The Auburn Tigers have built their reputation as a team that plays hard-nosed defense, particularly in recent years. This is a trend newly hired head coach Alex Golesh plans to continue.

During his introductory press conference, he laid out his plans for the team and described the type of defense he wants Auburn to have.

If the Tigers can match the type of product Golesh hopes to see, they will be in good shape.

"We’ll be aggressive, create explosives, create negatives, create turnovers," Golesh said. "We’re going to be the most violent freaking team on the football field every single Saturday. We’re going to be different on special teams. We’re going to create explosives on teams. It’s going to be a huge difference in why we win. We’re going to outwork, outthink and outprocess people across the entire country." 

Additionally, Golesh wants his players to their part in leading the program.

"I told the guys yesterday in our team meeting that at whatever point, we’re ready to be a player-driven program, player-driven; I think in my time as I’ve gone through this journey, I’ve been involved in every aspect or every level of this thing," Golesh said. "The one thing that remains the same is when it’s coach driven, when the culture, the standards of everything in the program is driven by the coaches, the support staff, you max out. Whatever that number is, you max out." 

While Golesh has high expectations for the program, he believes meeting a standard that is set high is the kind of habit that helps build a winning culture, something he plans to bring back to the program.

"When the standards are upheld within that locker room, withing each position meeting room, in every aspect of their lives, when it’s driven by the players, we’ll bring a national championship here to Auburn University," Golesh said.