Auburn
Published August 9, 2026 at 1:20 PM · 6 pages
Where Auburn stands right now: form, injuries and availability, roster movement, practice notes, and what coaches and media are actually saying.
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C O L L E G E F O O T B A L L T E A M R E P O R T Auburn Tigers 2026 Season G E N E R A T E D A U G U S T 9 , 2 0 2 6 0 1 : 1 3 P M I N T H I S R E P O R T 01 Overall Outlook 02 Visual Analytics 03 The Season: Played and Projected 04 Practice Notes 05 Roster News 06 Injury Report 07 What the Media Is Saying 08 What the Coaches Are Saying
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01 OVERALL OUTLOOK The 2026 Auburn Tigers are a program standing at a fascinating, unresolved crossroads: zero games played, a new starting quarterback, a rebuilt offensive line, a remade skill-position room, and a coach in Alex Golesh entering his third season with a roster he has now fully reshaped in his image. The ratings like them as a solidly top-25 outfit — FPI ranks Auburn 22nd nationally with a 12.01 rating 1 — but the schedule does not cooperate anywhere near as kindly. The remaining-schedule outlook projects just 5.5 more wins for the rest of the year 1, which is a harsher forecast than the talent level suggests and a direct function of a brutal four-game SEC stretch in the middle of the fall. What decides whether this is a 6-win season or a 9-win one comes down to three things. First, the running back room: Golesh wants three and a half game-ready backs 37, but the one transfer with the most talent — Baylor's Bryson Washington, who arrives after a soft-tissue injury wrecked his spring — is physically fine yet visibly short of the conditioning this up-tempo offense demands 45. Second, whether the reconstructed offensive line can survive the early loss of projected starter Tai Buster, who will miss the first five or six games 11, and whether South Florida imports Cole Best and Cole Skinner can hold the interior together. Third, and most simply: can new quarterback Byrum Brown make enough plays to win the close ones? The projections give Auburn near coin-flip odds against Florida at home and a real chance to beat Baylor on a neutral field 1 — those are the margins that separate a bowl team from a New Year's Six contender, and right now nobody can say which way they break. 02 VISUAL ANALYTICS Generated directly from the CollegeFootballData feeds for this matchup. The same visuals appear on every report, so numbers can be compared like-for-like from one game to the next. SEASON RESULTS · Scoring margin for every completed game. Wins are in the team's color, losses in the contrast color, so blowouts and near-misses are separable at a glance. EFFICIENCY PROFILE · Every advanced metric converted to a national percentile against all FBS teams, so the outer ring is always better regardless of which way the raw stat runs. Auburn Tigers · 2026 · Team Report Page 2 of 6
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FORM TREND · Week-by-week predicted points added on both sides of the ball. This is where a team trending up or sliding shows through, which season averages hide. TOP INDIVIDUAL IMPACT · The players who have actually moved the needle this season. Cross-reference against the injury and roster sections. THE ROAD AHEAD · Projected margin for every remaining game, from the SP+/FPI/Elo consensus with home-field advantage — the same baseline the matchup reports use. Bars below zero are games the ratings say this team should lose. 03 THE SEASON: PLAYED AND PROJECTED This report is generated on August 9, 2026, before Auburn's September 5 season opener, so no games have been played. The completed- results table is therefore empty by necessity, not omission — everything below the table is projection based on ratings, not results. WEEK OPPONENT H/A RESULT SCORE — No games played as of Aug. 9, 2026 — — — Auburn Tigers · 2026 · Team Report Page 3 of 6
