More Football News: 7-22-2026

[Dudley Dent]

More Auburn Football News: 7-22-2026

SEC Media Days: ‘Identity’ key for Auburn’s Alex Golesh:
https://auburntigers.com/news/2026/07/21/sec-media-days-identity-key-for-auburns-alex-golesh

Goodman: A playoff berth for Auburn football isn’t out of the question:
https://www.al.com/auburnfootball/2026/07/goodman-a-playoff-berth-for-auburn-football-isnt-out-of-the-question.html

Golesh believes young cornerback 'an NFL player':
https://247sports.com/college/auburn/article/gavin-jenkins-is-a-young-cornerback-that-has-impressed-his-auburn-coaches-and-teammates-288449912/

McPherson steps up in the offseason, ready to 'give everything back' to Auburn:
https://247sports.com/college/auburn/article/alex-mcpherson-is-one-of-auburns-leaders-heading-into-the-2026-season-288451229/

Auburn players sense the start of a stable program under Alex Golesh:
https://247sports.com/college/auburn/article/auburn-tigers-football-alex-golesh-sec-media-days-tampa-2026-288442328/

Auburn QB Byrum Brown Addresses Throwing Motion Concerns:
https://www.si.com/college/auburn/football/auburn-qb-byrum-brown-addresses-throwing-motion-concerns

Why Auburn QB Byrum Brown Followed Alex Golesh to Auburn in 2026:
https://www.si.com/college/auburn/football/why-auburn-qb-byrum-brown-followed-alex-golesh-to-auburn-in-2026

Alex Golesh just put the rest of college football on notice about Byrum Brown:
https://flywareagle.com/alex-golesh-just-put-the-rest-of-college-football-on-notice-about-byrum-brown-01ky2z688648

Golesh on Champ Anthony: 'Everything you want Auburn football to be':
https://247sports.com/college/auburn/article/auburns-champ-anthony-is-ready-to-go-this-fall-for-the-tigers-288438871/

Everything Alex Golesh said on the main stage at SEC Media Days:
https://247sports.com/college/auburn/longformarticle/auburn-tigers-football-alex-golesh-sec-media-days-2026-288440552/#2843142

Auburn's in-state recruiting may be looking up in light of Louisiana's recent NIL law:
https://flywareagle.com/auburn-in-state-recruiting-looking-up-louisiana-nil-law

 

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SEC Media Days: ‘Identity’ key for Auburn’s Alex Golesh

Making his first appearance at SEC Media Days, Alex Golesh began with gratitude and ended by defining success in his debut season as Auburn’s head coach.

Before taking questions Tuesday in the Tampa Marriott Water Street ballroom, Golesh thanked the Auburn family, president Dr. Chris Roberts, Auburn University’s Board of Trustees and athletics director John Cohen.

“John gave us the ability to go hire the most incredible staff that I've ever been a part of,” Golesh said.  “Every time I walk out of our staff meetings, I’m just wowed by the professionals in there, the men and women we were able to bring into this program to help us build Auburn back to where it belongs.”

Golesh saved his final thank you for his players.

“Change is incredibly hard in this day and age, and these guys have embraced change,” Golesh said. “I'm beyond grateful to our kids in our program.”

Three Tigers joined their coach at SEC Media Days, including quarterback Byrum Brown, who played for Golesh in Tampa for three seasons at South Florida.

“One of the best football players I've ever been around,” Golesh said. “Byrum Brown represents everything that's right about Auburn football and the identity that we're building.

“When your quarterback can be one the toughest guys on the team, one the hardest workers on the team, have the most elite process on the team on top of being one of the best leaders on the team, when it's driven by that quarterback, both the offense and the defensive guys can point to him and say, that's who we follow, you can do something special.”

Seniors Champ Anthony and Alex McPherson also represented Auburn in Tampa after overcoming injuries and illness, respectively.

“Inspirational in every way,” Golesh said of Anthony, a defensive back who missed parts of the previous two seasons with leg injuries. “He is the first guy I see every morning when I walk into the building rehabbing to get right. He is finally cleared. He's ready to rock and roll. Champ represents everything you want an Auburn man to be.”

In his fifth season on the Plains, McPherson has made 40 of 45 career field goal attempts, the highest percentage (88.9 percent) in program history.

“Continues to fight through to be one of the best kickers in the history of Auburn,” Golesh said. “Represents everything you want an Auburn man to be. You talk about our identity: physically and mentally tough. Leader. His process is elite. He's an Auburn man as they come.”

“This is a really talented league with elite players and elite coaches, so what wins football games? The teams that can play on Saturdays and score one more point than the other because they have a true identity of who they are.”

Golesh answered what he called the most pressing question before it was asked.

“The biggest question I've gotten as I've gone through this journey the last seven months is, what's a successful year one look like?” Golesh said. “How do you gauge it? What are your goals? I don't really have any goals, other than laying a foundation for what Auburn football is going to be for years to come. That starts with building an identity.”

For Golesh, that identity starts with toughness.

“That's what Auburn football was built on, physical and mental toughness,” said Golesh, who added that he wants to build a connected team that’s player led and detail oriented.

“Are you detailed in the margins that win football games?” he said. “That's what I want our identity to be. If we can leave year one and we have a foundation that's built on our identity I would tell you it's a successful year one. I don’t set goals. I set standards.”

With a 22-game sellout streak at Jordan-Hare Stadium and four consecutive seasons of season ticket sellouts, Auburn plays its home opener Sept. 12 vs. Southern Miss in Kickoff on The Plains.

“The wins will take care of themselves as long as our identity is what it is,” he said. “If we are physically and mentally tough. If we are detailed. If we are player led. If we are connected as a team. We win in the margins.”

Auburn begins preseason camp in two weeks and kicks off the Golesh era vs. Baylor Sept. 5 in Atlanta in the Aflac Kickoff Game.

“I love where our talent is,” he said. “We are plenty talented enough to go win every single game. This is a really talented league with elite players and elite coaches, so what wins football games? The teams that can play on Saturdays and score one more point than the other because they have a true identity of who they are.

