AUBURN — Alex Golesh won’t be able to win his first game as Auburn football’s head coach for another nine months, but this week could provide some of his first victories at the program’s helm.
The early signing period for college football’s 2026 class begins Wednesday, Dec. 3, and will run through Friday. While Golesh inherited a roster from Hugh Freeze that’s loaded with blue-chip talent, Freeze’s final recruiting class on the Plains wasn’t of a similar mold.
At the time of Freeze’s firing, Auburn’s 2026 class sat in the bottom half of the SEC, and with multiple commits backing off their pledges to the program, Golesh had little time to make up a lot of ground.
As the early signing period gets underway, stay tuned here for the latest updates from the Montgomery Advertiser.
Live updates for Auburn football’s 2026 signing day
Dec. 5 (12:57 p.m.): Auburn got a late addition to its 2026 class Friday, signing Thompson (Ala.) High School safety Damonte Tabb.
Tabb is rated as a three-star prospect by both ESPN and Rivals, and he had a productive senior season for an in-state powerhouse, with 78 tackles, 11 interceptions, 11 pass breakups, 4 tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.
Dec. 4 (2:09 p.m.): Jase Mathews, a five-star wide receiver from Mississippi and the highest-rated unsigned commit in Auburn’s class, will make his decision official at 2 p.m. Friday, he announced.
Mathews original planned to sign on the first day of the early signing period, but he reportedly pushed his decision date back for the period began, with both LSU and Ole Miss pushing for his services.
Dec. 4 (10:05 a.m.): The three-star defensive lineman followed through on Wednesday’s commitment, getting his paperwork into Auburn on Thursday morning.
That’s now 15 signees for Golesh’s first class at Auburn, with one commit still technically unclaimed. That’s four-star wide receiver Jase Mathews, the highest-rated commit still tied to Auburn. He pushed his decision date back to Friday, where he’ll choose between Auburn, LSU and Ole Miss.
Dec. 3 (7:18 p.m.): Auburn legacy Wilson Zierer, a four-star offensive tackle, is officially in the fold for the Tigers, who announced his signing late Wednesday evening.
Dec. 3 (4 p.m.): Williams, a three-star receiver who Golesh’s staff recruited heavily at South Florida, has flipped from Alabama to Alabama.
Including a trio of South Florida commits, Golesh and his staff have now flipped six players in the past 48 hours, and the addition of Williams gives Auburn 16 commitments, 12 of which have signed.
Dec. 3 (3:03 p.m.): Four-star defensive lineman Corey Wells made significant news for Auburn on Wednesday, flipping from a long-held pledge with Texas to the Tigers. He’s now the fourth-highest-rated prospect either signed or committed to Auburn’s 15-man class, and the sixth blue-chip prospect in the bunch.
Wells’ brother, three-star South Alabama commit Chris Wells, also flipped to the Tigers.
Dec. 3 (2:32 p.m.): Auburn has now signed three of its five highest-rated commits, with four-star linebacker Adam Balogun-Ali’s letter of intent becoming official Sunday afternoon.
Just three of Auburn’s commits — wide receiver Jase Mathews, offensive lineman Wilson Zierer and defensive lineman Tavian Branch — have yet to sign.
Branch committed to Auburn earlier Wednesday, with his paperwork likely to go official the same day. Mathews pushed his signing date back to Friday earlier this week.
Dec. 3 (1:05 p.m.): Auburn has added another commitment to its 2026 class in three-star defensive lineman Tavian Branch, who chose the Tigers over offers from LSU, Ole Miss, Penn State and Virginia Tech.
Branch was previously a Penn State commit, but he reopened his recruitment after James Franklin’s firing. He made his first visit to the Plains this past weekend, taking an official visit for the Iron Bowl.
Dec. 3 (12:13 p.m.): Wakefield, who committed to Auburn in July, has officially signed with the program. He was the third-highest-rated long-snapper in the nation.
Dec. 3 (11:19 a.m.): Spencer, who flipped to Auburn from Duke on Tuesday, made it official and signed with the Tigers.
Dec. 3 (11:17 a.m.): Auburn wasn’t able to convert on a late push for five-star safety Bralan Womack, who was the highest-rated commit in its 2026 class until Monday, when he flipped to Mississippi State.
Womack officially signed with the Bulldogs on Wednesday, keeping the nation’s highest-rated safety in his home state.
Dec. 3 (10:24 a.m.): Pritchett, who committed to Auburn in July, put pen to paper Wednesday morning. He’s one of three offensive linemen in Auburn’s 2026 class, joining USF flip and signee Mykall Lundy-Foster and Auburn legacy Wilson Zierer.
Dec. 3 (9:34 a.m.): Four-star linebacker Shadarius Toodle and his brother, junior college safety Shadrick Toodle Jr., have officially put ink to paper and will be joining Auburn.
Shadarius’ recruitment was a back-and-forth saga between the Tigers and Georgia. He was committed to Auburn for nearly a year before flipping to Georgia in June. But three days after the Tigers lost to the Bulldogs this season, he switched back to Auburn.
Shadarius was one of three blue-chip linebackers committed to Auburn’s 2026 class, and he was the second to sign, following Jaquez Wilkes.
Dec. 3 (9 a.m.): The third South Florida flip of the early signing period for Alex Golesh and the Tigers is Rhys Brush, who officially signed with Auburn on Wednesday.
