yes. Uh, Brad Wilson is former Indiana
47:08
State
47:09
>> um the Sycamores defensive coordinator.
47:12
He was an FCS defensive coordinator for
47:13
six years. Before that, he was a
47:15
division 2 defensive coordinator at
47:17
Wayne State. He came over at USF last
47:19
year and was he was basically doing this
47:21
same thing by the way he's about to do.
47:23
So he was at USF as a defensive
47:25
assistant, not one of the 10 guys, but
47:27
he was working with linebackers. And
47:29
now, as everybody knows, you can coach.
47:31
Those guys can coach on the field.
47:32
Doesn't matter anymore. Todd Orlando,
47:34
USF's defensive coordinator, was the
47:36
same thing Durkin is. It's DC
47:38
linebackers. Well, DC's got a lot going
47:40
on. You want a really high level
47:42
linebacker, assistant coach, that's what
47:44
he's going to be at Auburn as well. So
47:46
Brad Wilson, they put him out in the
47:47
release as just defensive assistant.
47:49
He's basically going to be as as we
47:51
understand it, we'll see what they say,
47:53
but as we understand it, he's going to
47:54
be kind of like Durkin's right-hand man
47:56
to coach the linebackers.
47:56
>> Yeah. Linebacker coach there. And I
47:58
think, listen, we also know Harding
48:00
Harper um is on staff now as as kind of
48:04
the the head of the scouting department
48:06
and and over kind of all those areas. A
48:08
former uh Carver Montgomery linebacker
48:10
who played at Vanderbilt and did some
48:13
things. And the guy that
48:14
>> if you go to his 247 profile, if you go
48:16
to his recruiting profile,
48:19
>> I can tell you the man who uh took the
48:21
picture
48:23
>> how long I've been doing this job. But
48:24
yeah, so the guys Yeah. He's I took his
48:26
profile photo a long time ago. He's he
48:28
played actually with Jeremy Johnson
48:30
Jeremy's junior year at Cer Montgomery.
48:32
So he obviously is familiar with the
48:33
area. He'll have a lot of contacts um in
48:36
this area which will be really good. And
48:38
then I think look, there's going to be a
48:39
new strength staff. I think there's
48:41
going to be some new additions in um
48:43
training medical side of things, too. I
48:45
mean, there there's going to be some
48:46
some new faces in a lot of areas that
48:49
haven't had new faces in quite a while
48:50
at Auburn. So, um we'll learn a lot more
48:53
of those over the next couple of days.
48:55
>> Yeah. GM Andrew Warsaw, director of
48:57
scouting, Alex Fagan coming over from
48:59
USF. Not we don't know what their direct
49:03
titles are going to be at Auburn outside
49:04
of Warsaw. Yeah.
49:05
>> Um but a ton of those personnel folks
49:07
are are coming over.
49:09
Yeah, I was gonna kind of give you some
49:11
runway a little bit there, Jason. Talk
49:12
about Warsaw. He was a guy you wrote
49:13
about yesterday. Talk about right-hand
49:16
people for GLES. He's he's absolutely
49:17
going to be that.
49:18
>> Yeah, he he has done it at uh a lot of
49:20
places. Obviously was at Tennessee, was
49:22
at Mississippi State before that. Um um
49:24
but you know, has has been at South
49:26
Florida, worked in the NFL as head of
49:29
game operations. So, this is a guy that
49:31
has has done these things. The last
49:33
three or four years at South Florida was
49:35
over kind of the NIL for everybody. I
49:37
mean, South Florida is very different.
49:38
It's funny mentioned another one of
49:40
those stories. We we we laughed because
49:42
we heard um you know one of the guys
49:43
from South Florida got here and
49:44
immediately started writing uh this
49:46
somebody on the staff immediately
49:48
started writing out bios for signignees
49:50
on signing day and they were looking you
49:51
don't have to do that. Not here. You
49:52
don't have to do those things at Auburn.