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The road ahead is where the season actually gets decided, and the ratings make the shape of it clear: win the games you should, steal what you can in the coin flips, and survive October. The table below is driven by the SP+/FPI/Elo consensus with home-field advantage applied — the "Road Ahead" chart renders the same margins — and these are estimates, not promises. WEEK OPPONENT SITE PROJECTED MARGIN WIN PROBABILITY 1 Baylor (Sep. 5) Neutral +5.5 65.8% 2 Southern Miss Home +19.5 92.6% 3 Florida Home +0.8 52.4% 4 Vanderbilt Home +5.4 65.5% 5 Tennessee Away -5.5 34.2% 7 Georgia Away -15.2 13.0% 8 LSU Home -5.6 33.9% 9 Ole Miss Away -6.4 31.8% 10 Arkansas Home +10.0 77.1% 11 Mississippi State Away +5.5 65.8% 12 Samford Home — — 13 Alabama Away -10.5 21.8% The numbers project Auburn to roughly 5.5 wins over the remaining schedule 1, and the most likely stumble comes early and at home: Florida in Week 3 is a projected 0.8-point game with a 52.4% win probability 1 — a coin flip that could define the entire trajectory. The stretch that decides the season, though, is the three-game run from Week 7 through Week 9: at Georgia, home to LSU, at Ole Miss, three straight games in which Auburn is projected as an underdog 1. If the Tigers can steal one of those, the season has real juice; if they get swept, the Arkansas–Mississippi State–Samford run that follows becomes a rescue mission rather than a victory lap, and the Iron Bowl at Alabama (21.8% win probability 1) is a chance to spoil, not to claim. No graded prediction record exists for this team yet, so there is no track record of how these projections have fared against this specific program to report — the honest read is that these are ratings-based estimates that will be stress-tested starting September 5. 04 PRACTICE NOTES Fall camp opened August 4, and the first week of practices has already sketched out the depth chart battles that will define this season. The running back room is the most watched competition, and the early verdict is clear: senior Jeremiah Cobb takes every first-team rep, with junior Omar Mabson II consistently second and Nykahi Davenport and Bryson Washington behind him 2520. The Golesh–Gordon system wants three and a half ready backs 37, and right now the "half" is the problem — Washington was absent during the public viewing window of the first padded practice and continues to be pushed on conditioning 2721. At receiver, Chas Nimrod and Keshaun Singleton took the first pass-catching rotation, with tight end Jake Johnson leading the group followed by Arlis Boardingham 27. Dallas Walker IV is down 17 pounds since last season 22, an underrated data point for a receiver room that lost its biggest names to the portal. The offensive line is crystallizing faster than expected. At Saturday's padded practice, tackles Joseph Simmons and Ramil Stanton led the group and look like day-one starters, with Cole Best handling a clean day at center and Cole Skinner and Deryc Plazz rotating inside 28. The caveat is that Tai Buster's absence for essentially the first half of the season 11 removes one projected starter from the equation, which is precisely why the Simmons–Ramil pairing matters so much. Also notable: during practice No. 4, Chris Murray, Devin Williams and AnQuon Fegans worked with the training staff during stretching, while Shamar Arnoux appeared back at full speed 22. There have been no scrimmage results published yet, and no detailed install notes beyond the early rotation pecking order — this is still the rhythm-of-camp stage, but the running back battle Golesh called his biggest position competition of camp 34 is playing out in real time, and the winner of the No. 2 job behind Cobb is currently Mabson. 05 ROSTER NEWS Transfer portal (verified): Incoming — the portal haul was massive and heavily South Florida–flavored, as expected of a Golesh roster: - Byrum Brown, QB (South Florida) — 4-star, 0.94 1 - Da'Shawn Womack, EDGE (Ole Miss) — 4-star, 0.92 1 - Bryson Washington, RB (Baylor) — 4-star, 0.92 1 - Walter Mathis Jr., DL (LSU) — 4-star, 0.91 1 - Cole Best, IOL (South Florida) — 3-star, 0.89 1 - Joseph Simmons, OT (James Madison) — 3-star, 0.88 1 - Stanton Ramil, OT (Michigan State) — 3-star, 0.88 1 - Nate Johnson, EDGE (Missouri) — 3-star, 0.88 1 - Jacob Strand, OT (Oregon State) — 3-star, 0.88 1 - Cole Skinner, IOL (South Florida) — 3-star, 0.88 1 - Tristan Ti'a, QB (Oregon State) — 3- star, 0.87 1 - Jonathan Echols, TE (South Florida) — 3-star, 0.87 1 - Nykahi Davenport, RB (South Florida) — 3-star, 0.87 1 - Deryc Plazz, OT (Miami) — 3-star, 0.86 1 - Shamar Arnoux, CB (Florida State) — 3-star, 0.86 1 - Chas Nimrod, WR (South Florida) — 3-star, 0.86 1 - Tae Meadows, RB (Troy) — 3-star, 0.86 1 - Plus another dozen 3-star additions across receiver (Jeremiah Koger, Scrap Richardson, Keshaun Singleton, Christian Neptune), tight end (Jake Johnson, Arlis Boardingham), corner (Andre Jordan Jr., Gavin Jenkins, Kamari Todd), and offensive line 1. Outgoing — the exodus was significant and hit hardest at receiver and the secondary: - Cam Coleman, WR (Texas) — 5-star, 0.98 1 - Auburn Tigers · 2026 · Team Report Page 4 of 6