“Year one will be successful if we leave and know exactly who we are and we have proof of concept to continue to build to.”

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Goodman: A playoff berth for Auburn football isn’t out of the question

By Joseph Goodman
al.com

I’m going to be a fan of any team with Alex McPherson on the roster, so I’m rooting for Auburn this season.

Please, just win seven games.

More is expected, of course, but Auburn hasn’t had a winning season since Gus Malzahn ate at Waffle House after victories. Malzahn is now retired and serving on the College Football Playoff committee, so we’re talking ancient history here.

Seven wins might not seem like a big ask to long-time Auburn fans, but the Tigers’ schedule is a nasty stretch of road with many dark alleys. I tried counting the guaranteed wins and couldn’t find many. Maybe it’s three on a good day, but the Tigers haven’t won at Mississippi State since Malzahn, and, well, Auburn fired him after that game.

Auburn’s only victory against an SEC opponent last season (33-24 at Arkansas) featured six field goals by McPherson, so new coach Alex Golesh was smart to bring Auburn’s inspiring kicker to SEC Media Days.

What does McPherson think of Auburn’s new coach?

“I love AG so much just for the relationship we’ve had since Day One,” McPherson said. “He has built that relationship from the ground up. I mean, my first meeting with him, he sat down and said I want to hear your whole story, which is kind of unique. I was like, ‘You want to hear the whole thing because it’s pretty long.’

“He was like, ‘Yeah, the whole thing.’”

So, they talked for an hour and half.

Until that moment, and this is a completely true story, no head coach in the history of SEC college football had ever talked to a kicker for 90 straight minutes.

Golesh is a great talker, but we don’t know much more about Auburn’s new coach. He’s got a lot to prove, and not just because he was Auburn’s second choice after former Grissom High varsity letterman Jon Sumrall chose to coach Florida over the Tigers.

I know that Sumrall is a good coach. As for Golesh? Auburn fans are quickly falling in love with Hugh Freeze’s replacement, but, having been burned so many times before, I’m going to remain skeptical.

The quote sheet from Golesh is fun to recite aloud, though.

“We’re going to run the piss out of the ball,” Golesh said at SEC Media Days before mentioning the word violence about 534 times.

“The first piece of this identity that we’ve hammered home is the ability to be physically and mentally tough,” Golesh said. “That’s what Auburn football was built on, physical and mental toughness — the ability to be the most violent football team on the field every Saturday. Violent.”

Auburn’s new coach wants everyone who is listening to know that the Tigers are going to be mean. Good thing because this team will need to be nasty to survive an old-school SEC slate that includes games against Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss and Alabama.

I asked Golesh if Indiana’s model of success can be duplicated in the SEC, and he wanted to know what that meant.

“Win a national title,” I said.

“That’d be nice,” Golesh said.

I wasn’t joking, though.

At Auburn, shouldn’t winning a national championship still be the goal?

If Golesh wants to stick around, it better be.

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti brought in an experienced quarterback and a bunch of players from his old team and won a national championship in two years. Isn’t Auburn following that same model with Golesh?

Golesh arrived at Auburn with 13 players from USF, including starting quarterback Byrum Brown. In 2025, Brown led all of college football in total offense. He accounted for 347.2 yards per game.

With Brown, Golesh said, “you can do something special.”

Can Auburn make the College Football Playoff in Golesh’s first season? Is that too much to ask?

“We’re talented enough to win every game,” Golesh said.

Then do it.

Auburn has the defense to keep every game close and the FBS-leading quarterback to score points. The Tigers have a difficult schedule, sure, but isn’t that always the case? Auburn doesn’t have to play Texas, Texas A&M or Oklahoma. Other than Ole Miss, those are teams projected to have the best quarterbacks this season.

Georgia is young. Alabama and Tennessee might be down. Florida, Ole Miss and LSU all have new coaches.

Suddenly, Auburn’s schedule doesn’t seem so impossible.

Go look at Golesh’s old team. In 2025, USF went 9-3 in the regular season with a pair of three-point losses to Memphis and Navy.

Know who’s not going to flinch in close games?

My man McPherson, the kicker who dropped down to 110 pounds the summer he couldn’t eat due to severe ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.

McPherson is healthy again, the defense can be the best in the league and Auburn finally has a quarterback. I’ll take a bowl game, but a playoff berth shouldn’t be out of the question.

Oh, and don’t forget. We all know CFP committee-member Malzahn will be stumping for his old team.

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Golesh believes young cornerback 'an NFL player'

By Jason Caldwell
Auburn 247

When USF signed Gavin Jenkins out of Union County High in Florida, coach Alex Golesh said they believed they got a steal in the long athlete that starred as a wide receiver but projected as a cornerback. It didn't take them long to find out last year they had a guy with real possibility and that has continued since the move to Auburn.

"Talking about guys that have stepped up as leaders, for a young guy that hadn't played a lot of college football, that guy is slowly becoming the standard of our program too," Golesh said of Jenkins. "And really confident right now.

"He just hasn't played. He's a young guy that, honestly, at the last place we took late. He was a late bloomer. Then by week six, it was like, 'Holy smokes, this kid could be special.' And then when he went in the portal, I obviously still felt the same way."

Watching his new teammates closely since they arrived on campus beginning in late December and into January, Champ Anthony has seen Jenkins put in the work and now he's ready to see that translate onto the field this season with the speedy cornerback competing for playing time.

"He's young, fast and strong," Anthony said of Jenkins. "He's got super-long arms. He's really lengthy. He loves ball. There's a group of guys who are always in the building and Gavin is one of those guys. He's always in the building perfecting his craft, whether that's sand work or field work. He has a real good process. He's  there early and stays late. When you have someone like that and that already has natural talent, you're only going to get the best out of them."

That has always been the goal for Golesh and coach Demarcus Van Dyke from the moment they signed Jenkins while at South Florida. Needing to get bigger and stronger to compete at this level, the young defensive back has put in the work and now it's time to begin to reap the rewards.

