Auburn football’s first fall camp scrimmage gave new head coach Alex Golesh plenty of reasons to challenge his team rather than celebrate. Following the Tigers’ opening full-pads scrimmage last weekend, Golesh delivered a blunt message, urging his players to stay humble while making it clear that the team’s tackling performance was far from where it needed to be.
The first scrimmage was always expected to come with some struggles, especially since it marked the team’s first live action in full pads since spring practices. Auburn was also without several defensive contributors who were held out because of injuries, limiting what the Tigers could fully evaluate.
But when Auburn returned for its second scrimmage of fall camp on Wednesday, the response was exactly what Golesh wanted to see. The Tigers appeared determined to correct their mistakes, and the first-year head coach noticed a significant improvement.
Golesh praised the team’s effort afterward, saying the scrimmage featured major progress on both sides of the ball.
“Some really, really good stuff came out of today on both sides,” Golesh said, according to Auburn 247. “Tackled so much better. Man, I was really proud of the way we tackled. There was some violent, violent intent. Defensively, some really good situations came up.”
The Auburn coach also highlighted the value of putting his players through extended, game-like situations. With offensive coordinator Joel Gordon installing an up-tempo attack, Golesh emphasized that there is no substitute for experiencing the physical and mental demands of sustaining long drives at that pace.
The scrimmage gave the Tigers a chance to handle long possessions, battle through fatigue and adjust to the intense summer heat — all factors they will face once the regular season begins.
“Some long, long drives — which was good for both sides to work,” Golesh explained. “Especially with the heat the way it was — and I’m talking offensive football here — with coaches off the field and truly long drives. What does it really feel like to go eight, 10, 12, 14, 15 plays in a drive at the tempo that we play? There’s nothing like actually doing it.”
With fall camp entering its final stretch, Auburn will continue practicing Friday and Saturday before moving into what Golesh has called a mock game week.
The Tigers are now just two weeks away from the official start of the Golesh era. Auburn will open the 2026 season in Atlanta at the Aflac Kickoff Game, where the Tigers will face Baylor inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in their first major test under their new head coach.