Tennessee HC Josh Heupel Praises Former OC Alex Golesh's Vision: 'He's Got a Clear Plan'

Perhaps one of the biggest games of the season will come on the first Saturday of October when the Auburn Tigers travel to Knoxville, Tenn., for a date with the Tennessee Volunteers.

The game marks the first meeting between the two programs at Neyland Stadium since 2013, but there will be many more storylines than just that when the Tigers travel to Rocky Top this fall.

Auburn’s Alex Golesh and Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel boast a storied coaching background, dating all the way back to 2020 to their stint in the Sunshine State. Obviously, Alex Golesh’s first SEC road game is already a huge task in and of itself, but the prior history between the two certainly adds fuel to the fire.

Golesh was hired as offensive coordinator and tight ends coach during the last season of Heupel’s tenure as head coach at UCF in 2020 before following Heupel to Tennessee in 2021.

Golesh served as offensive coordinator and tight ends coach with the Volunteers for two years, and then departed for the head job at South Florida following the 2022 campaign.

Heupel spoke on Golesh’s since their time together in Knoxville at SEC Media Days on Monday, praising him for all that he has accomplished since his two-year stint in Knoxville.

"Excited for Alex, like other guys we've had on our staff who've been able to go on and be a head coach; Jeff (Lebby), inside of this league and Jerry Mack at Kennesaw," Heupel said at SEC Media Days on a few of his former assistants.

"Alex has done a really good job. Did a great job flipping around his previous stop. He's smart. He's got a clear plan on what he wants to accomplish and he's going to demand it from the people around him,” Heupel continued.

However, Heupel’s familiarity with Auburn’s new staff doesn’t stop there.

Offensive line coach Tyler Hudanick spent four years under Heupel, two at UCF in 2019 and 2020 and two at Tennessee before following Golesh to South Florida in 2023. Wide receivers coach Kodi Burns spent the 2021 season at Tennessee in the same role, while safeties coach Tim Banks served as Tennessee’s defensive coordinator from 2021-25.

"It's week five, I believe, so it's more towards the middle part of your season," Heupel said of the Oct. 3 clash. "There is a lot of familiarity with guys that are on that staff, guys that were a part of our coaching staff as young coaches, guys that played for us at a previous stop. A ton of respect for the guys that are inside of that building.”

“It will be unique.” Heupel added. “It always is when you face somebody that has that type of familiarity and you've sat in the war room with as you're designing game plans and getting ready for battle. It will be an exciting one."

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