Winning just 1 game in conference last year and never having a winning record in the SEC is a good way to get fired. The three-year Hugh Freeze era has ended, and now ex-South Florida head coach Alex Golesh gets a chance to get the Tigers back in the winner’s circle. I don’t know if that’s possible this season with a bunch of USF transfers from the American Conference. Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti did it and won a national championship last year, so nothing is impossible. Golesh brings his offensive coordinator, Joel Gordon, with him. QB Byrum Brown also comes over from South Florida and is projected to be the starter. Jeremiah Cobb returns at running back. Bryson Washington comes over from Baylor to add depth to the running back room.  The Tigers lost their top 6 receivers from a year ago and will rely heavily on tight end transfers Jake Johnson (UNC) and Arlis Boardingham (Florida). The Auburn offensive line will have a lot of brand-new starters on it, led by Michigan State transfer Stanton Ramil.

Whenever a new head coach takes over a program and keeps a coordinator that was on the staff from a year ago, it’s a huge testament to how impressed they are. DJ Durkin returns for his 3rd season as defensive coordinator and has the luxury of two of his top three tacklers from a season ago returning. Getting after the quarterback could be an issue, which is why Ole Miss transfer Da’Shawn Womack was a good addition to the program. The Tigers have depth at linebacker and in the secondary. Overall, the defense is most likley ahead of the offense heading into the season.

Alex McPherson returns as the field goal kicker and showed the country just how tough he was after losing half his body weight to Ulcerative Colitis and battling back to have a very good season. Thankfully, McPherson is healthy again and should be a huge asset. Hudson Kaak is a solid punter, and Kick returner Rayshawn Pleasant is always a threat to take a kickoff back a long way to set up ideal field position for an offense that might take a few weeks to get going.