If there has been a bright spot for Auburn football in recent years, it has been the defense. While the offense has squandered games with key turnovers and bouts of ineptitude, DJ Durkin's defense has held opponents to low scores and kept the Tigers in striking distance week after week.
Now, though, it looks like that unit has forgotten how to do the most important part of its job: tackle.
Even during a strong 2025 season, tackling was an issue for Tiger defenders. They missed 130 a year ago, and one shudders to think of just how much better the unit could have been if they'd shored up that problem.
This fall, head coach Alex Golesh is shouldering some of the blame for that issue. He told the media on Friday, “I would tell you I’m leaving the scrimmage today and telling you that I’m all in. And I’ll take some ownership there. We’ve tackled once so far leading up to this in a limited way, practice 7-on-7, and I thought we tackled just OK then. I thought Friday we tackled just OK at best.”
So, sure, it's disheartening to hear that the defense is struggling with fundamentals, especially when the offense is having similarly basic problems, but at least Golesh's comments leave some room for optimism. This has clearly been identified as an issue, and it should be a big area of focus for this team as the season draws closer.
It's not all negatives for Auburn's defense
It wasn't all bad for Auburn's defense last week. Heading into a season where the pass rush is an area of worry for many observers, it looks like sophomore Darrion Smith is stepping up and into a big role on the Tiger front. He showed some serious potential as a pass-rusher in limited action a year ago, but reports indicate that he has put on weight and is rounding out his game. As fall practice has progressed, he has looked more and more like an every-down defender, and that is huge for this defense.
Another sign that calls for optimism on defense is, ironically, the offensive scheme. The plan for this offense is to run the ball heavily, and do so at such a high rate that four or five running backs get significant action. After two seasons of stop-start offensive playcalling and an offense that was 65th nationally in time of possession, the hope is that the Auburn defense will be much more well-rested this season.
There are more question marks for this defense than Auburn fans are comfortable with, and that is understandable. However, even if the group takes a small step back, it should still be a really effective unit. In his last two seasons as defensive coordinator, Durkin has coached defenses to 23 and 21 points allowed per game in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
While there may be transitions up front, this is still expected to be a reliable defense in 2026.
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