← See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack
See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack
David Pollack ONE-ON-ONE with Auburn Head Coach Alex Golesh
00:33:17
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B
Refreshers contain caffeine. All right, welcome in. Alex Golish from Auburn, the new head man. Coach, I just. You. You've experienced this league, obviously, at Tennessee, a big town. You lived in Tampa. My. My first question is, man, now, like, what does it feel like being in. In Auburn, Alabama?
- [01:31]
A
Yeah, it's different. It's different. Everybody always said it's different. You know, I have. I'd never been here. That's probably as unique of a. Of a situation as imaginably possible. The fact that. That you take a job and you've never actually been to the town. I've been all through Alabama recruiting over the years, just have never been through Auburn. And everybody says it's different. It's different. It's. It's unique in. In the sense that, man, everything revolves around Auburn and people live and breathe for Auburn athletics in general, but really, the. The university and, man, it probably a little bit harder to go out to eat than in Tampa, but. But. But it's been incredible. These people, you know. You know what? When I say different, I say unique. It's like, it's hard to quantify, but the best way I can explain it is every single person you meet, the questions are the same. It's like, man, coach, do you love Auburn? Man, are people. Are people here treating you right? Like they want you to love it as much as they love it? And that's like, the only way I can quantify it is that they truly want you to love it and adore it like they do. And I think it says a lot that Just about every former coach that's been through here is back here or lives here and it's certainly a unique place, but little bit harder to get out and about people. People know who you are. So maybe based on win, loss record will determine how much I spend time outside of my house.
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B
That is cool though, where everybody wants you to like, everybody wants you to feel what they feel, which is cool. What have you learned about Auburn that you didn't know?
- [03:08]
A
Yeah, you know, what about restaurant?
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B
Is there any restaurants, anything in the, anything like that? I don't want to pigeonhole you anyway. I want you to make sure I give a good question.
- [03:17]
A
Yeah, well, it's a better restaurant scene than you would think. Some really cool. Same, same as I say in general about Auburn, it's every place you go into. You know, the non chain restaurants are like all unique and different and you're like, man, I can't believe this is in east Alabama. You know, from seafood to barbecue, the, the food's been really, really good. You, you look at our guys as, as we've had official visits here and guys come in town, everybody says the same thing. They're like, man, like, the food's really good. And that's. When you come from Tampa, you come here and you're like, man, like what's this going to be like? But very much the variety is incredible. So I'm going to go with, with the restaurant scene. Surprise me.
- [04:02]
B
Okay. All right. Well, when you took the job coach and you come over, you've been talked about for years and we knew this was coming at some point, but what was the original message, man, to the team? What was the first thing you needed them to know about you and what Auburn was going to look like?
- [04:19]
A
Yeah, you know, the first thing was, man, I need, I need some blind faith in, in who we are, what we're going to do here. You know, I think anytime there's change, it's scary for everybody. And I do think it's easier to walk into a situation where there's known change like you need change than if you walk into a situation where it's not apparent that you need change. But as for a little blind faith in us and the staff we're going to put together, but more than anything, I think I was really clear and I didn't hide the fact that we need change and it's going to be hard and it's going to be demanding, but our main objective is to build a team. And I think that's so different in this day and age where everybody talks about roster construction and roster building, it's still about building a team. It's still about a bunch of dudes playing together. A bunch of dudes that are willing to sacrifice their time, their egos for each other. And you know, we've talked from day one that, that, that you, you've got to be able to love your brother enough to hold him accountable. And I think that's the hardest thing to do when you bring guys in from all over the place into, into an environment and when you involve money in it, you involve egos, you involve a lot of different things in it to put together a team. But that's what I asked for is man, like, can we be selfless enough and love each other enough to hold each other accountable? And that takes time and that starts with trust. And I think that's the hardest thing to build. And you need time, you need tough situations. And, and I told him from the beginning, we're going to put them in those tough situations. We're going to force time, to force their time together until it becomes organic.
