Auburn head coach addressed the media on Monday ahead of the Tigers' first SEC road trip of the season to Tennessee.
The Tigers earned a big SEC win last Saturday, downing Vanderbilt, 21-15, in Jordan-Hare Stadium. Golesh complemented the fans' energy during the game and praised his team's effort in the tight win.
"The effort on all three sides of the ball, I thought we continued to play with a high level of effort. I think that's going to continue to be the difference for us as we build this thing," Golesh said Monday. "As long as these dudes are bought in and playing really hard, there's obviously some things we got to clean up, But that's a starting point and a really big piece."
Golesh also spent time discussing his evaluation of Auburn's game
against Vanderbilt and his upcoming return to Tennessee, where he spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons as the Volunteers' offensive coordinator. Here are the key quotes from Alex Golesh's Tennessee preview press conference.
How Auburn's offense performed after its first two drives
"I thought offensively, the first two drives obviously were really, really poor. Then I felt like we got into a rhythm. We got into, we got settled in and we got going. The disappointing drive in that first half was the two-minute drive. We ended up with no points there. We've been really efficient in that situation- the ability to create points and we didn't. I thought from a third down perspective, we were close to 50%. I thought we operated well there, especially second quarter leading into the third and certainly in the second half. Then I thought we protected the quarterback and the quarterback protected himself as well. We talked about that being such a key of winning that game is not giving up quarterback hits. There are so many different unique pictures that were presented. I thought he (Byrum Brown) did a phenomenal job handling it. I thought offensively we did a really good job handling it. I thought at the very end at the most critical time, he was able to protect himself and deliver a ball to Keshaun (Singleton). As routine as it seems, that was something that's been worked on for a really long time against high pressure that looks like that. I was proud of him. I was proud the offense in that regard. We obviously got to start better. This has been the thing since we started the season. Honestly, I know I own a lot of it, I truly own that. Where we got to figure it out and we got to figure it out right now. That’s actually what this press conference interrupted us from doing. But we'll get right back to it and not use it as an excuse.
Auburn's 3rd-down defense was great. 4th down? Not so much
"These short yardage situations that came up and we had four fourth downs and didn't convert on any. We were really good on third down, you got into fourth and shorts. We had three 4th-and-ones. We had a 4th-and-3 and didn't get a stop on any of them. Those were turnovers that need to go our way. That's a huge point of emphasis for us. We were effective against the run, which we knew we had to be. We effected the quarterback. I thought we gave up too much from a scramble perspective. We knew that we were going to be able to move him out of the pocket. We didn't, at all times, have the ability to contain them in the pocket. And as much as the pressures and the sacks, that stuff looks good statistically, there was a ton of him running around. Going to this week, another quarterback that certainly can win with his legs. We've got to be all over the place there and do a much better job. I thought we were more urgent getting lined up. I thought we adjusted to the times when they did tempo us. I thought the focus there was high-end and it resulted in some high-end results."
Golesh is excited for the opportunity to play at Tennessee
"So, a lot of challenges. We’re excited about it. I'm excited to continue prep here as we go. Excited for our first road game. This will be a really good next step for us as a program to go and be able to handle all of the other stuff for us to be able to get to this game. A really well-coached football team. I think they know who they are from an identity standpoint. We’ve talked so much about our identity and as we continue to build what that looks like. I think these guys play on all three sides of the ball. They know what their identity is and it's going to be a really, really big challenge for us. So, one that I'm excited about and our kids are excited about.”
How is Golesh feeling about playing his former boss?
“I have so much respect for Coach Heupel. He gave me an opportunity in 2020 and brought me with him to Tennessee. It changed, in a lot of ways, how I look at offensive football and how I look at running a program. (He’s) a phenomenal leader. I have a ton of respect for him and certainly has been a good friend to me. (He) helped me in a lot of ways to get my first opportunity as a head coach and supported me all through that. (He’s) a good human being, an incredible family, really good people. I’ve rooted for him from a distance, and, obviously, this week the challenge at hand is to go get the win.”
Will familiarity with Tennessee's staff play a factor in preparation?
"I think the familiarity certainly makes you sit and think twice about certain things you’re putting in. Obviously, from an operational standpoint, there’s familiarity, and it makes you think twice about certain things there. That’s the greatest part of this coaching piece is the mental side of it and the ability to game plan, knowing what they know and knowing what they’ve seen. Ultimately, it comes down to your players executing what you do. I think overthinking — say you have to change drastically because of this or that, and then it puts your players in a situation where they’re not fully confident in the plan. If you do what you do and you do it at a high level, I think that gives you the best chance to win. There’s obviously familiarity, but it’s been four years now, so we’ve all grown, changed, and evolved. I don’t know how big of a factor that is.”
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This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Alex Golesh previews Auburn football's SEC showdown vs Tennessee
