Auburn’s Alex Golesh feels ‘light years ahead’ compared to other Year 1 coaching stops

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Auburn coach Alex Golesh and quarterback Byrum Brown jokingly call each other out if one of them is at the football facility without the other.

It’s the kind of relationship that gives the Tigers hope heading into the season.

“He is now in his fifth year, like as particular as anybody I’ve ever been around in terms of what the process looks like,” Golesh said. “He truly is like a coach.”

The Tigers, coming off a fifth consecutive losing season and a coaching change, begin the Golesh era against Baylor in Atlanta on Sept. 5.

Golesh said having Brown, one of more than a dozen players who followed him from South Florida to the Plains, has helped the Tigers be “light years ahead” compared to other Year 1 stops on his resume.

“We’re not starting at square one,” Golesh added.

That’s a positive for a program on its fourth head coach in seven years and in desperate need of an offensive makeover. Auburn scored 24 or fewer points in 17 of 22 Southeastern Conference games under coach Hugh Freeze, who missed on hand-picked portal quarterbacks Payton Thorne (Michigan State) and Jackson Arnold (Oklahoma) — and went 1-12 against ranked teams.

“I’ve been a part of a rough couple years, and I came (back) here to change that,” senior running back Jeremiah Cobb said. “To see that the Auburn family is still here rocking with all the players and everything about Auburn, it’s awesome to see that. I love to be a part of it.”

The Tigers wrapped up fall practice with a scrimmage Saturday and ended training camp feeling good about their progress and potential.

“I thought we finished well,” Golesh said. “I’m not big on necessarily giving praise, but I thought it was really intentional. Those last couple days of fall camp can sometimes feel like the end of fall camp. We challenged our guys, and they responded.”

Golesh highlighted the team’s health coming out of camp and was ready to turn his attention to the opener, a rematch from last year that Auburn won 38-24 on the road.

“The biggest thing for us, especially here, Year 1, it’s the first time for everybody,” Golesh said. “So, a lot of teaching on how we want it, what we want collectively, what I expect both from the players’ perspective and from the kids and from our staff. … Again, going through how it needs to look.”

With a lot of young players on his roster, especially at receiver, Golesh has taken note of what the team and staff need to do in the coming days to be best prepared for the opener and not overwhelmed by the Week 1 atmosphere at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

“The challenge for us is how fast can we get those guys to grow up, and they’ve been challenged now, like they have been challenged in every way,” he said.

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