Auburn linebacker Elijah Melendez is emerging as a leader after recording 12 tackles in the Tigers' 17-16 win over Baylor. Alex Golesh named the sophomore a Week 1 captain and is now challenging one of Auburn football's rising defensive stars to become more vocal.
Elijah Melendez might already be turning into one of the leaders of the Auburn Tigers defense.
And considering he's only a sophomore, that's pretty impressive.
Melendez finished Auburn's 17-16 victory over Baylor with 12 tackles, but what Alex Golesh said about him after the game might tell us even more about where his role is heading.
Melendez was selected by Auburn's staff as one of the captains for the season opener.
And apparently, his teammates agreed with that decision.
"You saw was a captain today, selected by the staff, and when we announced him, the entire defense was cheering," Golesh said. "They respect him."
Golesh has been pretty clear throughout the offseason about what he believes leadership actually looks like. Simply showing up and doing your job isn't enough, and that's something he's continuing to push Melendez on.
"He works, just like Eric, man, Elijah's a worker. Physically, obviously, he's a complete freak show, but he's a worker. He does it the right way," Golesh said. "I'm going to continue to challenge him to be more vocal, because he's not. He's a lead-by-example guy, which I explained in here, is not actually leading."
Well, Melendez appears to understand that challenge.
When asked after the game about the step he's taken as a sophomore, Melendez pointed directly back to his approach.
"I would say taking that step really came with being confident in my process and just doing the right things off the field and on the field and trying to be a better person. I feel like that's what helped the most."
Then there's what he actually did against Baylor.
Auburn's defense was on the field for nearly 100 plays. Baylor consistently moved the football, and the Tigers repeatedly had to find ways to get off the field without allowing points. They found a way to record a few takeaways, but most of their defensive success came from gritty play of their top performers.
Melendez was right in the middle of it, and he wasn't alone.
Eric Winters finished with a career high in tackles and made the game-saving stop on Baylor's two-point conversion. Winters and Melendez were roommates when they arrived at Auburn, and Winters called Melendez one of his best friends on the team.
Melendez wasn't surprised when Winters made the final play.
"It was so exciting to see Eric do that. He deserves so much time. We were roommates for a year. Really focused guy, straight football. I knew he was going to stop him."
That's a pretty interesting young duo for Auburn to have moving forward.
But Melendez's development might be about more than tackles.
He's already earned the respect of his teammates. He's already been trusted as a captain.
Now Golesh wants him to become an actual vocal leader.
Based on the step Melendez has already taken, that might be the next part of his development.
