The Auburn Tigers have made it to the weekend of the first week of preseason camp in Alex Golesh’s first year, continuing to go hard in the hot weather that has beamed down in the first days of August.
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The Tigers also put on pads for the first time today, and for wide receivers coach Kodi Burns, that means the physicality and aggressiveness ramps up even more.
Burns took time to speak with the media after Saturday’s morning practice session, discussing a lot about the receivers that came over with him and Golesh from USF and what they bring to the table.
Two other major focal points though—depth and physicality. That all comes from growth, which has been what the team is putting its effort towards for the next few weeks leading up to the season opener against Baylor.
During SEC Media Days, Golesh pointed out that it would be ideal to have somewhere between six and eight receivers getting significant minutes because of the pace the offense goes and how that could wear a player down.
Through the first few days of preseason camp, Burns said having that benchmark is still something that is being shot for. However, at the end of the day, creating depth was really in mind when making that goal, as it will help when health inevitably becomes a concern.
“I think the goal is to build depth, right?” Burns said. “We’ve got to develop these young guys. We have guys with experience, but at the same time, it’s all about development in this camp. And as we continue to grow each and every day, get detailed even more and more every single practice, that’s the goal is to get really two-deep at every single position.”
One of the biggest things that is standing out though is the confidence, especially against a physical defense coached by DJ Durkin.
It is the repetition that the receivers are getting from going against Durkin’s defense that has Burns growing more optimistic by the day about what they can grow into. The receivers coach has seen some of the talent brought over from USF continue to play at a high level in practice, which to him sets the bar at a special place.
“It’s madness. It’s impressive what they do on defense, it gives you headaches,” Durkin said. “I think every single rep these guys get they get more confident and again, a lot of guys have proven already, and now you come up to the big boy leagues, and they continue to do that. And if you can prove it against this defense in practice, which I think is top five, top 10 in the country, you’ve got something.”
In order to reach that bar though, the group has to be physical, a trait Burns knows from his playing days at Auburn.
With as tough a defense as they are going up against in practice, the receivers like to mix it up with the defense sometimes. However, being willing to be hard-nosed and do all the little things outside of catching the football are things Burns said will be the parts that help them win football games. In his room, it’s a non-negotiable.
“I'm all about just that physicality, like that hard-nosed Auburn football, we’ve got to get back to that,” Burns said. “Like, you get here at this level, in the SEC, at Auburn, because you can catch the ball. But everybody can catch the ball at this level. Everybody's talented. You win in the margins. To me, the margins are guys on the perimeter, blocking, being a dog and making plays on the perimeter to help the running backs, and, oh, by the way, we have a dual-threat quarterback.”
Playing physically is also a must in the SEC if a team wants to win games, something Burns knows all too well. However, Burns said that the guys that transferred over with him have experience playing in the conference from the 2025 season, and that playing against talented skill players is something they will see each week.
At the end of the day though, it is about running out and playing their brand of football, not hesitating to be as physical as possible each play.
“These guys have experience, and at the end of the day man, go out there and play ball,” Burns said. “We ain't scared of nobody. We're about to roll up and play ball.”
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
