On The Plains with Josh Cohen: ‘Good memories and sacrifices’

AUBURN, Ala. – Following in the footsteps of an influential older brother, defensive back Josh Cohen has cleared many hurdles to make his dream of playing college football a reality. 

“I started playing football in fourth grade and it was the most fun thing to do. I grew up with two older brothers, and we all grew up playing in the neighborhood,” Cohen explained. “When I got a little older, I started playing for the high school team. 

“Football was my favorite sport – I always watched NFL and college ball growing up, and it was definitely something I loved doing. It was either football or baseball for me all year long, and after I hurt my shoulder throwing in baseball, I decided to go full football.”

Coming from Pope High School in Marietta, Georgia, where he helped the Greyhounds advance to the state playoffs, Cohen had aspirations of continuing his football career. 

“I wanted to go to UGA out of high school and walk on there, but that didn’t work out, so I went to the University of North Georgia, just for school, but I wasn’t crazy about living in Athens.”

Enter Auburn. 

“My older brother Sammy walked on here,” Cohen said. “I came to his games and when I saw the atmosphere here – the fans, Tiger Walk, everything – I thought this place is awesome. I wanted to be part of it. 

“There was an Ole Miss game, a night game, when Jaylin Simpson got a pick in the end zone to win the game at the end, and we went to Toomer’s Corner after that,” Cohen recalled about Auburn’s 31-20 win over No. 10 Ole Miss in 2021. “Going down to Toomer’s Corner, that was such a memorable experience with my family, and I knew then I wanted to be here.”

Sammy Cohen, now a defensive analyst for the Tigers, was a walk-on at defensive back and linebacker from 2020-22 and used that as a start to a coaching career.

“I’m especially grateful to my parents and my brother Sammy, who laid the foundation for me and got my foot in the door with the tryout,” Josh said. “He was a huge, huge help. My parents were always coming to my practices and my games when I was little, and that support meant a lot. 

“I transferred here to Auburn, but my actual walk-on process took a while. That’s when Coach (Bryan) Harsin was leaving, and they ended up not having tryouts during that time, and then Coach (Hugh) Freeze brought all his people in. In October 2023, I finally got the opportunity to try out and then I joined the team for the spring semester. 

“It was a long process waiting. I was training by myself every day, hoping I would get the chance. Finally, I did, and it paid off.”

The real payoff, Cohen said, has been in the friendships made and experiences shared. 

“Being around the guys and making friends with everyone has been my favorite part. Summer was awesome. The workouts were hard – we were working our butts off with everybody else – but that built some good relationships. 

“Being a walk-on is not for everybody,” he added. “We just wake up and grind every day, and I know we have respect for each other and what that takes. It’s not an easy life. There are a lot of sacrifices and time away from friends and not having as much time for academics as I would like, but it’s definitely been worthwhile. I’m glad I did it.”

Cohen is a finance major who will graduate in spring 2025 from the Harbert College of Business. 

“I’m doing a bunch of financial modeling classes, investment classes, business analytics – everything I need to graduate next semester,” he said. “I’ve always been interested in wealth management and real estate development, and I might try to get into logistics and supply chain stuff. Those three industries interest me. After I graduate, I’ll try to intern with a company in Atlanta and see how it goes from there.”

But Cohen is going to enjoy every minute that remains of the football season. 

“Everything has been awesome,” he said. “This has been an amazing experience. It was as hard as crap at times, but definitely worth it. My time on the team has been filled with really good memories and sacrifices, and it was all worth it.”