As a senior at Armwood (Fla.) High School, Brush threw for 1,685 yards and 24 touchdowns this fall, completing 63.5% of his passes. He threw for 6,094 yards and 87 touchdowns across 47 games in four varsity seasons.
Dec. 3 (7:40 a.m.): Broughton flipped to the Tigers on Monday. He was committed to Golesh and South Florida since June.
Dec. 3 (7:11 a.m.): Auburn won’t be having to fight any flips for its second-highest-rated commit today, as Wadley linebacker Jaquez Wilkes was the third prospect to send his paperwork to the Plains on Wednesday morning.
Wilkes was a two-way standout at Wadley this fall, most notably rushing for 1,127 yards and 21 touchdowns, while averaging 12.3 yards per carry.
Dec. 3 (6:22 a.m.): Henry, a three-star safety from St. Frances Academy in Maryland, had been committed to the Tigers since August 2024.
Dec. 3 (6:13 a.m.): Auburn’s first addition of the early signing period is three-star offensive lineman Mykell Lundy-Foster, who has been committed to South Florida since July.
Dec. 2 (5:30 p.m.): Spencer, a consensus three-star wide receiver from Saraland (Ala.) High School, flipped his commitment from Duke to Auburn the night before the early signing period. He was previously recruited by Golesh’s South Florida staff, receiving an offer in January and taking one of his five official visits to Tampa in June.
Spencer has been an offensive weapon at Saraland. According to his MaxPreps page, Spencer has accounted for 3,914 total yards of offense and 47 touchdowns the past three seasons. The receiver has accounted for most of that through the air, with 2,712 yards on 145 receptions and 34 receiving touchdowns.
Auburn football recruiting targets for 2026 class
- Flip targets
- 5-star S Bralan Womack (Mississippi State): Golesh is retaining defensive coordinator DJ Durkin, giving Auburn a chance to make a late push and flip the five-star back to the Tigers. (Update: Womack signed with Mississippi State.)
- 4-star DL Corey Wells (Texas): Auburn pushed for a flip of Wells before Freeze’s firing, and it could continue doing so into the final hour. (Update: Wells signed with Auburn.)
- 3-star QB Rhys Brush (South Florida): Peyton Falzone’s decommitment could, indeed, signal that Golesh’s quarterback commit at his previous job might flip. (Update: Brush signed with Auburn.)
- 3-star WR Brian Williams Jr (Alabama): Williams’ recruitment included South Florida, and a change in scenery for Golesh could give Auburn a leg up in the receiver’s decision. (Update: Williams signed with Auburn.)
- 3-star TE Kekau Aumaua (Florida): Aumaua took an official visit for the Iron Bowl, and he told 247Sports that Golesh was heavily involved in his recruitment while at South Florida.
- 3-star IOL Mykall Lundy-Foster (South Florida): Lundy-Foster joins Brush and Broughton as former USF commits who could flip. (Update: Lundy-Foster signed with Auburn.)
- Uncommitted targets
Auburn football recruiting rankings: Where 2026 class stands
- Class rankings
- 247Sports: No. 36 (No. 14 SEC)
- On3/Rivals: No. 38 (No. 14 SEC)
- Player rankings
- WR Jase Mathews (4-Star)
- No. 95 overall; No. 13 wide receiver; No. 5 in-state (Mississippi)
- LB Jaquez Wilkes (4-Star)
- No. 97; No. 8 LB; No. 5 Ala.
- LB Shadarius Toodle (4-Star)
- No. 248; No. 13 LB; No. No. 13 Ala.
- DL Corey Wells (4-Star)
- No. 280; No. 31 DL; No. 12 Miss.
- OT Wilson Zierer (4-Star)
- No. 315; No. 31 OT; No. 38 Ga.
- LB Adam Balogun-Ali (4-Star)
- No. 342; No. 20 LB; No. 46 Fla.
- DL Tavian Branch (3-Star)
- No. 516; No. 58 DL; No. 15 Penn.
- WR DeShawn Spencer (3-Star)
- No. 717; No. 103 WR; No. 23 Ala.
- IOL Parker Pritchett (3-Star)
- No. 767; No. 67 IOL; No. 84 Ga.
- WR Brian Williams Jr. (3-Star)
- No. 1,055; No. 149 WR; No. 113 Ala.
- S Wayne Henry (3-Star)
- t-No. 1,307; No. 116 S; No. 30 Md.
- TE Demarcus Broughton Jr. (3-Star)
- t-No. 1,307; No. 190 TE; No. 48 Ala.
- IOL Mykall Lundy-Foster (3-Star)
- No. 1,310; No. 102 IOL; No. 145 Fla.
- QB Rhys Brush (3-Star)
- No. 1,410; No. 75 QB; No. 152 Fla.
- S Shadrick Toodle Jr. (3-Star)
- No. 77 (JUCO); No. 10 S; No. 27 Miss.
- LB Chris Wells (3-Star)
- No. 2,153; No. 189 LB; No. 56 Miss.
- LS Travis Wakefield (3-Star)
- No. 2,972; No. 3 LS; No. 90 Tenn.
- S Damonte Tabb (N/A)
- WR Jase Mathews (4-Star)
Names in asterisks denote player has officially signed.
When is early signing day? A recruiting calendar explainer
Division I football recruits have 72 hours this week to sign with their preferred schools before National Signing Day on Feb. 4, 2026. That begins Wednesday and ends on Friday, and it will see the majority of FBS recruits sign, but some prospects will still be able to sign in February should they choose to do so.
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.