"I think Gavin is an NFL player," Golesh said. "How fast he gets there will be interesting. It would be huge for us at that position if he could be a rotational guy, if not push to be a guy, this fall. The way his spring was and the way his summer has trended, I would tell you he's done everything in his power to be there."

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McPherson steps up in the offseason, ready to 'give everything back' to Auburn

By Jason Caldwell
Auburn 247

Alex Golesh knew he needed kicker Alex McPherson to be ready to go this fall, but his biggest thing was getting the senior to the season without wearing him down with what was going to be a grueling offseason for the Tigers. He needn't have worried.

"He is a young man that in winter workouts (I) talked to the trainers or doctors and told his position coach, 'listen, like this winter workout thing, this is about to be as grueling as anything that these guys have ever gone through.'" Golesh said of the offseason. "'I need Alex to make field goals. Like let's have him go over there, work out on his own'. I went up to Alex, 'listen, dude, you're not going to go through this.' You should've seen the look on Alex's face. He's like, 'I'm not a kicker, I play football here.' As late as yesterday morning at 7:00 a.m. when he lifted with the developmental group, he is out there running with the skill guys. This is a kicker that we need to make field goals; refuses to do so anything other than what everybody else is doing."

That's what McPherson has been all about since he stepped on campus. Despite a whole lot of ups and downs and questions not only about his football future but about his quality of life while dealing with ulcerative colitis and having several surgeries, the kicker heads into the season feeling better than he has since early in his career.

"I just knew that this offseason was a big offseason for me," McPherson said. "I knew I needed to get bigger and stronger. And I just kind of wanted to do everything else that everybody else was doing. It's also a new staff, new team. You kind of want to prove that you belong there, you know? And I feel like that's kind of what I was trying to do. I was just glad to be able to do that. I wasn't able to do that some of the off seasons. Just to be able to be out there, I was just grateful for the opportunity to work out and run with the guys."

That work in the offseason showed Golesh and the rest of the staff all they needed to see from their kicker. He was the only specialist invited to SEC Media Days this week and his first-year head coach said it was never a question.

"You talk about our identity: Physically and mentally tough," Golesh said. "Leader. His process is elite in what he does and how he does it. Almost 90% field goal guy in his career here. Another guy I'm so excited about watching his senior year and seeing him help us win football games because of the way that he's bought in and his process and identity of our football game. He's as Auburn man as they come."

What did the opportunity mean for McPherson? Everything.

"I was kind of shocked," McPherson said. "I don't think many kickers or punters get to do this. I was honored and just so grateful to be able to come and that he would trust me to represent this team. And just a huge honor.

"He told me I deserved it, and building that relationship with Coach Golesh, getting to really know him and his family over these past few months since he's gotten there, and it's such an honor -- coming from him especially. He holds the players to a high standard. And to be able to represent us here is just such an honor."

Going 20-23 on field goals last season with all three misses in a loss to Missouri, McPherson goes into this fall 40-45 in his career and a perfect 87-87 on extra-points. Ready to get back to being his old self on the field, he said they recently made a 60-yarder in a workout and his leg strength is back where it used to be. Ready for whatever comes his way, McPherson said he's just excited to do his part.

"I'm just gonna try and do what they need me to do," he said. "I'm gonna go out there whenever they need me to. When they call my number, I'm gonna try and execute to the highest level. And whether that's a long field goal, game-winning field goal, no matter what it is, I'm gonna be out there and do what they need me to do. And long-term, just stay healthy. I think that's one of the biggest goals for me. And right now I am. With my doctors and my coaches and everybody that has my back, it's been a great offseason for me with no health setbacks. So that's just really exciting."

As he prepares for what could be his final year at Auburn, McPherson said there's no way for him to really put into words just what his time on the Plains has meant to him.

"It's made me who I am today," McPherson said. "They've given me so much, and I'm just trying to give everything I can back to them. Just be able to be here and represent Auburn, it's such a huge honor.

"I'm so grateful to be here because without the Auburn brand, I don't think I would be who I am. And without the Auburn family, I don't think I'd be who I am. They've taught me so much and had my back through everything. I'm just very grateful for it."

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Auburn players sense the start of a stable program under Alex Golesh

By Nathan King
Auburn 247

There are a lot of people at SEC Media Days this week who are acutely aware of Alex Golesh's rise, given that he succeeded just down the road for three seasons at USF. The folks from Tampa know about the young coach who quickly turned around a downtrodden Bulls team. The folks in town from Knoxville also know about the wizkid offensive mind who helped Josh Heupel set records at Tennessee a few years ago.

But Golesh is just getting started. In the SEC, only three (Will Stein, Kentucky; Pete Golding, Ole Miss; and Jeff Lebby, Mississippi State) have been a head coach for fewer years. He has made a name for himself, to the point where Auburn circled him as a candidate for one of its first interviews last November, and those in the SEC remember what he accomplished at Tennessee.

But Auburn is, of course, the first big, full-fledged opportunity for the 42-year-old Golesh to prove himself as a head coach. And those who represented Auburn along with him Tuesday in Tampa, in their orange and blue suits, see someone with a long (and bright) future ahead of him, even before his Auburn tenure has begun.

"He wants this job for a long time," Champ Anthony said during a chat with Auburn247 at SEC Media Days. "He's not going to let anyone hinder him from keeping his position. I can see that every day. He's always around. He's always in our faces making sure we're doing the right things, every day."

Those in the Auburn program have seen, in just a short amount of time, a coach with some "real-deal fire," according to Anthony. But what makes the Tigers confident that this will be the right hire for Auburn moving forward, after the program has cycled through three head coaches in the past five years?

There's no one better to answer than his quarterback, Byrum Brown, who was Golesh's starter all three years at USF. Golesh met Brown just a few days after he became a head coach for the first time, hired by the Bulls in December of 2022 and meeting with Brown and his family.

Golesh has grown, adapted and evolved, sure — and that will be a necessity if he's going to succeed at Auburn — but at the end of the day, he's that same person Brown met years ago. And he's "the same guy every day," which Brown said is the most important thing.

