Following the season-opening victory for the Auburn Tigers on Sept. 5 against hte Baylor Bears in Atlanta, the players on Alex Golesh’s squad were elated by the victory and happy to ride out of Atlanta 1-0.
However, at the same time, there was a harsh sense of reality that everybody within the program felt.
Despite winning 17-16 and overcoming a bout of adversity to win the game in the final seconds, Golesh walked away knowing there was a lot to fix between that night and the team’s home opener on Sept. 12 against Southern Miss.
“Humble yourselves” rang throughout the home locker room inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium that night, words he told the team after their first scrimmage during preseason camp.
To that message, Golesh believes his players have responded well.
“I think they've done a good job,” Golesh said. “That's what's kind of unique about this group, especially for a year one—they've always done what we've asked them to do. That's what's been fun to coach, to be honest with you. 'Tell us what to do, and we'll do it.'”
It is a message that has applied to the entire team, but the offensive line in particular has been one area of focus, as they gave up a number of twists and sacks during the game.
Nonetheless, Golesh said that group has been working really hard in practice to improve day by day.
“I stand on what I said—we've got to get better there,” Golesh said. “They're working their tails off, that whole O-line group. It's been since we got here—they know that it starts and ends with that group up there. They work their tails off and take a lot of pride in what they do. They've responded, they'll continue to respond.”
With the latter half of the week now coming into full form for the team as the game against the Golden Eagles of Southern Miss nears, the Tigers are continuing to solidify their rhythm for what happens from a daily perspective, not having a mock game week like they did a couple of weeks ago.
Wednesday’s practice focused on situational football, with Golesh and his staff going to critique smaller details about what needs to be improved in certain areas.
While it was not the best in terms of maintaining focus, Golesh did sense the willingness to learn and improve was still present and that it has continued to rise with each day.
“They've responded well,” Golesh said. “Today our focus was all over the place a little bit because it's new, it's unique, it's different stuff. The turnaround from Tuesday to Wednesday was their first time, and I don't think we handled that great. In terms of being able to get coached, they've been awesome.”
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
