Auburn isn’t mistaken about August 1st: Cohen and Freeze just won’t admit that the well has run dry

Happy Gump Day, one and all. A lot to get through today, so let’s dive in.

We’ll start Gump Day with some hearty laughing at Auburn, as we begin with the curious case of Auburn Man’s delusion that August 1 will see some sea-swell of decommitments in Tuscaloosa, and a raft of blue chippers arrive on the Plains. They’ve held up “August 1st” as some imprecatory talisman upon which to lay a curse upon Alabama. And this shibboleth just never made sense to me.

But I’ve finally pinpointed their (wrong) understanding, as well as its origin: Auburn AD John Cohen:

“(If) You have an $800,000 offer and a school says, ‘We’re going to give you $400,000 in rev share and $400,000 through a third party,’ I’m not 100% sure that everybody in this country is operating under that premise, which is reality,” Cohen said of those third-party offers going against the salary cap. “And at any point in time, if they go over that rev share number, which can reflect both the third-party offer and the rev share offer, we’ve been told there’s some pretty harsh penalties that come with that.

“We at Auburn are going to take that very seriously. But we’re still going to win recruiting battles. We’re going to do it the right way. I can’t speak for the rest of the recruiting world, but I can tell you this, Auburn is going to do it the right way.”

Auburn’s approach somewhat goes against consensus. Outlets such as The Athletic and NBC Sports have reported that third-party deals will be supplemental and help avoid going over any caps, but they have yet to report anything as in-depth as Cohen’s understanding.

With cap costs being assessed on August 1, Auburn Fan truly believe that Alabama (and others) are in for a day of reckoning, as the Clearinghouse no-dogs the Tide, and the Bammer Class evaporates — because only Auburn is reading this right; Auburn solely is the moral actor here.

But here’s the problem: everyone that has looked at the language knows Cohen is mistaken on his interpretation. The third party deals are independent of revenue sharing; that was Kirby’s very problem all along. Teams like Oregon or Texas could pay their $20.5m in revenue share, and still funnel millions through friendly third-party deals (ostensibly) outside of the control of the university.

Surely, Cohen can’t be that wrong, can he?

My guess? No. He’s not a stupid man. But he does have to explain Auburn’s lack of success on the recruiting trail, and “we’re not cheating, everyone else is” serves as a great distraction from what I bet is the real reason: the money has dried up.

Yellawood and Co. want to see some wins for that $81 million the Barn had three years ago. And when nothing happens on August 1, Auburn can and will portray itself as the aggrieved victim of a corrupt system that plays favorites, tar opponents with an unfalsifiable claim of cheating, and not have to admit publicly that they’re broke.

Auburn is not alone though — broke schools in the Big 12 (which would be most of them, if we’re honest), are also delving into the salt mine and/or pleading ignorance rather than poverty.

It’s curious that only second-tier programs are interpreting House this way, isn’t it? That interpretation is never coming from the national brands like Ohio State, Alabama, or Notre Dame — just your Auburns and Iowa States.

Coincidence, I’m sure.

Though, we should point out, that a lot of mischief can be worked over the next five months…and teams will undoubtedly be seeking to do so. Courtney Morgan said as much yesterday: the work isn’t over.

“It’s really a culmination of a year of hard work,” Morgan told Rivals in an interview recently. “To us, it’s really not over until it’s over. It’s good momentum but we also know we have to keep them until December.”

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That takes us to the second part of this, in an excellent USA Today long form on a future vision of the sport being spearheaded by Red Raider and Mike Leach alum Cody Campbell. He’s been the point man for Trump on this and recognizes that there are only two ways forward. The first is the broken model that favors the Big Ten and SEC that would eventually lead to employment and CBAs, and the second is a single payer model for all leagues (a la the NFL).

There is some urgency too. The first model is one that is drying up nearly everywhere, and sooner rather than later: College athletics are a terrible investment. Satisfaction only carries you so far. So, why not strong arm all these schools into a single payer model with the carrot of anti-trust exemption?

As it currently stands, there are two ways to fix the fallout of the last four years of paradigm change: make players employees and collectively bargain, or find significant revenue streams and reset the financial structure.

University presidents don’t want players as employees, because once down that road, players will collectively bargain and earn significantly more in media rights — and universities will earn significantly less.

But if leaders of college sports don’t want players as employees, and want Congress to implement liability protection from future lawsuits, what will they give in return to avoid an unending wave of litigation aimed at an association that over the years has failed spectacularly in court?

Campbell, for lack of a better explanation, will be the deal-maker — with the power of the presidency, the threat of antitrust law and a growing disdain for the evolving state of college sports behind him.

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USA TODAY Sports spoke with more than 10 boosters at high profile power conference schools, and only one outside of Campbell would talk on the record about the fluid crapshoot that is NIL and paying players.

Every booster contacted said there’s a limit to the giving — and it’s arriving sooner than later.

“NIL space for boosters is like throwing money into a deep, dark hole with little to no return on the investment,” said Florida booster Gary Condron. “Nobody likes this. Not athletic directors, not coaches, not boosters. The only ones who like it are the players, and the attorneys and agents.”

The Big 10 and SEC feel wronged here. They’ve put billions into winning programs that have been the core product, drawn the eyeballs, grown the sport. Why should wastrels now get to rent-seek?

That’s where the stick comes in under Campbell’s model: He is looking to leverage votes to open antitrust investigations, ones that schools would certainly lose — and that may be far more of a motivating factor in getting a deal done, especially when placed alongside the prospect of making $6 billion, rather than $3 billion.