"He demands the absolute very best from everyone that he comes in contact with," Brown said. "He cares for his players deeply, coaches deeply. He's not going to ask you to do anything that he wouldn't do himself."

One of those asks by Golesh this offseason was that his player leadership would form strong connections in the locker room before the season starts, not after. Alex McPherson, the Tigers' fifth-year senior kicker who is now on his third Auburn head coach, is most impressed by that aspect of Golesh's coaching so far.

"I would just say the relationship part of the team," McPherson said of the biggest difference between Golesh and his last two Auburn coaches. "I think we have the talent. Coach AG and the rest of the staff has really pushed the relationship piece of it."

Auburn had a "hard-nosed" coach in Bryan Harsin. That didn't work out. It gathered a lot of roster talent under Hugh Freeze. That didn't work, either. Can Golesh become the best of both worlds? His players certainly think so.

"Talent has never been a problem," Anthony said. "You get in the SEC, finding talent isn't hard. What's hard is getting that talent to grow together and bond together."

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Auburn QB Byrum Brown Addresses Throwing Motion Concerns

By Brooks Crew
Auburn Tigers on SI

One of the biggest narratives surrounding new Auburn Tigers quarterback Byrum Brown is, surprisingly, not his incredible stats, the fact that he is now weighing in at nearly 240 pounds or even the culture he is fostering among the Tigers’ offense.

No, instead, the aspect that most know Brown for at this time is his highly unique throwing motion, with armchair quarterbacks around the country asserting that it will not serve him well in the SEC.

I’m not here to say that Brown’s motion is the smoothest in the world–in fact, I think it looks as strange as the next guy–but the fact remains that, despite what many would say, Brown has proven that he operates incredibly well in the passing game.

In fact, at SEC Media Days on Tuesday, Brown was asked by the SEC Nation crew what he had to say about the critics.

“I just don’t pay attention to any outside noise,” he said. “Focus on who’s inside Woltosz Facility, and that’s all that matters at the end of the day– the guys in that locker room, who know what you go through on a day-to-day basis, that know what you do, and a coaching staff that truly believes in you.”

Alex Golesh has yet to comment on this particular issue during SEC Media Days, but he has been pretty clear that his opinion of Brown’s throwing motion has not changed in the time since Brown was a redshirt freshman at USF. Additionally, he urges fans, analysts and doubters to wait and see exactly what that throwing motion can do come September.

After all, Brown passed for over 3,000 yards last season, tacking on 28 passing touchdowns for good measure. He completed 66.3% of his passes, averaging a career-high 9.3 yards per completion. There is extra good news for Tiger fans in this, too; Brown’s two top targets last year will be sporting the orange and blue this season, which bodes incredibly well for the Tigers’ passing game.

Auburn has struggled immensely on the offensive side of the ball in recent years, and a stat that may provide a bit of solace for Tiger fans this year is the fact that Brown, by himself, recorded more touchdowns in 2025 than Auburn did total–including offense, defense and special teams–over the same time.

Auburn’s offense is largely expected to live and die by Brown’s play, as it has with other quarterbacks in years past, and the Tigers seem poised for a top-tier season in 2026 if Brown continues at the pace he has been on.

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Why Auburn QB Byrum Brown Followed Alex Golesh to Auburn in 2026

By Griffin Barfield
Auburn Tigers on SI

It’s often said that a player-coach relationship determines how good a single player can be. New Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown embodies that.

The USF transfer followed his head coach, Alex Golesh, to the Plains this offseason for his final season of eligibility. It doesn’t come as a shock, with plenty of other former Bulls following Golesh to the Tigers after he was hired at the end of 2025.

It’s not just about the scheme that Brown believes in, but it’s Golesh himself.

“He’s the same guy every day,” he said at SEC Media Days on Tuesday. “He demands the absolute best out of everyone he comes in contact with. He cares for his players deeply.”

It’s a deeply rooted relationship between Brown and Golesh since the Raleigh, North Carolina, native headed to Tampa, Fla., to join Golesh’s program. The two have seen a lot of life together, and when the redshirt senior was in the final year of his college football experience, he wanted to stick with what he knew.

And he said that was “a man I want to follow.”

“Coach Golesh, he’s had a tremendous amount of confidence in me since I was 18,” Brown said. “[He] handed the reins over to me and then got hurt one year, and then he poured into me even more, had more confidence in me.”

Many coaches use a metaphor of football and life between young athletes, and the quarterback alluded to that when speaking on his experience in South Florida. He had buzz from plenty of other Power Four schools, but the life that Brown experienced with Golesh taught him a lot about the player and person he wants to be.

The result? A player who is looking to bring back a program standard of the past.

“We’re bringing, you can say, our chip on our shoulder,” Brown said. “We know we’re looked down upon, but we don’t really take it any type of way. We just put our heads down and go to work.”

Brown was one of 12 former Bulls who went to the Plains in the offseason, and all of them had the same type of reasons for why they went to the SEC: to follow Golesh and his culture that unites the group. Although USF was third in total offense per game last season, the buy-in that the head coach had in his players was more important.

It allows Auburn, a team that struggled on offense in 2025, to have a solid foundation already. That will look to build with a head coach looking to establish an identity as one of the only goals of his first season.

“Why not go play for the man that demands the very best for me since he got there, has helped me in ways I can’t express, and a tremendous offensive staff that’s gone as well,” Brown said.

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Alex Golesh just put the rest of college football on notice about Byrum Brown

By Brian Stultz
Fly War Eagle

Alex Golesh made a bold decision to bring Byrum Brown with him to Auburn. On Tuesday, the first-year Auburn coach made an even more striking comment on where his quarterback ranks in the college football hierarchy.

“Byrum Brown is one of the best quarterbacks in the country, and he's shown that over the years,” Golesh said at SEC media days. “What has to happen for Byrum is he's just got to continue to be him every single day.”

