Alex Golesh on Auburn QBs: 'You want to make sure you fit them'
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New Auburn head football coach Alex Golesh must get something right that former head coach Hugh Freeze did not. It is no surprise to anyone, but he has to find success at the quarterback position.
It has been a while since the Tigers have had success at the most important position in sports. The last quarterback to put solid numbers was Bo Nix in 2021 during the first season under Bryan Harsin, when he threw for 2,293 yards and 11 touchdowns. Even that can be looked at as a negative due to Nix's success at Oregon.
On Monday, Golesh spoke to the media to recap the 2026 recruiting class, and of course, the quarterback topic came up. He sees the talent that the quarterback room presents, but also knows what he wants and needs out of the position.
“Yeah, there’s a lot that goes into the QB spot. And you’re right, we walked into a situation where there’s uber-talented guys that we’ve got to continue to work through with them on, ‘This is what we want to do offensively. This is how we feel like you fit.’ And then, you want to make sure you fit them, too," Golesh said.
That seemed to be one of the issues that Freeze struggled with; instead of fitting the offense around what the quarterback was good at, he tried to make them fit his offense. A great example is Jackson Arnold, who intends to enter the transfer portal. He showed his great running ability throughout the season, but had limitations as a passer. Auburn could have been more successful had the offense leaned more into his running ability. This season, he rushed for 311 yards and scored eight touchdowns.
"I think the biggest thing at that spot is having guys that are high level, intelligent, playmakers that have a skill set that you can build an offense around," Golesh said. "We have an offensive vision of what we want this to be, but as I've said this before, we’ve evolved every single year based on what the quarterback's skill set is, and what your personnel around him is."
Golesh has a great example with his success with Byrum Brown at USF. This season, he passed for 3,158 yards and rushed for 1,008 yards with 42 combined touchdowns. Those numbers would be attainable with the skill set of Deuce Knight and even Ashton Daniels if one or both return for 2026. The key is also putting the right talent around those players, but it all begins with the quarterback.
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This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Auburn football head coach Alex Golesh discusses QB development
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