- [06:07]
B
Yeah, I think the, one of the things I've noticed over the years, man, it's just so hard to get kids to understand, like, versus respected. Like, I don't need everybody to like me. I don't need you to. I remember when I got to Georgia, man, that was one of the things that it really did. It didn't bother me when people didn't like me, like, but I wanted people to understand that they could, they would respect what I had to say and what I did. And so drawing that line, how do you do that now? Was it easier for you, coach, bringing so many guys with you that, that understand you and who you are and then trying to integrate, you know, those guys with, with everybody else?
- [06:41]
A
Yeah, I think it accelerates the process. I think there's obviously certain, there's different ways to do it, but I think it accelerates the process. When one, when I think there was 44 staff members that, that came with and, and 13 players. I, I think it accelerates the growth as long as it's positive, but it accelerates the connection. You know, it's not just the guys that came with and gals, it's, it's the fact that the rest of the up and down this hallway, the rest of the staff are, are, are men and women that I've either worked with, have known for a really long time. I think that continuity really helps. I think the guys in the locker room that came, came from South Florida are able to expedite the. That process in the locker room. But at the end of the day, it comes down to, to trust, right? I, I think what you said is dead right. Like, there's a difference between being liked and respect and, and being respected. But I think it ultimately comes down to how fast can you build trust. And that's player to player. But it's also player to coach and coach to coach and then back coach to player. Like, how fast can that circle of trust be built? And again, in this day and age where there's more new guys and more new people around year to year than there ever have been, I think it's even more important that the culture within the program is real and honest and truthful, where in this day and age, I think it'll get exposed way faster if it's not. But man, you talk about challenges, that's certainly, certainly a challenge.
- [08:20]
B
Who's, who's a couple of guys coach in spring that really stuck out like that. You just saw and you just, you were impressed the way they handled their business and the way they took coaching, the way that you were bringing everybody together. Who are some guys that stuck out?
- [08:35]
A
Yeah, you know, like Elijah Melendez on defense, who was a young guy, played, played a bunch a year ago at linebacker. And man, has, has leadership ability that just needed to come out, has leadership traits that like, he wants somebody to tell him, like, man, you're good, go ahead and lead. But it has been, has been a pleasure to be around, has been a pleasure to coach. You're seeing him grow as a leader every single day. He had a really good freshman year, I think, I think is, is a superstar in this league and has certainly got a really, really bright future ahead of him. He's been fun to be around and try to kind of help grow into the future of what this thing is. Champ Anthony on defense, man, he's a guy that came in here two years ago, was a junior college guy, wasn't highly recruited and has got the respect of everybody in this program, can play safety force nickel, can play corner, and has just one is smart. But to spend so much time in here pouring into these guys, like everything you ask to do in, in this, in this time where you're trying to build, he's done. I've been really, really impressed with him and really proud of him. Our quarterback has done a really good job byram of coming in and having this humble approach to leadership, knowing that he's had to build relationship to relationships with the guys before he can ever lead them. And I'm proud of the way that he's. He's taken that and run with it. You know, I think Coach, I got
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B
frustrated when I watched the video. When people immediately, like, look at his release, I'm like, have you watched this kid play? Like, what are we talk. What are we talking about? Like, have you watched him play and compete and throw a football? He's been really, really good at it, and he's been doing it like that for a while. Like, that kind of stuff bother you at all?
- [10:29]
A
No, I think if I've learned anything at Auburn here over the last seven months and being back in this league that you guys. You guys got a lot of time to fill on, whether it's podcast and. And you. There's. There's so many really good ones. And the reason why you got weekly shows or daily shows, because people watch and people listen, but you got to talk about something. So it's like, man, like, as the head coach, you're, like, trying to avoid being the reason why somebody's talking about.
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B
Talking about you. Yep. But.
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But at the same time, like, man, you got to fill air time, and I get it. So that week, it was his throwing motion. I kind of laugh about it. He kind of laughs about it. Like I told Byron, man, I'm like, if you're irrelevant, nobody's talking about you. So I guess something's going on.
