When a football program hires a new coach, there is plenty of player turnover to be expected, especially in the era of the Transfer Portal. Many of the biggest names from the last few years of Auburn football rosters hit the portal when Alex Golesh was hired ahead of the 2026 season, but those who stayed did so with the intention of buying in to what Golesh planned to build.
Three quarters of the way through his first season on the Plains, Golesh is still emphasizing that his main goal in his first year is to build a foundation for the future and to establish a solid process, something he knew would not be an easy feat.
"This is that point in the season where, especially if you're not playing much, where you're like 'what the hell am I doing?' and you've got voices in your ear that are telling you, 'they don't mess with you, we can get you here, we can get you there,'" Golesh said. "I give a lot of credit to our guys in that locker room who continue to just carry on the message."
The team has experienced the highs of highs — beating No. 1 Georgia on the road and winning in Athens for the first time in 20 years — to getting blown out by LSU at home and then taking a beating from Ole Miss on the road.
Still, as the team is on the verge of being bowl eligible for the first time in three season, Golesh said that he is proud of the brotherhood that has been built in the locker room and the way that the team has continued to build each other up all season.
"That's what you're trying to build," Golesh said of the support the offense and defense have for each other. "They've been that way all year. I think the buy-in from these guys, again, I go back to, this is hard. Like, walking into this situation. You had to build something where they're in it together. It truly is, and we've had moments throughout the year where the offense has played well and the defense hasn't, and the defense has played well and the offense hasn't. Ultimately, at the end of the day, all three sides got to be in it together.
"The defense has been that way all year, where they're in it with the offense, and these offensive guys — there's a true, real brotherhood here. It's not always perfect, but these dudes care about each other. I've been really, really impressed with — and I give them their flowers when it looks that way."
Alex Golesh and the Tigers hit the road this weekend to face off against Mississippi State in Starkville for an 11 a.m. kickoff.
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