A former Auburn football staffer was arrested Monday in Alabama on felony charges tied to Auburn recruiting documents that were allegedly shared with other college programs, according to police and multiple sources familiar with the case.
Auburn recruiting documents at center of felony case
Auburn police said 24-year-old David Rudolph Jenrath faces counts of theft of trade secrets and computer tampering after investigators determined confidential athletics information was transmitted to outside programs without authorization. Police documents accuse Jenrath of disclosing and using computer programs and data with intent to harass Auburn University Athletics by revealing trade secrets to opponents.
Jenrath, retained in January by first-year head coach Alex Golesh’s staff and dismissed in the spring, allegedly used a pseudonymous email account labeled “Don Julio” to distribute 10 documents, sources said. The files included personnel details and evaluations for high school recruits Auburn targeted for the 2027, 2028 and 2029 classes. One source said the email’s subject line included Golesh’s home address. The emails did not contain game planning material, according to a source.
Some recipients questioned how proprietary the material was, noting Jenrath was not a senior member of the operation and that portions looked similar to common processes around college football. Multiple sources said Jenrath was fired after being seen at an Auburn baseball game despite telling staff he was ill.
Documents shared in July and reviewed by a source included an “Auburn personnel manual” listing recruiting staff and scout contacts, scouting office rules and expectations, and descriptions of third-party recruiting and scouting services used by the department. One source said the mass email appeared to go to 85 addresses and seemed random, with some recipients no longer in those roles. Another source remarked it looked like a list compiled by automation.
The materials also outlined Auburn’s internal grading system for prospects, from top-tier “no-brainers” expected to become elite college players with few character concerns to “rejects” described as unable to help the team win, with off-field issues, limited coachability or durability red flags. An organizational chart showed how prospects move through evaluation channels up to Golesh.
A source said some individual player-related emails sent to rivals appeared haphazard, including one about a player who had already enrolled in college. The overall situation was described by a source as unhinged.
Jenrath currently identifies on social media as a University of Tennessee student studying sports analytics. He previously worked at Auburn as a player personnel scouting assistant focusing on running backs, special teams and recruiting, according to a now-removed online profile.
Police said they investigated the anonymous emails for at least two months before identifying Jenrath as the sender. One competitor that received the information turned it over to Auburn, according to police.
Jenrath surrendered to Auburn police Monday and was booked into Lee County Jail on a $15,000 bond.