Those are certainly big words on a player who is making the jump from the American Conference, where he starred for USF last season, to the SEC, arguably the nation’s deepest and most talented conference. But Golesh has made no qualms about what Brown will be able to do in his first (and only) year in an Auburn uniform, and putting him in charge of the offense as soon as he set foot on campus has helped ease the transition.


Is Byrum Brown finally the answer at quarterback?

But Auburn fans have seen this before: a transfer quarterback who was supposedly the answer for an offense that has lacked power over the last several seasons. Following Bo Nix’s transfer to Oregon after Bryan Harsin’s first season in charge of the Tigers, a woeful combination of Robby Ashford and T.J. Finley was behind center in 2022.

When Hugh Freeze arrived, he brought in Payton Thorne, who, for two seasons, was mediocre at best. Freeze’s last chance at fixing Auburn’s offense came with the addition of Jackson Arnold prior to the 2025 season, but that failed just as quickly.

Now, all the pressure is on the shoulders of Brown, who is in charge of leading an Auburn offense that has only one starter returning from last season. For Golesh, who coached Brown for three seasons with the Bulls, the confidence is there that he will get the job done.

“Byrum just has just got to be him,” the coach said. “The confidence that he is going to be the best version of him every single day should give confidence to everybody around him, players, coaches, support staff. And ultimately, if he's the best version of him every single day, we'll get to where we got to get to on the field.”

Brown definitely has the stats to back it up, throwing for 3,158 yards and 28 touchdowns while rushing for 1,008 yards and 14 scores last season, but those numbers were put up against defenses of the likes of Rice, Navy and Memphis. Now, the Raleigh, N.C., native will see more physical and faster defenses in his new conference.

For Golesh’s sake, the move better work out. If Brown lives up to expectations, a special first year could very well be in store on the Plains.

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Golesh on Champ Anthony: 'Everything you want Auburn football to be'

By Jason Caldwell
Auburn 247

Two seasons ago, Champ Anthony was playing football at an elite level before an injury against Arkansas ended his year prematurely. Last season he dealt with a thumb injury before a second leg injury in two seasons meant another heavy workload in the training room for him. That has been a big part of his life at Auburn, but on Tuesday he found himself in a moment he never thought possible, representing the program at SEC Media Days.

"I have been through a lot," Anthony tells Auburn247. "It's surreal. I thank God that coach Golesh trusted me to represent the team and Auburn. It means a lot. I'm glad to be here.

"There have probably only been about five people that have spent more time in the training room than me and that's the trainers. I have been spending every second I can in the training room making sure I'm bulletproof in my body and I'm ready for the season. It has been a lot of hard work."

Even though he didn't get an opportunity to see Anthony on the field in the spring, Golesh said he knew there was something different about a guy that wanted to hang around for a third year and with a new staff. That has shown up over and over again in the training room, in the weight room, on the field and in the meeting room. Golesh said that's a big reason why Anthony made the trip to Tampa as one of Auburn's representatives at SEC Media Days.

"You look at a guy in Champ Anthony, and Champ is a guy that missed most of spring, but a guy that has done nothing but look out for this team since I've been here," Golesh said. "In the way that he's led vocally, the way that he's led in the locker room, the way that he continues to grab guys and bring guys along and the way he's working. He's doing everything in his power to be the standard. Not just defensively, but as a collective whole. And he'll be the first one to say, man, I haven't played enough to be the face of this program.

"I would tell you what he does day to day represents everything you want Auburn football to be. Tough, smart and a leader. He's got a neat story. He's had to overcome a ton. ?He'd be the first one to tell you he probably shouldn't be here right now because of everything he's gone through. But he's here, he's healthy, he's fighting and kind of brings a smile to my face because he's everything you want in terms of a fighter that's resilient."

That leadership is something Anthony takes very seriously. He's been that voice for Auburn since early in his first season. Despite the ups and downs, he said helping Golesh brand his identity on the program has been fun so far and he can't wait to see the results.

"I know how things are supposed to go at Auburn," Anthony said. "I feel like, just me setting the tone and setting the standard for how things are supposed to go, I feel like it was very important. Coach Golesh is a very hungry guy. He brought that type of angry, hungry mentality and that's how we practice. That's how we train. That's how we do everything in the weight room. Everything on the field is violent. Having a coach like that who embraces that side of you and lets me be free and talk how I want to and be me, it has been great."

Now the biggest question surrounding Anthony is just where does he fit in Auburn's defense? He has played corner, nickel and safety in his first two seasons. Coming back stronger than ever, he's someone that gives the Tigers plenty of flexibility.

"It's the same thing as I always say, I just love football," Anthony said. "I'll play wherever. If I'm on the field it really doesn't matter where I'm at. You can put my hand in the dirt, linebacker, running back, whatever. I just love ball. Just week to week, coach Durkin will have the gameplan and I just follow."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6VZDKOh_CI

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Everything Alex Golesh said on the main stage at SEC Media Days

By Nathan King
Auburn 247

Alex Golesh has been in the SEC before, but never as a head coach, having to navigate the circus of media days for this first time this week in Tampa, where he obviously coached the past three years at USF.

Golesh was joined by quarterback Byrum Brown, defensive back Champ Anthony and kicker Alex McPherson on Tuesday. In case you missed his time on SEC Network, here's everything Golesh had to say on the main stage.


OPENING REMARKS ...

"I am humbled and grateful to have been named the head football coach at Auburn University seven months ago, and it has been an incredible journey up until this point. Thankful to be back in Tampa.  We spent just over three years here and met some incredible people here, some dear friends still.  This community was incredible to my family.  I am really, really thankful for my time here and the way we got treated and the commitment that was made to us here in Tampa. Thankful to Dr. Roberts and our administration and them welcoming us to Auburn.  What they've done for us through these first seven months in giving us the ability to go hire an elite staff, to go build the way we need to.

"Thankful to John Cohen for bringing me to Auburn, our board of trustees that continues to pour into our program. Beyond thankful to the Auburn family for welcoming us, my family. And even as late as last night, spending time here in Tampa with a bunch of alums and people that care deeply about Auburn down here in Florida and all over this state. That was a neat event, and thankful to the donors across the country that I've had a chance to go meet. From the time I got there, spent a bunch of time in May, man, the love for Auburn around the hand at country is incredible. Thankful to there are support, their continued investment in our program. Thankful to our staff.  John gave us the ability to go hire the most incredible staff that I've ever been a part of.

