With the new era of college football that is currently taking place across the country, when a head coach leaves to take a job at another program, it is likely that at least 10 players are going to follow him to his new destination.
When Alex Golesh accepted the offer to be the head coach of the Auburn Tigers, that is exactly what happened, as 13 players from his USF squad of 2025 followed him to the Plains. Of that group, 11 of those were on the offensive side of the football, which is where Golesh has spent his time through his coaching career.
Many of those players had already developed strong relationships as a result, including that of Byrum Brown, Chas Nimrod and Jeremiah Koger.
Koger was the Bulls’ second-highest performing receiver last season in Tampa, placing just behind fellow transfer Keshaun Singleton in terms of receiving yards.
The Baltimore, Maryland native is now just a sophomore, but is playing like a veteran, something Nimrod and Brown have both noticed.
“Being with him from last year and just over the offseason and everything, he really challenged himself in the offseason when it came to pushing himself when we were doing warrior Wednesdays and then just in the runs and everything,” Nimrod said. “That helped him a lot and his mindset a lot.”
Koger is currently sitting on seven receptions for 123 yards through the first two games of the season, giving him the second-most receiving yards again, once again behind Singleton.
However, he has proven to make some crucial plays in the air attack, and Brown says he needs to continue doing that in order for this receiving corps to maximize its potential.
“He’s been a completely different person, I’d say,” Brown said. “He’s definitely rose to the challenge that Coach (Kodi Burns) has given him, and he shows it in practice and you obviously see it on gameday. So, just need him to keep on going and keep bringing the guys along with him.”
As long as he continues to improve, his teammates know that his ceiling is through the roof.
“He's developed very well,” Nimrod said. “You see flashes of him really coming off the ball and you can tell when he's more mature and grown he's going to be—he's already a problem—but he'll be a pretty big problem.”
As for Nimrod, his path took him to Tennessee for three seasons before he spent last year at USF, where he racked up 23 receptions for 466 yards and three touchdowns.
His time in Knoxville allowed him to gain valuable experience in the SEC, and now that he is back, Golesh and his staff know he can use that to make a difference.
As the quarterback, Brown sees a lot in Nimrod that makes him confident in his abilities.
“Vertical threat, get downfield, smart guy, spatial awareness, knows how to sit down in zones,” Brown said. “He’s a vet himself, so he’s got the young guys going as well.”
The relationship goes both ways though.
After four seasons in Tampa, Brown was one of the highlights of the transfer portal class in the offseason, as he was the first quarterback in Bulls history to have a 3,000-yard season, something he did twice.
It is not only on the field where the relationship is strong either. Off the field, Brown’s infectious personality drives things, which in turn improves things when his offense takes the field, especially for a guy like Nimrod.
“Our relationship is good,” Nimrod said. “Off the field we're joking around and hanging out to go get food together and I think that plays a huge part into he's able to trust me off the field and everything I do, so he's also able to trust me on the field.”
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