49:54
Those are things you have to do at
49:55
places like South Florida is like they
49:57
had to write their own bios for the for
49:58
the recruits. Um but Warsaw was look he
50:02
was he was NIL um for the entire
50:05
athletic department. Now, he's going to
50:07
be chief of staff and and GM and and
50:09
doing a lot of those gobetween things. I
50:11
think you look those those two guys will
50:14
will be really heavily involved in the
50:17
contract side of things. Um, as you look
50:22
to figure out how this thing works, and
50:25
obviously you still got in-house folks
50:26
that'll be able to help with third party
50:28
deals, some of those things, too. But
50:30
this will be the the revenue sharing
50:32
part of it and your budget, how much
50:34
you're spending on guys. That's that's
50:37
the big part of the brain trust to
50:38
figure out how much goes to certain
50:41
players, how much you want at certain
50:42
positions, all those things. They'll
50:43
have their own ideas about that.
50:46
>> Yeah. And Christian referenced it
50:47
earlier. We reported last week that
50:49
Auburn is attempting or has a plan in
50:51
place to to have a roster that's between
50:53
25 and 30 million, closer to 30 million.
50:56
It's funny in like the 48 hours after I
50:58
put out that story, you saw that number
51:00
pop up at a bunch of different places.
51:02
because I saw it that day at Penn State
51:04
put out as soon as Matt Campbell was
51:05
hired like, "Hey, they're going to give
51:06
Matt Campbell around $30 million." Um,
51:10
go read it if you haven't, but I mean,
51:11
basically, like you said, Jason, it is
51:13
you need all these people to kind of
51:14
have a brain trust because you have to
51:16
be creative with NIL to be able to go
51:18
above the revenue sharing cap, how are
51:20
you going to distribute those things?
51:21
Uh, Golish mentioned it yesterday. He
51:23
said in his conversations with people at
51:25
Auburn, like the innovative way you're
51:26
going about it, that's what you got to
51:28
do nowadays. You got to you got to find
51:29
every rule that you can. you got to make
51:31
sure you're maximizing uh your roster
51:33
resources. And of course, Auburn wants
51:34
to give Alex Gooish everything he can
51:36
possibly have in order to to succeed.
51:38
And so um in the next few days, next
51:42
week or so, it's going to be more of
51:44
what we've been talking about here. It's
51:45
going to be portal declarations,
51:47
intentions, whatever we want to call it.
51:49
Uh it's going to be coaching staff. So
51:50
those are going to be the main things.
51:52
Uh we will continue to learn more about
51:53
Alex Golish's vision. And then January
51:56
2nd will be floodgates will be open.
52:00
we'll start to figure out Auburn's
52:01
transfer board and they are going to be
52:03
off and running. And like Christian
52:04
mentioned, it's gonna be really awesome
52:05
to know what the roster looks like
52:08
before spring and knowing for the
52:11
largely it's all going to stay together.
52:13
Um at least I mean I would think right
52:16
unless
52:17
>> not largely I mean there's there's no
52:19
other chance for a guy to leave unless
52:20
they want to quit playing.
52:21
>> I don't know I don't know how many like
52:22
what other extenduating circumstances
52:24
there are.
52:25
>> I guess you could try and do what the
52:26
Wisconsin kid did. Xavier Lucas who went
52:29
to Miami who just unenrolled from a
52:31
school and enrolled at another one, I
52:33
guess. But for for 99% of the ro we'll
52:37
know. We'll know what it'll look like
52:39
pretty much by the end of January.
52:41
>> Well, that helps. Maybe a little bit of
52:43
a return to how things used to be where
52:45
we actually like could know off the top
52:47
of our head everybody on the roster in
52:49
the early on in the year. So, think
52:51
we're going to call it there, guys, if
52:52
that's okay with y'all. Um, appreciate
52:54
AU Club as always for sponsoring. Uh,
52:56
appreciate everybody for tuning in and
52:58
uh and kind of listening to this
53:00
catchall episode. We'll be back with you
53:02
guys uh as soon as we see fit for
53:05
another episode. Maybe talk some
53:06
basketball as they're getting close to
53:07
the end of non-conference play and
53:08
anything else that comes up for Alex
53:10
Golish and his new Auburn staff. So, for
53:13
Jason Caldwell and Christian Clemente,
53:14
I'm Nathan King. Thank you so much for
53:16
listening in today and we'll talk to
53:18
you'all later.