Josh Heupel knows the matchup with Auburn is going to carry a little extra weight this fall.
With Alex Golesh set to make his Auburn debut, Tennessee’s head coach is already looking ahead to Oct. 3, when the Volunteers and Tigers meet for the first time since Golesh left Knoxville. For Heupel, it’s not just another SEC date on the calendar. It’s a reunion with a coach who helped fuel Tennessee’s offensive surge in 2021 and 2022.
“Alex has done a really good job. Did a great job flipping around his previous stop,” Hepuel said at SEC Media Days.
“He’s smart. He’s got a clear plan on what he wants to accomplish, and trying to demand it from the people around him.”
Golesh’s rise accelerated during his two seasons as Tennessee’s offensive coordinator under Heupel, after following him from Central Florida. The results were loud.
In 2022, the Volunteers led the nation in points per game and total yards per game with Hendon Hooker at quarterback. The year before, Tennessee finished ninth nationally in total yards per game and seventh in points per game.
That familiarity extends beyond Golesh, too. Heupel pointed out that Auburn’s staff includes other names he knows well, including safeties coach Tim Banks, who served as Tennessee’s defensive coordinator from 2021-2025, and offensive line coach Tyler Hudanick, who was a graduate assistant at Tennessee after playing for Heupel at UCF.
“There’s a lot of familiarity with guys that are on that staff, guys that were part of our coaching staff as young coaches, guys that played for us at a previous stop,” Heupel said. “A ton of respect for the guys that are inside of that building. It’ll be unique.
“It always is when you face somebody that’s got that type of familiarity that you’ve sat in a war room with.”
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