"Every time I walk out of our staff meetings I'm just wowed by the professionals in there, the men and women we were able to bring into this program to help us build Auburn back to where it belongs. Thankful to their families and the close to 100 families that chose to move to Auburn and join in building this new era of Auburn football.  Grateful to the wives, kids, and how many people picked their lives up and came with us that believe in our vision, believe in myself, and believed in what we're doing. More than anything else, I'm thankful to our players, the almost 70 that chose to stay, and then the 40 that came in. Thankful for what they've done.

"Change is hard.  Change is incredibly hard in this day and age, and these guys have embraces change. When you come in and you things are different, things are not what they're used to, the expectations, standards are different than maybe things that people want, the ability to buy-in and continuously fight for what needs to be done, I'm beyond grateful to our kids in our program.

"We are two weeks from camp actually today. Report two weeks from today. We are going to go into getting ready for week one in the Aflac Kickoff Game against Baylor. Grateful to be a part of that in Atlanta.  Grateful to get in front of our fans in Atlanta.  Got an incredible alumni base. It's going to be an incredible Auburn crowd.  Thankful for Aflac for having us in the game. You combine that with nine SEC games, and we feel like we're set up to have one of the best schedules in the country and an incredibly tough slate to get through for the year that we're beyond excited about. This two weeks from camp, we've had a six-month buildup. Spent a month assembling a roster, retaining a roster, and we've had a six-month buildup to get to this point.  I get giddy thinking about starting football.  It's the three weeks of the year where the doors are shut, you're with your players, with your staff, and you get to play ball.  That's the part I'm most excited about.

"Talk about a six-month buildup, we went through an incredibly hard winter.  We made it hard intentionally.  We pushed as hard as you can to the limit to get ourselves ready for spring.  We went through a long, long, long hard spring. Talk to our players, and they would tell you it was about a hard as anything they've gone through, as it needed to be. It was hard in a lot of ways.  It was the start of building an identity and it was the start of building and changing a culture that's standard-based where everything we do is at an elite level. Then the summer was about, yeah, getting physically, mentally stronger, bigger, faster, but as much as anything else, is the ability for us to connect as a team.  As you put together 115 guys that haven't been together and a brand new staff, the ability to connect and work through things and get to know each other is the difference of how the season ends up playing out. Can these guys communicate?  Can these guys truly learn to grow and love each other and truly form a brotherhood? We got two weeks left to get into camp and be able to get after it.

"The biggest question I've gotten as I've gone through this journey the last seven months is, man, what's a successful year one look like?  How do you gauge it?  What are your goals? I don't really have any goals, other than laying a foundation for what Auburn football is going to be for years to come. That starts with building an identity.  This word 'identity' is the only thing we've talked about as a program and what does that look for us, what is the identity of our program, who are we when people sit down and watch us play on Saturdays. The identity is one thing for me to talk about, one thing for me to preach, one thing for me to hold a standard in every aspect of our program, but it's another for our kids to embrace it and live it.

"The first piece of this identity that we've hammered home is the ability to be physically and mentally tough.  That's what Auburn football was built on, physical and mental toughness.  The ability to be the most violent football team on the field every Saturday.  Violent. I think that's something you can watch and see.  It's something that that you can look and say, man, this is a physically and mentally tough football team, a team that's connected.  Guys score, do they celebrate together?  Guys make mistakes, do people pick them up?  Creat an explosive on defense, is everybody in there celebrating together? A group that's connected, a group that communicates extremely well, a group that plays for each other, a group that has leadership. Got to have the ability to lead, and it has to come from the guys on the field.

"I've always said that if a team is coach-led you'll max out at a level or at a point.  When a team is player-led and it's player-driven, you wield championships.  That's as hard of an objective to reach right now in college football as you can ever imagine.  But the ability to lead and then the ability for guys to follow, we've spent a lot of time building leaders.  It's got to be the guys on the football field. The team that's incredibly detailed.  We talk about winning in the margins.  You watch a team play and are they detailed in what they do?  Does situational football look the way it's supposed to?  Third down, fourth down, special teams, detail in special teams, ball security, red zone offense, tight zone offense, goal line offense, two-minute offense, four-minute offense, four-minute defense, two-minute defense, red zone defense, tight zone defense, goal line defense. Are you detailed in the margins that win football games?

"That's what I want our identity to be.  If we can leave year one and we have a foundation that's built on our identity I would tell you it's a successful year one.  We have fought like crazy to build a process-driven program where we worry about winning day-to-day. My job is to set standards in every aspects of our program. It's our players' job to uphold those standards and live them every single day.  That's what we've worked on for seven months.  In two weeks we get to go strap it on, continue to build on our identity, and like I said, I'm beyond excited it go kick it off in Atlanta in the Aflac Kickoff Classic."


ON WHY THESE THREE PLAYERS WERE SELECTED FOR MEDIA DAYS ...

"You know, we talk about identity and everything that I want this program to be and everything that we represent.  There could have been a bunch of guys that we picked.  These three guys represent every single day this identity that I talk about.  Represent the standards that we live every single day. Start with Champ Anthony.  Champ is a young man that has overcome about as much as anybody in our program. A young man that came from junior college, came in, won a job, was a captain, and has had two seasons get cut short by a broken leg and a broken leg.

"A young man since the day I got there has stood on the table for being at Auburn, leading the right way, bringing others with him on both sides of the ball, on top of being a high-end football player that can play all five spots in the back end and has said over and over again, Coach, just find a way to get me on the field and I'll do everything in my power to help Auburn win football games. Inspirational in every way.  He is the first guy I see every morning when I walk into the building rehabbing to get right.  He is finally cleared.  He's ready to rock and roll. Guy that in spring when he couldn't go literally I would have to pull him off the field because he was out there coaching his tail off.  Champ represents everything you want an Auburn man to be, overcoming adversity, and I just absolutely can't wait for him to have the year that he deserves to have.

