Tennessee's Josh Heupel Addresses Reunion With Alex Golesh Ahead of Auburn Clash

The Auburn Tigers are set to take on the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday, and there are many storylines heading into the highly touted matchup.

One of the most highlighted aspects of Auburn's trip to Rocky Top is Alex Golesh's return to his old stomping grounds. Golesh coached under Heupel at Tennessee in 2021 and 2022 as the Volunteers' offensive coordinator, during which the offense saw historic success under his leadership.

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel previewed Saturday's clash earlier this week, and he shared his thoughts on Golesh and his expectations for the first-year Auburn head coach's homecoming.

"Good opponent. Coach Golesh, his staff, have done a good job here this year, but since he became a head coach, dating all the way back to USF as well," Heupel said in his press conference on Monday. "A lot of familiarity with a lot of their staff and looking forward to the contest."

Heupel was also asked if he believed his familiarity with Golesh, or vice versa, would create any sort of advantage for either coach, but he seems to think the advantages likely cancel out and won't play a prominent role.

"It works both sides," Heupel said. "A lot of their staff's been with us and vice versa, so it kind of balances things out."

Tennessee's offense saw unprecedented success with Golesh leading the charge, as the Volunteers skyrocketed to No. 1 nationally in points per game (47.3), total offense (538.1 yards per game), yards per play (7.35), and points per possession in 2022.

Quarterback Hendon Hooker finished as a Maxwell Award finalist while Golesh finished as a finalist for the Broyles Award, which is a prestigious honor given to the top assistant coach in college football.

Golesh had a similar perspective on the matter, saying that the familiarity goes both ways and highlighting the importance of "evolving" against a known foe in all three facets of the game.

"I think it would give you an advantage if they didn't also have so much familiarity with your staff," Golesh said in his weekly presser on Monday. "I think to me it's more fascinating to see how we all evolve and whether it's offensively, defensively, but how you kind of go make it your own."

Tennessee's 42-9 win over Kennesaw State 42-9 a few weeks ago saw a similar situation, as Owls head coach Jerry Mack previously served as the Volunteers' running backs coach from 2021-2023 under Heupel and alongside Golesh.

When asked to compare his familiarity with Golesh to that of Mack and its impact on the game, Heupel recognized the parallels but also pointed out the main differences between Mack-led Kennesaw State and Golesh-led Auburn.

"I think there's some similarities in what Jerry Mack and Alex and Auburn are doing. There's going to be a lot of differences as well based off of personnel," Heupel said.

"Like 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," Heupel continued. "This one, they're going to use in the quarterback-run game a lot more than what we saw from Kennesaw."

Considering Heupel and Golesh worked together for several years and likely know each other's offensive minds like the back of their hands, it'll certainly be interesting to see how both of them navigate a game in which the opposing sideline likely knows something most people wouldn't.

Additionally, although they don't think the familiarity factor will play a big role in the outcome, one aspect that hasn't necessarily been mentioned enough is the pressure on Heupel to beat his former assistant.

Especially after a loss last weekend to the top-ranked Longhorns, all of the pressure is on Heupel. A loss would mean Tennessee starts 0-2 in the SEC after two consecutive home games, and the second defeat would come at the hands of a former employee inside the very stadium at which he used to coach.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/auburn as Tennessee's Josh Heupel Addresses Reunion With Alex Golesh Ahead of Auburn Clash.