Auburn kicker Alex McPherson has spent his entire college career on the Plains, and that perspective has given him a front-row seat to the program’s recent turnover. Since arriving in 2022, he has watched three head coaches try to steer the Tigers back to their standard. What stands out to him now is how quickly things feel different under Alex Golesh.
McPherson said at SEC Media Days in Tampa, Fla., that the tone around the program has already shifted.
“I think we've built a great foundation for the brotherhood of this team,” he said at SEC Media Days, “and I think going into this fall camp it's going to be huge for us to continue to build that and just the relationships with each other and with the coaches.”
That message lines up with how Golesh handled McPherson himself. Special teams players do not often get the SEC Media Days spotlight, but Golesh made sure his kicker was included. For McPherson, that decision said plenty about the new coach.
“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,” he said, “coming from him especially.”
McPherson believes Auburn has enough talent to compete in the SEC, even with the league’s usual peaks and valleys and a schedule that offers little breathing room. Last season, Hugh Freeze kept adding high school talent and transfer help, but the Tigers still never managed to put it all together, which led to his firing. McPherson sees Golesh’s approach as giving the team a stronger base heading into 2026.
“I would just say the relationship part of the team,” McPherson said. ‘I think we have the talent. Coach AG and the rest of the staff have really pushed the relationship piece of it.”
Auburn’s schedule includes a demanding opener against Baylor in Atlanta, a game that could shape how the Tigers are viewed for the rest of the season. Golesh has already laid out his goals for his first year, and McPherson expects to be part of the group helping set the tone.
“Just to be able to hold one another accountable, lift one another up, things like that,” he said.
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Auburn Faces Another Brutal Reality Check Entering Alex Goleshs First Season
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Austins point was less about personality than trajectory, and that is where the Auburn intrigue really starts. He suggested Golesh would bring a more organized, steadier path for growth than what the Tigers have had, which is the sort of endorsement that tends to stick when a fan base is looking for signs that the next move could be a real step forward. [Read more 🡒]