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Eric Singleton Jr., WR (Florida) — 4-star, 0.94 1 - Amaris Williams, EDGE (Georgia) — 4-star, 0.94 1 - Deuce Knight, QB (Ole Miss) — 4-star, 0.94 1 - Jay Crawford, CB (Ole Miss) — 4-star, 0.93 1 - Xavier Chaplin, OT (Florida State) — 4-star, 0.92 1 - Malcolm Simmons, WR (Texas Tech), Horatio Fields, WR (Ole Miss), Perry Thompson, WR (Minnesota) — all 4-star, 0.90-0.91 1 - Jackson Arnold, QB (UNLV), Ashton Daniels, QB (Florida State), plus a long tail of 3-star exits across every position group 1 Researched news: The depth chart at running back is shifting toward a clear hierarchy. Omar Mabson II has emerged as the No. 2 back behind Jeremiah Cobb through the first two days of camp, ahead of the veteran transfer trio of Washington, Davenport and Meadows 2025 — a genuine development for a second-year back who is forcing the coaching staff's hand. Cobb, meanwhile, is confirmed as RB1; offensive coordinator Joel Gordon noted there is "no doubt" Cobb will be leaned on heavily while expressing real uncertainty about the depth behind him 1030. Off the field, the notable structural change is Gordon's installation as offensive coordinator, bringing the ground-game- focused system he ran under Golesh at South Florida and Baylor 23. On the award front, Byrum Brown and Jeremiah Cobb both landed on the Maxwell Award watchlist 35, and in the secondary, transfer corner Shamar Arnoux has been practicing back at full speed 22. 06 INJURY REPORT Live web research: The active medical storyline of Auburn camp is Bryson Washington's conditioning, not a fresh injury. Golesh has been blunt that the Baylor transfer, who missed much of spring with a soft tissue injury, is "physically at 100%" but not yet in elite game shape for the fast- paced offense 45. He is expected to play but may be capped against his former team in the opener 49. Beyond that: defensive end Chris Murray suffered a minor injury late in summer workouts and is expected back "middle of camp" 8; safety Newboy Fegans and corner Shamar Arnoux are both day-to-day with Golesh expecting them back quickly 811; offensive lineman Tai Buster is the significant one — he'll miss the first five or six games, sidelining a projected starter through the Baylor, Southern Miss, Florida and Vanderbilt stretch 11. The Aug. 6 practice notebook, meanwhile, listed Christian Neptune and Sylvester Smith-Reed in non-contact jerseys and An'Quon Fegans, Shamar Arnoux and Corey Wells working through rehab, with no new acute injuries reported 13. Injury feed: The stored feed, built up over recent days for this team, tracks the same names with more granularity 2: - Bryson Washington, RB — Questionable (conditioning), first padded practice absence on Aug. 8 2 - Tai Buster, OL — Out, first 5-6 games; possible return around midseason/October 211 - Chris Murray, DE — Probable; mid-camp return from minor injury 28 - Newboy Fegans, S — Day-to-day; expected back "really quickly" 2811 - Shamar Arnoux, CB — Day-to-day; expected available within a week 2811 - Ramil Stanton, OL — Available/healthy for fall camp 212 - Omar Mabson II, RB — Healthy, elevated reps 220 The feed also surfaces opponent-relevant medical items for teams on Auburn's schedule, notably LSU's quarterback situation: Sam Leavitt is at full strength after a foot injury 367, and Garrett Nussmeier is probable after aggravating pre-existing patellar tendinitis in practice — not considered serious 1819. Those matter for the Week 8 home game, but none of it changes Auburn's own health picture. 07 WHAT THE MEDIA IS SAYING No data was available for this section at the time of the report — no qualifying poll/ranking movement, betting-market lines, or dated national analyst takes fell within the coverage window. 08 WHAT THE COACHES ARE SAYING Golesh has been characteristically direct through the first week of camp, particularly about accountability and conditioning. On the team- wide push-up policy for dropped balls: "Yeah, we made a decision on drop balls, where we're all going to do push-ups... If everybody's going to do push-ups because somebody dropped the ball, well, if I'm over there, I'm part of the problem, too. I'm going to do them, I'm going to be accountable, I'm going to build trust in that way" (Golesh, practice report, Aug. 7) 26. On Washington's fitness, after the first padded practice: "We've been hard on him and the demand in this offense is hard... You've got to be in elite shape" (Golesh, Aug. 