- [11:16]
B
Yeah, something. Something good's going on there, I guess that's right. How cool was it? I thought it was so dope to watch the Eagle fly and to watch all the reactions to that with the World cup, man, like, because people don't, like, people don't get to see those kind of things, man. How fun was World cup and Messi and all the things that went with it. And there. Was there any stories from the week that, that. That stuck out to you?
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A
Yeah, you know, there was a couple guys that asked, man, coach, can you get us tickets to the game? And I'm like, well, like, I kind of want to go. Like, I don't know if it's cool to. To want to watch soccer, but, like, I'm. I'm like, I'm like a sports. I don't know. Enthusiasts would probably enthusiast. Yeah, like. Like, I enjoy, like, the. The pageantry around it. I had no idea it was going to be 88, 000 and that, like, I knew Messi's a big deal, but I didn't realize that there'd be thousands of people from Argentina traveling To Auburn, Alabama. And then, you know, they always say, like, you'll never actually see the Eagle fly because you're in the locker room before the game. So to see that. But rewind. We enough guys wanted to go there. I'm like, screw it, we'll take the whole team. And, you know, walking out of here, we did some food trucks over here and walked over to the game together. And, you know, there were some guys that were, like, a little bit too cool for school. Like, man, we gotta go to the soccer game. Like, 10 minutes into it, the guys are like, all like, whoa, this is, like, incredible. And I guess I didn't realize the pageantry that comes with it. And I mean, there was. I don't. I would venture to guess There was 50,000 Messi jerseys and there was like, 50,000 Messi jerseys and 30,000 Auburn jerseys or T shirts. And then there was like. Then there was like 8,000 people that were like, man.
- [13:02]
B
So Messi outnumbered Auburn. That's amazing.
- [13:04]
A
He absolutely did. But, you know, like, guys are like, who's Messi? I'm like, he's like, like LeBron. And like, ah. If he was like Jordan, then I'd be impressed. I'm like, Then he's like Jordan, I don't know what to tell you, but he's a big deal. But it was amazing. And then he played the last 25, 30 minutes, and the place went wild. But it was cool to see the Eagle. It was cool to see, you know, they did. They did the. The fourth quarter deal with the light show and all that. That was neat. Yes. Because at no other point will you ever, like, be locked in enough to know what the hell's going on. It was neat. It was really, really cool. I did also learn that it took me about 50 minutes to get home. I live, like, eight minutes away.
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B
Like, traffic.
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A
Yeah. What a disaster after a game.
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B
So that's why. That's why you. That's why you like your police escort. We'll stick with that.
- [13:55]
A
But there was no. Nothing. It was literally me sitting in the car on campus. I'm like, man, this is what people do after a game.
- [14:02]
B
Badass. A whole new appreciation for your fans, coach. Whole new appreciation. Speaking of, man, I think one thing your fan base loved was that you didn't dance around the Alabama rivalry. Like, you were absolutely willing to talk about it. Like, what is. Some of the guys, like, the OGs, you know, informed you about the. The rivalry and the Iron bowl. And I know you obviously have heard about it for years.
- [14:26]
A
Yeah. I mean, it's, it one. It ain't, it ain't easy to dislike that team over there. You know, I spent two years at Tennessee where, man, oh, man, was it, was it something you'd hear about every day? But, man, this state is so, so unique in the sense that, you know, there's no pro sports and the, these, these kids grow up, the. Everybody grows up, and you're, you're either an Alabama fan or an Auburn fan. And like, there's like, no in between. If I, if I've understood something really, really quick now, David, like, I, I, I've been to enough events in, in, in Georgia where they're like, hey, Coach, don't get it twisted. Like, we don't like these cats over here either. Now, so obviously that's what makes this league incredible. That's what makes college football incredible in itself, but that's what makes being at Auburn really, really special. Is that, is, is those rivalries. And, and it's real. I mean, it is real. Like, like, I'm telling you, man. And I've been to a lot of events. I've been to a lot of fundraisers, a lot of alumni deals, and it's, it's all this, it's. Every single message is the same, like, war Eagle, man. Beat them cats. War Eagle. We hate those guys. War Eagle, coach. That last game. And, and they're not joking. Like, they grow up with a legit hatred. And I know hate's a strong word, but that's, it's about what it is.
