For Golesh, confidence is the starting point
Offensive coordinator Alex Golesh wasn’t just giving window dressing when he said he was happy with the foundation that was being laid through the first two practices and the results they were getting. But there was a message for sure.
Golesh like Josh Heupel in his first spring practice press conference was very complimentary of the players and their buy in.
Its clear based on comments both coaches have made following the first two practices that the set up for week one was created for the players to have success.
Why? This staff feels this team following a 3-7 season, dismissal of coaching staff and a COVID year needs some positive vibes.
To try and create that Golesh isn’t throwing his offense into the deep end before the pads go on.
“It’s been fascinating to see the growth from winter workouts to day one to day two. We have taken it really slow in terms of how we are putting it in,” Golesh explained. “We have really tried to give them the big picture in terms of how we operate and we have really focused more on that than anything. Just the operation of how we play with tempo and how we are trying to call it, get the ball snapped. So we have kept the installation really, really light so we can operate really fast and gain some confidence early. I think any time you are putting in a new system it’s all about obviously the guys buying into it. The guys being able to operate within it and developing a level of confidence here early in spring ball. Like today for example, leaving and feeling really good at the end of practice with how these first two days went is super critical so that they can have confidence when we put pads on when there’s a physical element that’s added to it.”
Golesh also wasn’t shy on Saturday handing out public compliments.
“Jabari (Small) has been one for sure. Probably that oline group as a whole knowing how the operation works, getting on the right people, playing fast, those two have been really impressive so far,” Golesh said when ask what two guys had stood out in two practices.”
Golesh also praised his tight ends, Dee Beckwith, Velus Jones, Jalin Hyatt, and even the growth of the quarterbacks in two days. Safe to say he wasn’t short on praise.
But that doesn’t mean everyone is holding hands and singing campfire songs. There are plenty of mistakes and there are plenty of coaching points. It’s also going to get more difficult moving forward as pads go on and the game gets more physical. But Golesh said he likes what he has learned about this team starting with how they fight when things get tough.
“To be honest with you, the last two days have been the first time since we have been here that we have put them into really hard situations. We talked about when we got here and I don’t know that they really believed us. They probably looked at us like we had two heads. We have continued to talk about fighting through adversity and that adversity is coming. These guys have been through a lot. I think sometimes we forget what they have actually gone through to get to this point. The guys that are here have fought through a lot. It’s our job as coaches to bottle that up and transform it into something great. I have just really been impressed with how hard they practice both on offense and on defense. These guys are trying to take the coaching.
“To see them all fight through it when you throw adverse situations at them it’s been fascinating to see. That’s probably the one thing through the first two days as we got into the second half of practice and they are little bit tired and banged up and exhausted and coach is yelling at me; they have been forget about it. Play the next play as hard as you can and to the best of your ability. If we can continue to do that and fight through those adverse situations we are going to be alright.”
To be alright this fall offensively, many answers must be found. Answers that ultimately won’t start to take shape until football is played, meaning pads on. But to start to find those answers, the offensive of the ball spent the first week trying to create as much confidence as possible
“Obviously you want to have success early which is why we have kept it relatively simple so that as you continue to go and you don’t have success you can coach off of that,” Golesh offered. “For these guys to continue to fight, I have been really impressed. There’s a really cool energy about this team.