As football season draws nearer, Auburn added another scrimmage to its schedule this week. After the scrimmage, head coach Alex Golesh spoke Wednesday about which players have stood out and what the team needs to address as fall camp comes to an end.
Golesh first discussed the team’s schedule for the next few days as Auburn enters the final weeks before the season opener. “We've got an off day tomorrow, going into two more days of camp for you, and then Saturday will be a big day for us … We've got some situational stuff to work through on Friday, and then really a big conglomerate practice on Saturday. That'll be a ton of situations, essentially to get us ready to go into a mock game week. Then we'll go into a mock game week next week.”
Golesh stressed the importance of situational practice for the team over the next few days.
After the scrimmage, Golesh said, "Where we're not very good right now, really on both sides, is truly recognizing situational football and the guys taking control of it. And what I mean by that is just simply understanding where it is, rather than just playing the next play."
Golesh also noted positives from Wednesday’s scrimmage, starting with the defense. "Both sides tackled so much better. I was really proud of the way we tackled,” Golesh said. “There was some violent, violent intent defensively."
He also singled out several players who have stood out today and over the last couple of weeks. “Deshaun Womack today felt really impressive. Jared Smith today was really impressive. Derek Winters today was really, really impressive. We got Caleb Harris back this week; we were skewed. We got Newboy [AnQuon Fegans] back this week, which was huge. Both those guys played well.”
On offense, Golesh said Auburn ran about 100 plays during the scrimmage, including a couple of drives of more than 10 plays. He said Byrum Brown, Chaz Nimrod and Keshaun Singleton have been steady and consistent—a sign of their comfort level after transferring from South Florida with Golesh.
Golesh then addressed injuries, a common concern this close to the season. He said J.J. Faulk will miss most, if not all, of the regular season with an undisclosed injury, but said the team will be at full strength on Friday. "Everyone who was 100 percent participated in the scrimmage today," Golesh said.
Earlier this week, Bryce Cain—a member of the 2024 "Freeze Four" along with Cam Coleman and Perry Thompson—practiced at defensive back after spending the last two years at wide receiver.
When asked, Golesh said, “He's kind of in a deeper slot room where we're not super deep in the corner. And we wanted to try and see it here this last week at camp.”
Golesh praised Cain’s flexibility, noting he can add depth at defensive back and play wide receiver if needed.
Golesh concluded the press conference by stressing urgency, mentioning Smith as a player he’s pushed to play with more energy on longer drives. “Urgency would not have been synonymous with Jared about four days ago. So I would say it's more of what we've done in terms of we keep yelling at him. And today he was like, ‘Man, if I am more urgent, then they won't yell at me.’”
With Smith primed for a breakout season, his ability to play with urgency could spark an already proven defense.
With the first game in just two weeks, Auburn will look to finish fall camp healthy.
