Alex Golesh Seeing New Attitude Paying Off for Critical Auburn Defensive Group

Former Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze had his faults, but no one can complain about the recruiting he did, particularly on the defensive line. Even with some high-profile defections from the edge unit, there is still a bevy of talent for new head coach Alex Golesh and his coaching staff to work with.

Golesh brought in former Mississippi State defensive coordinator Coleman Hutzler to mold the talented group. Hutzler has spent more than a decade working with SEC defenses, and Golesh likes what he sees from the edge rushers.

“The edge guys, man, that group has gotten better every single day,” Golesh said. “I think, again, what we do with those guys, they're asked to do a bunch of different things, from different presentations up front, to pass rush packages, to playing and drop coverage stuff. There's a lot mentally on those guys.

“It's been fun to watch.”

While there is still young talent to mold, it’s an experienced transfer taking the lead in the spring. Da’Shawn Womack was a key reserve for the Ole Miss Rebels last season, and he’s pushing for a starting role this spring.

“Womack has gotten better day in, day out,” said Golesh. “Womack is the one guy that's played a ton of football that has taken some leadership in that group. Offensively, you present some challenges because of the tempo, because of the variation of looks there too. Those guys got a lot mentally on them, and then they'll get tired, and it's been fun to watch like a Womack, get better.”

It’s not just the veteran getting praise from Golesh. The sheer raw talent of 6’6 and 260 pounds of sophomore Jared Smith would be an exciting piece to any defense.

“Jared Smith has gotten better and more confident every single day,” Golesh said. “They've gotten better as a group, but really, the young guys have gotten old really quickly.

“They've come along really, really well.”

Golesh credits the players for taking to the hard coaching they’re getting and responding in the right way.

“I think as a group, they continue to get better,” Golesh said. “What Coach Hutzler has done with those guys, like he is up their a** so far that like, man, it's been fun to watch.”

It sounds like much harder work and much harder coaching is being implemented on an individual basis by Golesh and the new position coaches.

The Auburn Family is hoping that it pays off. Winning is hard, and Auburn hasn’t done enough of that in recent years.

Sign up for our free Auburn Tigers newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news!