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B
Yeah, that's okay. It's okay in sport. We're okay with that there.
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A
No doubt.
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B
What kind of educational opportunity did the Sourcebees situation provide for, for you as a coach? Just because coach, I mean, it's, to me, it's one of the biggest epidemics. It's why our show will never talk about gambling. We just, we're not going to do that. That's not who we are. That's what we are. But you got this device right here that is in your hand, and it's just like anything else that you post on social media. Like, listen, dude, we're going to find out, like, people are going to know it, like, what kind of opportunity that provide for you as a coach to kind of talk to your team about how to handle gambling.
- [16:24]
A
Yeah, you know, we had this situation a couple years ago nationally in Iowa where there was all three of those school that, that had guys that, that got hit. And we keep going back to that. You know, it's always March Madness is always the one time where it's like, hey, just remind these guys, like, we can't gamble on college sports. And. And then that situation in Iowa happened, and it's become just a part of what we talk about in the summer, because it is. It's. It's. It's at their fingertips. It's. You watch any show and the line for the game is right next to the two teams. And I mean, it's. You've been around it long enough. You've seen people get caught up in it. The. The worst thing that could have happened with this. With this situation is the fact that. That they were going to allow him to play. And as a coach, I mean, heck, David, as a dad, you're like, man, like, that's like the most impure of impurities in sport. And it's. It's like, it's one of those things that you knew growing up. We've all known. We've all growing up. We've all known as we played and now coaching, like, it's like, that's the one thing I can't get you out of. It's like, this is the one thing I can't help you with. Like, I can help you with a lot. I can teach you about a lot, but you bet on a game and it's one thing I can't get you out of. And it was fascinating to watch just how it was handled, because I think we all, at the same time were sitting here and I don't want to throw stones in a glass house either. But, like, you try to learn and grow as you see other people handle situations, and you're like, man, like, that is the ultimate. No, no. Is like, there's no way we can justify this in any way. And it obviously worked itself out, but it got played out very much on social media and in the spotlight. But we're going to use it as a learning opportunity as well. Like, you have to, because it is at their fingertips. Like you said, it's your phone. It's everywhere. Every show is sponsored by something, and it's just the reality of what it is. But. But at the same time, we explain it all the time. Like, there's a reason why the money in this game is so big, is because that's part of it. And so it's just part of it. It's just something you can't do.
- [18:38]
B
Not on every show, Coach. It won't be on this show. That's a promise. But no, it's interesting when you. I Love when people, when coaches say that, like, if this was my kid, how would I handle it? And we understand as, as fathers, like there's consequences for your actions. Like that is a part of what happens. And so explaining that to kids obviously can be tough. Alex Golish, when you're in the season and you're in the grind, like, do you have habits or rituals? Do you do something the same way? Tie your shoe, watch tape in the same order? Like, is there things that you have that are, that are yours, that are uniquely yours that people would look at and be like, all right, dude's kind of a weirdo.
- [19:20]
A
You know what, I'm not like an overly crazy superstitious guy, but, but I am like stupid process driven. Like I've got the entire week, game week. I was actually looking at it yesterday to see how much it's got to change from, from the last place to here in the sense that like I watch, I do watch everything in the same order. I've got it like, like I've got time slots for everything. Obviously certain things will take longer than others, but essentially I can't leave till certain, till my checklist for the day is gone. And it's hard for me to start the day without the beginning part of the checklist being done. And it's everything from, from what you're watching, from a cut up standpoint to the conversations you got with the coordinators to, to the game plan, how it comes together, to situational checklist week in, week out. But I am very, very meticulous in the timing of it. And the only thing that'll ever break it up is if, if, if a player, player needs me or comes up to see me, which is, which is still my favorite thing about this game or my job. And if something comes up from a staff standpoint, but otherwise I am as meticulous as meticulous gets. I don't like change throughout the year, but we evaluate our process every Sunday and I do myself as well. Like, man, did I miss something? Did I should something get? And it's changed as the years have gone on, but I feel like I've got it down to a pretty good science here. There's a little bit more media obligation here, but outside of that, go right back to starting Sunday morning and ending Saturday night the same way.
