KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 17/17 Tennessee will look to rebound from a narrow loss to top-ranked Texas last weekend when Auburn pays its first visit to Neyland Stadium since 2013 for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff this Saturday on ESPN.
The Tigers will be led by a familiar face as Alex Golesh returns to Knoxville for the first time since serving as UT’s offensive coordinator (2021-22). A 2022 Broyles Award finalist during his second season on staff with the Vols, Golesh spent three years as the head coach at South Florida (2023-25) before becoming the head coach at Auburn following the 2025 season.
“Good opponent. Coach Golesh, his staff, have done a good job there this year since he became the head coach, dating all the way back to USF as well,” UT head coach Josh Heupel said. “So, a lot of familiarity with a lot of their staff and looking forward to the contest.”
With a handful of former Tennessee assistants and support staffers now working at Auburn, there will certainly be some familiarity between the two coaching staffs as they prepare for this Saturday’s important SEC contest.
“It works both sides, you know? A lot of their staff has been with us, and vice versa, so it kind of balances things out,” Heupel said when asked if there was any advantage or disadvantage to playing an opponent coached by former staff members.
After a disappointing day from an offensive production standpoint against Texas, the Vols will have another challenging test this Saturday against a talented and experienced Tigers’ defense that is known for creating negative plays.
Led by veteran defensive coordinator DJ Durkin, Auburn enters this week with 29 tackles for loss, which ranks fourth in the SEC and tied for 16th nationally. The Tigers are also third in the SEC with five interceptions this year.
“Some carryover (from last week), some things are different. The personnel is different, some of their pressures and rotations, those things are different. But they are really well coached; they play hard,” Heupel said when asked about facing Auburn’s defense. “They are multiple in their presentations, and so, identification, guys working together, hat on the right bodies, all going to be a big part of this football game. Run game, protection, and then quarterback recognition as well.”
A transcript of Heupel’s Monday press conference can be seen below.
Head Coach Josh Heupel Transcript (Sept. 28)
Opening statement…
“Good afternoon. Champions’ weekend this weekend, we’ll honor and have a bunch of champions from a lot of different sports here. Look forward to seeing them, and obviously, another conference game, so I’m excited about that. Good opponent. Coach Golesh, his staff, have done a good job here this year since he became the head coach, dating all the way back to USF as well. So, a lot of familiarity with a lot of their staff and looking forward to the contest.”
On any advantages or disadvantages to playing against a former member of his staff like Coach Golesh…
“It works both sides, you know? A lot of their staff has been with us, and vice versa, so it kind of balances things out.”
On what accountability looks like from coach-to-player, player-to-player and player-to-coach…
“I have to take ownership of the things that I have to do better; our staff does as well. And then today, the players come in, you look at the tape; there’s a lot of good, and there’s a lot of things that have to get corrected. So, every individual, collectively as a position group, then ultimately as a team. And whether you win or lose, certainly enjoy the wins more than the losses, but whether you win or lose, you’ve got to flush it. Get out on the field today, and it’s about what’s next.”
On keeping Faizon Brandon’s confidence up while also telling him where he needs to be better…
“First of all, he wants to play at a high level. He knows that he can, and needs to play better than he did Saturday, but that’s a young guy that, since he got here, has taken ownership, takes correction and incorporates it into his game and improves. Certainly expect that from him this week. I said it at the beginning of the year too. You’ve got a young quarterback, and the 10 other guys around him have to do their job at a high level to alleviate unforeseen circumstances for that guy too. That’s part of the ownership that everybody on the offensive side of the ball has to have.”
On if he would like to dial down Faizon Brandon’s caution as a quarterback…
“I think going back to – not reckless decisions – but in Saturday’s game there’s windows and opportunities, timing, whatever it might be, where some of those things, he’s got to let it rip. Things that he saw and some things that maybe he missed, but that’s a part of growing as a quarterback.”
On where the offensive line needs to grow…
“First of all, that position group, we all understand, needs to play at a higher level consistently for 60 minutes to give us a better chance to move the football. Some of that’s in the run game, certainly in protection as well. All of the protection problems, it’s not just five guys. It’s everybody involved in it. It’s tight ends, it’s backs, it’s the quarterback, it’s wide receivers doing their job too. But certainly, we’ve got to get better. There were times in the run game where we have to create a little bit more movement. There’s times where we created movement, get to a little bit of space, and an unblocked hat makes a tackle; they tackled well. So, it’s all those pieces working together.”
On Xavier Gilliam affecting opposing offenses in ways that don’t show up on a box score…
“Just his ability to get to the football, first and foremost. He’s violent, he plays with great speed, he’s physical at the point of attack and is disruptive, disengages from blocks.”
On Faizon Brandon’s response after the loss…
“Certainly disappointed after the game, still felt some of that yesterday as he came into the building. But also eager to get back out there. He’s a competitor; he hasn’t lost in football in a long time, but he’s lost games. His ability to keep playing, not perfect, but keep plugging away, you could see that the other day. There’s some things that we have to do better in some of those situations, but he’ll bounce back.”
On adjusting to the speed of the game as a quarterback…
“You’re playing a really good opponent that’s really good up front and athletic on the back end, the game is moving a little bit faster. I talked about that last week a little bit; he’ll adjust to it. I think Saturday we don’t like the result, but he’ll be better for it moving forward. Continued growth.”
On the onside kick against Texas and the rules statement from the SEC…
“Yeah, that kick was actually run previously inside of this league. We had earlier communication with the league as well. We’ll adjust to the ruling we got today.”
On the upcoming defensive challenge from Auburn…
“Some carryover (from last week), some things are different. The personnel is different, some of their pressures and rotations, those things are different. But they are really well coached; they play hard. They are multiple in their presentations, and so, identification, guys working together, hat on the right bodies, all going to be a big part of this football game. Run game, protection, and then quarterback recognition as well.”
On if there were communication issues inside of Tennessee’s offensive line…
“Some of it was communication; a lot of it was combinations, guys working together.”
On Auburn’s rushing attack…
“Running backs are good. Run hard, get vertical quickly. Their quarterback is a big part of their run game too, going plus-one in the run game. So, making sure we are fitting things the right way and getting the extra hat when needed.”
On Tennessee’s mindset for the run game this weekend…
“Ultimately, we have to go execute. We have to create movement. Backs have to see it, hit the hole and finish plus-two on the back end of it. It’s all parts working together.”
On deciding how to create your own style and approach as a head coach…
“I think you try to take the things the way that you like. Every job is different when you’re taking it over. You take over at the same place two different times, the job’s going to be different. And so, you’re looking at all the pieces of the puzzle, from personnel to staff to where the program currently is. The natural things that you’re encountering that you have to overcome. You adjust and try to put yourself and the program in the best footing.”
On if the Auburn offense will look similar to Kennesaw State…
“Yeah, I think there’s some similarities in what Jerry Mack and Alex (Golesh) and Auburn are doing. There’s going to be a lot of differences as well, based off of personnel. You get to a place, you recognize the personnel, and then how do you put those guys in a position to be successful? Both quarterbacks are mobile; this one, they are going to use in the quarterback run game a lot more than what we saw from Kennesaw.”