"Alex McPherson, our kicker, and is the only specialist here at SEC media days it got pointed out to me.  Alex is another young man that had an incredibly successful career at Auburn, as an Alabama kid that grew up dreaming of playing at Auburn.  Another young man that said since the day I got there, Coach, I just want to do everything in my power to go win at Auburn. A young man whose 2024 year got cut short.  His story has been highly publicized.  Talk about overcoming adversity. Really shouldn't being playing football, and continues to fight through to be one of the best kickers in the history of Auburn, but at the same time, represent everything you want an Auburn man to be. He is a young man that in winter workouts talked to the trainers or doctors and told his position coach, listen, like this winter workout thing, this is about to be as grueling as anything that these guys have ever gone through.  I need Alex to make field goals.  Like let's have him go over there, work out on his own. I went up to Alex, listen, dude, you're not going to go through this.  You should've seen the look on Alex's face. He's like, I'm not a kicker, I play football here.

"As late as yesterday morning at 7:00 a.m. when he lifted with the developmental group, he is out there running with the skill guys. This is a kicker that we need to make field goals; refuses to do so anything other than what everybody else is doing. You talk about our identity:  Physically and mentally tough. Leader.  His process is elite in what he does and how he does it.  Almost 90% field goal guy in his career here. Another guy I'm so excited about watching his senior year and seeing him help us win football games because of the way that he's bought in and his process and identity of our football game. He's an Auburn man as they come.

"You talk about Byrum Brown, and Byrum is a young man I've known since he was an 18 year old redshirt freshmen that has grown through these four years into one of the best football players I've ever been around.  Again, you talk about identity and you talk about process driven and you talk about player led.  A young man that has not only developed as a player to become a complete quarterback, but a guy that has developed as a leader.

"I have always said this, and I have been fortunate over the last ten years to be around some special quarterbacks, when your quarterback can be one the toughest guys on the team, can be one the hardest workers on the team, have the most elite process on the team on top of being one of the best leaders on the team, when it's driven by that quarterback, the guy that touches the ball every single snap and both the offense and the defensive guys can point to him and say, that's who we follow, you can do something special. And Byrum Brown represents everything that's right about Auburn football and the identity that we're building.  A guy that went into the portal after last season and you talk about a couple days where you sit there and cringe, like, man, everybody in the country is going after this kid.  The kid that showed up in Auburn and said, man, what do we got to do to go win makes obviously me feel good.

"Gives me a level of confidence going into the season that we're led by that guy and a guy that's worked extremely hard to embrace the guys that were already at Auburn, the guys that transferred in. Just everything you could ever want in a young man, in a quarterback, both physically and off the field.  That's why these three guys all seniors, all representing what we want our identity to be and three guys that by the time they get done hopefully in late January that will be Auburn men for life that represent everything that's right about the Auburn family."


ON BYRUM BROWN AND HELPING THIS OFFENSE IN 2026 ...

"Yeah, well, Byrum Brown is one of the best quarterbacks in the country, and he's shown that over the years.  What has to happen for Byrum is he's just got to continue to be him every single day. What gives him confidence is everything that we preached from day one.  It's your daily process.  It's how you come in that building.  It's how you treat people.  It's how you take care of your body.  It's how you show up to work.  It's truly how your locker looks.  How you approach getting on the field, off the field, how you communicate on the sideline, on top of how you actually work when it's time to go to work. Byrum just has just got to be him.  The confidence that he is going to be the best version of him every single day should give confidence to everybody around him, players, coaches, support staff.  And ultimately if he's the best version of him every single day we'll get to where we got to get to on the field."


ON HOW TO GENERATE EXPLOSIVE PLAYS, LIKE HIS TIME AT TENNESSEE ...

"I think offensive football is about finding matchups in space, and we chose to do it really, really quickly.  As we've evolved offensively and as we have to continue to evolve offensively, we've got to use these next three weeks once we get into camp to truly figure out who are our playmakers, put them in the best positions to create the best matchups and do it really, really fast. If we continue to do that, we've got the right staff to figure it out.  We've got a bunch of guys that are familiar with the system.  Got a bunch of guys that we brought in that are getting familiar with the system.  But we need to use those three weeks to truly identify formationally how we do that, which guys can help, because we want to use as many as can help us, and then getting them in space. And that's in the run game and the pass game.  For us everything starts with the ability to run the football, and it sets up everything else.

"But it's the players in the right formations to then be able to create explosive, because the matchups and the space allows you to do so.  It's on us to put them in the right positions and on the guys to go execute at a high clip. We are going to need every single day of those three weeks of camp to get ready for Baylor to be able to identify that and then detail it out."


ON AMERICAN CONFERENCE COACHES MOVING TO THE SEC, AND HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH JON SUMRALL ...

"Yeah, you know, Jon and I obviously competed against each other for a couple years in the American.  Gotten to know Jon well.  I respect how he works.  I respect his approach.  I think he works as hard as anybody.  Players believe in him, which is — you can see when you turn the film on when you play against them. I think smart, tough, gritty.  That's what his teams are. That's what he's always been as a coach.  Got a ton of respect for him.  We've got a long way before we get to that week three matchup.  It will be fun in Jordan-Hare, Week 3, Saturday night."


ON THE TEMPO OF HIS OFFENSE AND HOW THE DEFENSE IS CONDITIONED TO KEEP UP ...

"That's a great question.  I think what's fascinating about college football, and specifically our league, you look at our schedule, our out-of-conference, and certainly in the SEC, half of our schedule you're playing teams that are — at least going into the season — that are playing with a high level of tempo. The goal has never been to be the fastest team in the country or top anything.  The goal is to play as efficiently and quickly as you can while executing with an elite level of detail.  So for our defensive staff, it's what you want to get ready.  It's way easier to get ready for a tempo offense and then be able to slow it down where you have a little bit more time to get lined up, identify things, communicate, than the other way around where you're playing against a slow-down offense and when it's time to play an up-tempo offense, now you got to change the way you practice or how a scout team or multiple scout teams have got to operate.

