The pressure is on for first year head coach Alex Golesh to find some sort of success with the Auburn football team this season, and he and his staff are leaving no box unchecked.
Golesh brought in Gio Grassi as the Tigers' strength coach, and the players went through grueling summer workouts and conditioning to prepare for the up-tempo offense that Golesh and offensive coordinator Joel Gordon plan to run.
And things aren't slowing down for fall camp. Golesh is having the entire team stay at the Marriott Grand National for 13 days, a bonding period that is meant to strengthen the team's identity and leadership qualities and could be the team's toughest test so far.
"Hard things make people either rise to the occasion or they make people crumble," Golesh said, per Auburn 247. "And so we still need hard, like really hard. We're gonna create tough situations. Our players need it, our coaches need it too. Now we're at a point like man you gotta react, you gotta be able to adjust to situations. Guys will get banged up, like who's next? How ready are we? How much depth do we have? How do we respond to that as coaches? So, just like our players need it, our coaches need it too. And we're gonna create some of that, while some of that will naturally happen."
On the defensive side of things, defensive back Eric Winters said that the tough summer workouts have led to a stronger sense of trust among the players.
“When we’re out on the field, I look to my left, I look to my right, or I look in front of me, I can trust that guy,” Winters said, per 1819 News. “I believe in that guy. He’s got my back, and I’ve got his.”
In addition, Golesh emphasized that the team will spend fall camp focusing on building up the leaders on the roster, especially with the short time this team has been together and the group of young guys preparing to step up this season.
"[T]here's a handful of guys that are confident in their ability to lead to more," Golesh said. "And the hope is, as roles get defined that guys feel more and more comfortable. I'm going to continue to empower them. Part of staying all together and being around each other all day, that will help define it."
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