Former Auburn football staffer arrested for allegedly selling confidential information

A former football staffer at Auburn is behind bars after he was charged with stealing trade secrets from the program and passing them along to competitors.

David Rudolph Jenrath turned himself in to authorities on Monday in Alabama, and a press release from the Auburn Police Department stated that a “business reported that sensitive information was stolen from the business and distributed to their competitors. The business reported that one of their competitors received the information and turned it over to them.”

Jenrath, 24, has been charged with a pair of felonies — theft of trade secrets and computer tampering — and is being held on a $15,000 bond at Lee County Jail.

An arrest warrant was issued for Jenrath on Thursday. 

According to multiple reports, the police report did not name the schools he allegedly passed the stolen information to, but said the alleged incident happened at the Auburn Athletics Complex on July 19. 

ESPN reported that the ex-Tigers staffer had sent material related to the football program’s recruiting evaluations. 

A taken-down LinkedIn profile identified Jenrath as a former player personnel scouting assistant for Auburn, focusing on running backs and special teams. 

It said he had held the role from January through June. 

The charging documents alleged that Jenrath had “obtained and/or retained confidential, proprietary information consisting of Auburn University Athletics’ information, and/or knowingly made a copy or reproduction of Auburn University Athletics’ trade secrets and communicate or transmit a secret without the owners’ consent,” according to ESPN. 

Auburn has not publicly commented on the situation. 

Jenrath attended Tennessee and studied sports analytics and applied artificial intelligence. He is from Ardmore, Ala. 

Auburn has started off the 2026 season with a 3-1 record overall and 1-1 in the SEC, with the lone loss coming to the Florida Gators.