Alex Golesh Explains Strategy for Improvement: ‘Get Better As It Goes’

The Auburn Tigers may have won their season opener against the Baylor Bears, 17-16, but their performance was not exactly confidence-inspiring for many of their fans. Particularly on offense, the Tigers struggled to get any momentum going, while the defense played well but had a few moments that were saved by key Baylor miscues.

Of course, it is only week one under a new head coach in Alex Golesh, who brought over several top players from his previous school, USF, and everyone still seems to be getting acclimated to the Plains. Additionally, the Tigers were one of the few to schedule a difficult opponent in week one, so they were bound for a tough matchup.

However, Golesh is clear that things need to improve, and he expects them to over the course of the season.

“Really good football teams get better as it goes,” he said. “I think the level of competition has something to do with that too… Your rhythm gets better as it goes. You’re more in sync. You miss less tackles. You get aligned quicker. Coaches get in better rhythm.”

The Tigers certainly have some things to work on throughout the season, but the good news is that the issues that presented themselves against Baylor are the kind that are commonly solved over the course of a few games, especially as it relates to one of their biggest issues: interior blocking.

The Tigers rotated three players at each guard position throughout the Baylor game, resulting in a noticeable lack of cohesion that was a large part of the reason the Tigers struggled to establish their rushing attack. That trend is expected to continue into the Southern Mississippi game, as the Tigers continue their search for the best-suited players for each position.

Over time, the true starters should separate themselves from the pack, and players like Kail Ellis and Deryc Plazz have already made strong cases for the starting roles. However, the battle will continue as the Tigers prepare for SEC play.

Additionally, interceptions plagued Byrum Brown throughout the Baylor matchup, as the senior threw three in that game alone, nearly halving the number of interceptions he threw throughout the entirety of last season. Alex Golesh and Joel Gordon, the play-callers, have already accepted blame for two of the three, but the third appears to still largely be on Brown, a habit that will need to change over the course of the season.

Of course, no team is fully realized just one week into the season, so the Tigers will continue to improve throughout the year. If they can settle those two big issues, though, their offense will be in a much stronger position as they prepare for SEC play.

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