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We’re talkin’ bout the ‘Noles…at least in an exhibition game of basketball at Boutwell.

Alabama basketball will take on Florida State in an exhibition game on October 16, it was announced on Tuesday. The matchup will take place at 7 p.m. at Boutwell Auditorium in downtown Birmingham.

The game will be the second annual ‘Bama in Boutwell’ event, coming after last season when the Tide beat Wake Forest 98-77 in a similar exhibition. It won’t count against either team’s 2025-26 record. Alabama played two exhibition games against notable competition last season, also taking on Memphis in Huntsville during the month of October.

If we’re going to keep having these exhibitions, I’d rather see us use the whole state. This would have been a perfect 50-50 game to play in Mobile or Pensacola, for instance.

Alabama officially added Collins Onyejiaka to the roster yesterday too.

Said Nate Oats:

Collins is a physical and imposing big who possesses great length at 6’11” with a 7’2” wingspan. Collins not only plays above the rim, but he also will be able to provide vertical pressure on the rim and will be able to offer some additional rim protection

We already factored Onyejiaka into our depth chart piece last week — where he will join Noah as true centers on the roster. So, it does look like Sherrell is definitely being moved to the Four or will play as a small-ball Big.

Yesterday elite F Jaxson Robinson also trimmed his wishlist of schools down, and the Tide have an OV scheduled with him on September 13. This is the player that ‘Bama is pursuing the heaviest for the 2026 class.

God, he is so fluid and athletic. You can see why CNO is so high on him:

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I know it doesn’t feel like it, and a lot of blush has fallen off this rose, but SEC Media Days are upon us. Alabama is selected to appear on the 16th. KDB will be bringing the beef with him too, instead of the flashy bros:

In addition to coach Kalen DeBoer, the Crimson Tide will bring Dontae Lawson, Tim Keenan, and Kadyn Proctor, the SEC announced.

SEC Media Days will take place at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta this season for the first time since 2022. It starts Monday, July 14 and runs through Thursday, July 17. Alabama is set to take part on the third day, as will Florida, Mississippi State and Oklahoma.

I hope the inclusion of guys like Proctor and Keenan signals an emphasis on the lines this year. You’re only ever as good as the big uglies.

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For those who wanted to move on from Vaughn, welp, I have news for you: As I’ve long said, “good enough is rewarded” under Greg Byrne — Alabama made Vaughn a millionaire yesterday.

Vaughn’s contract extension is a five-year deal lasting through 2030, where the Tide’s head baseball coach will earn an annual salary of $1.275 million. This is a significant pay raise from his initial contract, which was valued at $900,000 through June 28, 2028, but with the success under the head coach in the past two seasons, and other SEC programs wanting to poach the Tide’s second year head coach the program had to lock in a deal to keep Vaughn until 2030.

If he wants to move on (and A&M was a rumored suitor last season), it won’t stop Vaughn from going anywhere, but it will cost more. That said, if he’s making three times the money of The Gut, there better be at least comparable results.

Read More: Rob Vaughn Secures a Significant Raise on New Contract Extension | https://tide1009.com/rob-vaughn-gets-contract-extension/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

In ‘Bama’s quest to shore up a bullpen that’s shakier than an alcoholic toddler, the Tide signed another ACC cast-off yesterday:

Over the weekend, Griffin Stieg, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound former Virginia Tech pitcher, announced his commitment to the Crimson Tide via Instagram.

Unfortunately, Stieg did not see any action last season due to undergoing UCL surgery at the end of the 2024 season, which sidelined him for the entire 2025 season. In his two seasons with the Hokies, the right-handed pitcher has recorded 72 strikeouts, allowing 28 walks, 80 hits, and 43 runs. He has maintained a career ERA of 5.25 in over 70.1 innings pitched and has a career record of four wins and two losses on the mound in his time with Virginia Tech.

If he’s healthy, there is a lot of potential to work with here — Steig is also a 3B/OF, with a lively bat. At just 94 MPH, he doesn’t have high-end heat, but he is significantly better with offspeed and change up stuff:

Curveball showed nice spin up to 63 mph with 11-5 shape and similar release as on fastball, slider was thrown a tick hard up to 66 mph with late break and some depth; flashed changeup also at 66 mph. impressed from the outfield with athleticism to action, sound footwork to and through the ball, works through it with a full arm action, gets on top and shows accuracy with present arm strength.

Bama Baseball Lands Pitcher From the ACC Over the Weekend | https://tide1009.com/alabama-baseball-transfer-portal-pitcher/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

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‘Bama track star Doris Lemngole was named finalist for the Women’s athlete of the year yesterday. Her resume is simply formidable too:

The announcement marked the first time in program history that a Crimson Tide student-athlete has been named a finalist for the prestigious award.

Defended her steeplechase national title by setting a NCAA meet record and collegiate record, and delivering what was the world’s fastest time of the year by breaking the nine-minute barrier (8:58.15)

Became the first student-athlete in NCAA history to clock a sub-9:00 time in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase

Two-time SEC outdoor champion in the steeplechase and the 5,000m

Went undefeated in all outdoor events this season

2025 NCAA indoor national champion in the 5,000m and national runner-up in the 3,000m

And, finally, your moment of levity — this is the mashup you didn’t know you needed o see:

Have a great day, and Row Tahd