"For our defense to be able to go play against our offense every single spring practice, every single fall camp practice, and then the ability to wind it back when you have to I think is way easier than the inverse of that.  And so it's been really good for our defense.  Again, it's going to be six games at least as of right now going no where that's the prep that we need defensively. And so for Durk, that defensive staff, it's the best thing that you could possibly have is being able to see that in practice every single day and having answers.  Because it is, you call it different, you practice it differently.  So to be able to have answers ahead of time going into the season is absolutely huge."


ON HIS DEFINITION OF SUCCESS IN YEAR 1 ...

"Yeah, so I don't set goals.  I've always thought that that's like a little bit like New Year's resolutions.  They usually work for a little bit and you kind of keep it moving. I set standards.  We set standards as a program.  Our standard is to be the best versions of us every single day. The standard when I got to Auburn was to get as good as we possibly can as fast as we can.  How do we do that? By our daily process.  By how we attack every single day. By the standards within that program that like you talked about earlier.  As they become upheld by our players and it becomes player driven, then those standards become reality, a way of life every day within the program. I think a successful year one as I mentioned earlier is if we can leave year one and have a foundation of who we are, our identity, proof of concept offensively, defensively, so we can continue to recruit to that identity.

"Right now we recruited extremely well.  It's a huge credit to our staff, huge credit to recruiting staff, scouting staff, personnel staff, full-time staff, everybody involved. We are sitting with a top 10 class in country with zero proof of concept, with a year behind a majority of our league. Now if you can show proof of concept and lay a foundation for what Auburn football looks like moving forward you can continue to recruit, and just as importantly, really more importantly, retain to that and develop within your program underneath that umbrella of what our identity is year in, year out. That's how you build a consistent football program.

"So Year 1, that foundation has to be laid.  What that looks like in win totals will be determined by what we've done the last seven months and what we do in the next six weeks leading up to week one. The wins will take care of themselves as long as our identity is what it is.  If we are physically and mentally tough.  If we are detailed.  If we are player led.  If we are connected as a team.  We win in the margins.  If we take care of what we have to take care of from a detail standpoint, I love where our talent is.  We are plenty talented enough to go win every single game. This is a really, really talented league with elite players and elite coaches.  So what wins football games?  The teams that can play on Saturdays and score one more point than the other because they have a true identity of who they are. Year 1 will be successful if we leave and know exactly who we are and we have proof of concept to continue to build to."


ON WHY HE IS CONFIDENT THIS TEAM CAN WIN BIG GAMES THIS SEASON ...

"Yeah, what gives you confidence is the ability to go into every single day and continue to perfect our process.  I think confidence comes -- real confidence, not fake confidence, but real authentic genuine confidence comes from an elite level process day in day out as coaches, as players. The ability to walk into a Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon, Saturday night, especially in some of the best environments in the entire country, and know that the amount of work that's put in is what's prepared me for this moment. That's truly the day to day of how we operate.  I said going into the summer we can't waste the day.  The confidence comes in not wasting a day.  The confidence comes in knowing you never cheated your process.  And that's individually as players, as coaches, as support staff day in, day out. Because you're right, to go win in some of the best environments in college football, that's why you want to coach in this league, that is why play in this league, because of that, and the confidence comes truly from your day to day process.

"Thank you. War Damn Eagle."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQzYsgLB4G4

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Auburn's in-state recruiting may be looking up in light of Louisiana's recent NIL law

By Andrew Hughes
Fly War Eagle

The state of Louisiana is finally codifying into law the right for high school athletes to earn money on their personal brands. It had been basically unofficially going on for years before. With that, the possibility exists that neighboring states in SEC territory, like Alabama and Mississippi, could get up to speed and pass similar laws.

I got the chance to speak with Stone Pigman sports attorney Walter "Fritz" Metzinger, III about Louisiana's new NIL, and I asked specifically about whether Kay Ivey or Tate Reeves' states could soon follow.

Fritz sounded hopeful that the competitive nature of NIL will lead to that sooner rather than later.

"I think so," Metzinger said. "You saw that in the college ranks as well. In a region like this, with the focus on football and in the SEC, you don't want to fall behind, and you don't want to give potential athletes a reason to go elsewhere. The context of that is a little different for high school than for college, obviously, because you have high school students that you would at least think aren't going to be moving states as easily or as frequently as, say, a college recruit looking to go to college would, but that certainly happens.

"People move out of state or move to different schools or academies as needed to better or to further their athletic careers. So I think there's a natural element of this to not wanting to fall behind and to making sure, even if there are parts of the legislature or parts of the state that have concerns about allowing this sort of thing, not falling behind in what amounts to an arms race."

I asked if Mississippi being a bit more open about passing laws for gambling and making medicinal marijuana more easily accessible than Alabama could mean the Magnolia State will be quicker to monetize high school NIL possibilities. There wasn't a clear answer, but there was more optimism about competition inspiring both states to keep up.

"Gambling's a part of my practice too, and there are different kinds of factors and determinations on that. Obviously, Mississippi has the coast, which is kind of a big factor there, but no, other than that, I don't think I can really speak to the status or why Mississippi or Alabama would be closer on this, other than to broadly say that if all of your rivals and your regional rivals have their state legislators passing laws, you know it's going to create more of an incentive to keep up," Metzinger said.


Auburn could benefit from Alabama allowing third-party deals

While Auburn University can't pay non-commits in high school, the university's boosters can facilitate third-party deals for anyone if the state gets on board with what Louisiana just did for NIL. The state of Alabama can benefit the Tigers and the Crimson Tide in a major way by passing pro-student-athlete laws. It's a pro-capitalism movement, after all.

It's probably no coincidence that the LSU Tigers are dominating the state of Louisiana on the recruiting trail under Lane Kiffin in recent months. The high school/collegiate NIL ranks, especially as it pertains to the state's top public universities, are all intertwined.