When someone thinks about a football game or attends one during the season, one of the aspects of the game that never leaves the mind is the officials, the guys who moderate and make sure the game is played properly.
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Outside of an actual game and a scrimmage, officials are not often present on the field. With Alex Golesh and the Auburn Tigers, they have been there all the time.
One of the big details that has been a factor during preseason camp has been the presence of actual referees laying down the law, even with the team simply working through drills and perfecting plays.
“There’s so limited opportunities to actually ‘play football,’ and so you’re trying to make it as real as you possibly can for everybody,” Golesh said.
Many tout that you can practice like you are playing a game, but it is impossible to simulate the game itself and what comes with it.
While that might be true, Golesh has brought the officials in so that they can help players critique things in every little way possible. It is a method of knowing what mistakes are being made so that when the season comes, players know how games are being called.
“Offensively, how they officiate it, how fast they allow you to line up and snap it,” Golesh said. “Even something as simple as guys being on the ball, off the ball defensively and guys offsides, it’s big time to get defensive holdings, defensive PIs, like instant results of plays. We just try to make the time that we have on the field, which we’re trying to get on and off as fast as we can, as close to game-like as you possibly can.”
It is not only a chance for the players to learn though, as Golesh emphasized that it is a chance for the coaches to receive a little bit of a reality check at times.
Golesh said there are times when the referees call something that the coaches do not agree with, but at the end of the day, the team is the one who has to adapt.
“Same thing for coaches, like man, that’s not a hold. No, the SEC official just said it’s a hold,” Golesh said. “Let’s coach it the right way. It’s honestly a little bit of a quality control for the coaches as well. We’re just trying to make it as game-like as you possibly can in the limited time you have.”
While the Tigers are trying to make their surroundings as real as possible though, the officials are not an active part of every practice.
Each rep matters to the team’s performance on the field, but some of them are simply focused on the technique of the players and the performance of a play itself.
“There’s certain times, if we’re in a true sticks down, drive it-type situation, they’ll impede it because we want to play that out real,” Golesh said. “We want to play substitutions real, holding the clock real. If we’re playing normal down and the sticks aren’t as important, then they’re trying not to impede.”
There are emotions involved though.
Before the season, Golesh wants to prepare the officials for what they will see each week. From time to time, he will let them have it as a result.
“They will occasionally get yelled at, just so that they get practice at that and then I get practice at that,” Golesh said.
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
