Auburn football starts first spring under Alex Golesh. Here's 5 positions to watch

AUBURN — The offseason’s still going for Auburn football, but the season’s getting nearer, as evidenced by the Tigers kicking off their first spring practice period under head coach Alex Golesh this week.

It’s been a busy few months for the hire from South Florida, patching together a signing class within days of his hiring and securing nearly 40 transfers, seeing a near-equal amount departing the Plains.

Thirteen of Auburn‘s 39 new transfers followed Golesh from Tampa, but it’s a roster that’s seen hefty turnovers in several places, no matter how much continuity’s involved in Golesh’s move from the American to the SEC.

Here’s a look at five positions to monitor throughout Auburn’s spring, which runs through April 18.

Offensive line

Among the 16 offensive linemen Auburn has rostered, three were with the program last year, though none’s older than a sophomore. Of its newcomers, three were starters, but several either played minimal snaps or were sidelined for a significant span of time due to injury.

Golesh joked in February that, if there’s one position he’s praying about — it’s the offensive line. It’ll be an undertaking to overhaul, and surely fascinating to follow along.

Running back

Auburn’s backfield, in particularly its rushing capabilities, hardly feels like a question mark. Between quarterback Byrum Brown and a quartet of running backs in Jeremiah Cobb, Bryson Washington, Tae Meadows and Nykahi Davenport, the Tigers could have feature backs in droves.

Both Golesh and offensive coordinator Joel Gordon made the approach of building Auburn’s running back room with depth in mind. So, who goes where? Is it Cobb to start, then Washington? And what about Omar Mabson and Alvin Henderson?

Maybe there are some question marks, after all, though they hardly have to do with how much talent exists at the position.

Tight end

Is this the year Auburn finds some pass-catching production at the tight end spot? It never had much under Bryan Harsin, and beyond Rivaldo Fairweather, Hugh Freeze never had much, either.

On paper, it appears position coach Larry Scott has several receivers at his disposal, be it Jonathan Echols, Jake Johnson or Arlis Boardingham. There’s also Louisiana-Monroe transfer Hunter Herring, who’s switching positions from quarterback, and Howard transfer Xavier Newsom, who didn’t play the position until college.

Cornerback

A few spots on Auburn’s defense suffered transfer portal attritions quite like cornerback. While the safety room lost one rotational player, both Jay Crawford and Kayin Lee left, as well as multiple other corners.

The biggest holdover was Rayshawn Pleasant, who’s likely in line for a starting role this fall. But who joins him? That’s presumably UCLA transfer Andre Jordan Jr., but there’s not much beyond the pair. Of its six remaining reserves, six are underclassmen, meaning the Tigers will need their secondary to grow up in a hurry.

Quarterback

Perhaps it’s stating the obvious, but this spot will likely have more eyes on it than any with Brown following Golesh from South Florida. A 3,000-yard passer and 1,000-yard rusher for the Bulls last season, his potential’s certainly exciting.

Adam Cole is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at acole@gannett.com or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @colereporter.To support Adam’s work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: 5 positions to watch in Auburn football’s first spring under Alex Golesh