8) 27. And on his ideal backfield: "In a perfect world, you need three and a half ready to go into every game. Those guys take a beating... two guys who are ready to rotate drive to drive, then a third guy who is ready to sub in at any moment" (Golesh) 37. The coordinator voices reinforce the message. Offensive coordinator Joel Gordon, on the backfield pecking order: "You've got to have the next man up and ready to go. I think everybody knows that (Jeremiah) Cobb is the guy coming back in that room that has proven he's a really good football player... After that, there's a lot of question marks" (Gordon, Aug. 6) 30. Defensive coordinator DJ Durkin, on working with Golesh: "Alex Golesh has been awesome. He's been great to me personally and great with this program. He has a very clear vision of how he wants things. He does an elite job of communicating those things to the coaches and players" (Durkin, Aug. 5) 24. Golesh also singled out the breakout of the camp: on Omar Mabson II, "I have to keep reminding myself that he just turned 18 years old, which is crazy... he's on a mission to win a job, and he has pushed others in that room" (Golesh) 36. On the eve of camp he set the tone with characteristic enthusiasm: "To tell you I'm excited would be an understatement. Just beyond fired up to go to work" (Golesh, July 28) 23. SOURCES 1. College Football Data API (CollegeFootballData) 20. Mabson emerges as No. 2 RB in first two days of preseason camp (al.com) Auburn Tigers · 2026 · Team Report Page 5 of 6
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https://collegefootballdata.com 2. College football injury feed (Injury feed) https://www.rotowire.com/cfootball/news.php 3. Lane Kiffin: Sam Leavitt at Full Strength After Foot Injury (Sports Illustrated (SI.com)) https://www.si.com/college/lsu/football/lane-kiffin-shares-important-sam-leavitt-injury- update-before-lsu-fall-camp 4. Golesh: Auburn RB Bryson Washington physically 100% but 'not there yet' on conditioning (al.com) https://www.al.com/auburnfootball/2026/07/alex-golesh-gets-brutally-honest-about- transfer-running-backs-body-hes-not-there-yet.html 5. Golesh: recovering Auburn RB Bryson Washington 'not there yet' (Sports Illustrated) https://www.si.com/college/auburn/football/alex-golesh-shares-insight-on-recovering- bryson-washinigton 6. Sam Leavitt 100% healthy per LSU coaching staff (BroBible) https://brobible.com/sports/article/sam-leavitt-health-weight-gain-lsu-recruitment/ 7. Kiffin's key decision: managing Sam Leavitt's return before Clemson (Sports Illustrated) https://www.si.com/college/lsu/football/one-offseason-decision-lane-kiffin-cant-afford-to- get-wrong 8. Auburn DE Chris Murray to return 'middle of camp' (EssentiallySports) https://www.essentiallysports.com/ncaa-college-football-news-auburn-injury-report-alex- golesh-gives-quadruple-update-on-key-players-newboy-fegans-chris-murray-shemar- arnoux-tai-buster/ 9. Auburn preview notes injuries and game-shape concerns for RB Bryson Washington (al.com) https://www.al.com/auburnfootball/2026/08/previewing-auburns-running-backs-ahead-of- preseason-camp.html 10. Cobb relishes role of old man in Auburn RB room; Gordon: depth behind Cobb a concern (ABC 3340 Birmingham) https://abc3340.com/sports/auburn-university/cobb-relishes-role-of-old-man-in-the- auburn-running-back-room-first-day-fall-camp 11. Auburn OL Tai Buster to miss first 5-6 games with injury (Auburn Wire) https://auburnwire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/auburn/football/2026/08/05/auburn- football-injury-report-before-fall-camp-begins-sec/91177411007/ 12. Auburn OL Ramil Stanton healthy for fall camp (Sportvectru) https://www.sportvectru.com/auburn-suffers-major-injury-blow-as-projected-starter-ruled- out/ 13. Auburn practice notebook: Injury updates from August 6 (Montgomery Advertiser) https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/sports/college/auburn/2026/08/06/auburn- football-practice-observations-injury-updates/91123795007/ 14. Clemson OL Adam Guthrie expected to miss 2026 season after knee injury (TigerNet) https://www.tigernet.com/clemson-football/news/clemson-ol-adam-guthrie-expected-to- miss-2026-season-after-knee-injury-49289 15. Peyton Streko likely out for 2026 season due to long-term injury (The State) https://www.thestate.com/sports/college/acc/clemson-university/article316716123.html 16. Hevin Brown-Shuler out for season with Hodgkin lymphoma, remains optimistic (Clemson Sports Media) https://clemsonsportsmedia.com/2026/08/06/clemson-hc-dabo-swinney-addresses-injury- status-of-tigers-as-fall-camp-opens/ 17. Clemson reports Hevin Brown-Shuler is 'doing amazing' in treatment (The Clemson Insider) https://www.theclemsoninsider.com/2026/08/07/swinney-provides-two-long-term-injury- updates/ 18. LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier has pre-existing patellar tendinitis, aggravated during practice (On3) https://www.onu3.com/college/lsu-tigers/news/garrett-nussmeier-injury-update-brian- kelly-reveals-diagnosis-for-lsu-qb/ 19. Nussmeier's knee issue not serious, will not miss time (ESPN) https://global.