Five Auburn Tigers Earn Phil Steele Preseason All-SEC Honors

Five Auburn Tigers are receiving big praise as we head into the 2026 college football season. 

Earlier this week, 5 players were named to the Phil Steele Preseason All-SEC team. Steele's preseason magazine, often called "the college football bible" by many across the industry, provides a complete breakdown of every team in the country while projecting how each program will perform in the upcoming season. 

Xavier Atkins, Jeremiah Cobb, Rayshawn Pleasant, Hudson Powell, and Jo Simmons all made the preseason list. 

Atkins was named to the first team for the All-SEC preseason list. He is coming off a stellar season as one of the leaders of the Tigers defense in 2025 during which he recorded 84 total tackles, 9 sacks and 1 interception. Atkins was also the lone Auburn player recently named to On3's Top 100 players entering the season. 

Pleasant was also named to the list's first team. The Tigers cornerback picked up 2 interceptions last season and had a great presence for Auburn on special teams as the team's returner. During his time returning kickoffs, he recorded 412 yards on 19 attempts, including a 98-yard return for a touchdown.

Powell was the lone Tigers player to be named to the list's second team. The Auburn long snapper transferred to the Plains after spending 4 seasons playing at Miami (Ohio).

Jeremiah Cobb, the Tigers running back was selected as an All-SEC fourth team entering the 2026 season. The placement of Cobb seems low, as he was a near 1000-yard rusher inside the conference last season. He picked up 969 rushing yards on just 175 carries, averaging 5.5 yards per rush. Now that he will see a full season as the teams first string rusher, he is set for a breakout season under Alex Golesh. 

Jo Simmons also found himself on the fourth team on the list. The only offensive lineman for the Tigers on this list is a transfer who played the past four seasons for James Madison. 

Although the Tigers received a good amount of recognition from the preseason magazine, some notable names were absent from the list. Players such as quarterback Byrum Brown and Offensive Lineman Cole Best failed to appear on Steele's SEC list. Both major pieces at USF and now heading over to Auburn are seen as major snubs from the publication.