Xavier Atkins Talks Auburn’s Hotel Strategy for Fall Camp: ‘No Distractions’

Earlier this week, head coach Alex Golesh made headlines that the entire team is staying in a hotel room for fall camp. His best linebacker understands.

Auburn linebacker Xavier Atkins enters his junior season being considered one of the best defensive players in the country. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Hugh Freeze may have been playing golf at the Robert Trent Jones Trail in Opelika this time last year, but this year’s Auburn Tigers are at the same resort for a different reason, and Tiger fans can rest assured golf has nothing to do with it. 

At the beginning of fall camp earlier this week, new Tiger head coach Alex Golesh told the press that his team would be staying at the RTJ Hotel, just a short 15-minute drive from campus, for the duration of fall camp as they look to limit distractions leading up to their first game next month.

This strategy has received quite a lot of media attention, with Tiger fans and other college football fans alike sharing their opinions on the strategy, though the general public consensus seems to be favorable towards Golesh’s approach, especially since he told the press that he has done the same thing in each of his years coaching at USF.

However, how do the players feel about the strategy? During practice on Thursday, star Auburn linebacker Xavier Atkins took a moment to speak with the media about Golesh’s approach.

“It’s going great,” he said. “You know, it’s a different thing for sure because, like [Golesh] said, it’s no distractions. It’s like, facility, film, and back to the hotel. He’s just making sure we’re locked in and know what we want, because we all know what distractions can cause, so that’s the biggest thing. He’s trying to ease up [on] all distractions so we can stay focused on what’s ahead and what’s important.”

The Tigers certainly saw what happens to a distracted team last season, as, despite the immense talent on the roster, the team could never close out when it mattered. Though this issue certainly seemed to plague the offense more than the defense, neither unit was completely without blame, and now both are looking to make a massive step up this season.

However, it will take more than just focus, which is why Golesh, along with his assistants,  appears to have been running his practices very strictly while still encouraging his players and reminding them of his expectation from them, which is painted on just about every surface the players see: ‘Be who you say you are.’

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