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/45926492/lsu-qb-garrett-nussberger- dealing-patella-tendinitis https://www.al.com/auburnfootball/2026/08/how-this-young-auburn-rb-has-emerged- during-preseason-camp.html 21. Auburn RB Bryson Washington not in game shape; absence in first padded practice (Fanrecap.com) https://fanrecap.com/auburn-tigers/auburns-first-padded-practice-sent-some-early-camp- signals--uiLK7 22. Observations from Auburn preseason camp practice No. 4 - al.com (al.com) https://www.al.com/auburnfootball/2026/08/observations-from-auburn-preseason-camp- practice-no-4.html 23. Golesh on Fall Camp eve: "To tell you I'm excited would be an understatement." (ABC3340) https://abc3340.com/sports/auburn-university/golesh-on-fall-camp-eve-to-tell-you-im- excited-would-be-an-understatement-auburn-tigers-dj-durkin-joel-gordon-baylor 24. DJ Durkin discusses Alex Golesh, Auburn fall camp 2026 ahead of third season - al.com (AL.com) https://www.al.com/auburnfootball/2026/08/auburns-defensive-coordinator-reveals-what- its-like-working-with-alex-golesh.html 25. Auburn fall camp practice: Which running backs stood out on day 2? - al.com (al.com) https://www.al.com/auburnfootball/2026/08/auburn-fall-camp-practice-which-running- backs-stood-out-on-day-2.html 26. Alex Golesh is doing pushups with his players, and it's sending a powerful message - al.com (AL.com) https://www.al.com/auburnfootball/2026/08/how-alex-golesh-is-building-trust-with-his- players-and-getting-in-shape-at-the-same-time.html 27. Washington, Autry absent at Auburn's first padded practice; Golesh again pushes Washington on conditioning (Yahoo Sports) https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/auburn-football-takeaways-observations-fall- 150308813.html 28. Offensive line notes from Saturday's practice: Jo Simmons, Ramil lead; Best and Ellis solid at center (al.com) https://www.al.com/auburnfootball/2026/08/auburn-football-fall-camp-offensive-line- notes-from-saturdays-practice.html 29. Auburn coach Alex Golesh's Thursday press conference: VIDEO https://www.on3.com/teams/auburn-tigers/news/auburn-coach-alex-goleshs-thursday- press-conference-video/ 30. Auburn running back competition: 6 players vie for starting roles - al.com (AL.com) https://www.al.com/auburnfootball/2026/08/auburn-oc-joel-gordon-reveals-the-truth- about-the-running-back-depth-chart-heading-into-camp.html 31. ‘Seeing a really confident Byrum’: Alex Golesh says new Auburn quarterback feeling good heading into 2026 season https://www.fox10tv.com/2026/07/21/seeing-really-confident-byrum-alex-golesh-says- new-auburn-quarterback-feeling-good-heading-into-2026-season/ 32. Can Alex Golesh answer these 3 crucial questions during Auburn’s fall camp? - Yahoo Sports https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/alex-golesh-answer-3-crucial-120104683.html 33. On the Plains with Champ Anthony: 'Ready to play' - Auburn Tigers - Official Athletics Website https://auburntigers.com/news/2026/07/24/on-the-plains-with-champ-anthony-ready-to- play 34. Alex Golesh identifies Auburn's biggest fall camp position battle https://flywareagle.com/alex-golesh-identifies-auburn-biggest-fall-camp-position-battle 35. Two Auburn football seniors make the Maxwell Award watchlist https://auburnwire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/auburn/football/2026/08/03/auburn- football-byrum-brown-jeremiah-cobb-maxwell-watchlist/91155792007/ 36. Golesh: Omar Mabson 'on a mission to win a job' at running back (Auburn Wire / USA Today) https://auburnwire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/auburn/football/2026/08/04/auburn- football-omar-mabson-on-a-mission-alex-golesh/91168142007/ 37. Golesh outlines desire for 3.5 game-ready running backs (Sports Illustrated) https://www.si.com/college/auburn/football/alex-golesh-details-auburn-new-philosophy- rushing-attack Auburn Tigers · 2026 · Team Report Page 6 of 6
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