- [21:04]
B
Having that routine is huge, obviously for all of us in life. I tell everybody when I go speak, be selfish in the morning because then you can be selfless the rest of the day, but you got to be selfish in the morning. And you said it like, you got to get it done early before all the noise and all the excuses and fatigue and all that crap continues to tick in. We mentioned Tennessee a little bit. What did you learn or what was the wisdom maybe you got from. From being around Hypo and just the offensive mentality and stuff that he has that you've carried with you to Tampa and now you'll take, you know, with your job here at Auburn, obviously.
- [21:37]
A
Yeah, I thought Hype did a really, really good job of. Of being very, very meticulous and detailed, really in everything offensively, certainly, but. But I thought as a head coach, I thought very, very meticulous in certain things that need to get done. Detailed from a football side, but also from a recruiting side. I was. I was certainly. It was awesome to. To be able to be there at the beginning. Part of that, you know, walked into a really tough situation at the end of January and. And I think in a lot of ways benefited me because a lot got thrown on me because we did. We had a really good relationship. There was a lot of trust there, and he trusted me to do a lot of things that I don't know if we walked into a normal situation in December, if it would have been that way, but he certainly trusted me with a lot and I don't know if without that experience, if I would have been ready to go run. Run it myself so quickly. But I think we certainly did some things right. We certainly jacked some things up and it was good to learn and grow and. But I think the best thing from an offensive standpoint with Josh was. Was just the way that his mentality was in terms of we were going to be the ones that attack them and not wait for. For a defense to attack us and essentially force the defense to play a certain way. And it was really the. The first time we were obviously together at UCF before that, but it was the first time I really saw in that. In that light consistently of we are going to put pressure on the defense to do what we want them to do rather than what they want to do. And as we've evolved offensively and inevitably we all do, I think that's always stuck with me is like, you have to be the more aggressive one of the two to be able to go score points, and it certainly helped us along the way.
- [23:38]
B
So I'm sure you've peeped at that schedule for October 3rd and that. That trip back to. To Tennessee, and I can imagine that'll be two guys going at it. With if both are trying to be aggressive, if both are trying to put the. The hammer down, that. That could be a fun one to watch. Coach, we.
- [23:54]
A
We got week one, Dave. You're going to set me up in Atlanta, and that'll be a huge game, too. And so. But I'm sure it'll be fun when we get there.
- [24:05]
B
All gas, no brakes. If you could change one thing, Coach, about the. The current state of college football, just to improve it, it's a great game. I'm not going to go down that rabbit hole. This is a great game. I freaking love this game with everything in me. But if you could do one thing to make it better, like, what would be priority number one for you?
- [24:23]
A
Are you asking, like, big picture?
- [24:25]
B
Yeah, big picture. Yes, sir.
- [24:27]
A
Man, I would love to be able to. To regulate how many, how many times somebody can transfer. And I know that's a hot topic because coaches come and go, and I get it. I think.
- [24:40]
B
Why would that be most important to you?
- [24:43]
A
Because the, the development piece of what this is. You know, I. And maybe I got a unique background because I started as a high school coach, but, like, like, I think these guys are still. You get them at 17, 18 years old. There's so much development that's got to happen. There's. There's so much growth that's got to happen, and I think it takes time to grow. I think it takes guys time to get comfortable and to be able to grow. I think the amount of change that's happening all the time stunts that growth. I really do. And do you want to have opportunities for guys to make money? Absolutely. You want to have opportunities for guys? If the situation is bad, absolutely. But a hard situation isn't a bad situation, and waiting your turn isn't a bad situation. Fighting for something isn't a bad situation. It's. It's real life. And, and at 40, whatever I am now, like, we are all so grateful for those lessons that we learned back then that, like, man, you're like, are we doing these guys a disservice for. For life after football? David, like, like, for real? Like, because I always say, man, like, like, are you. You going to walk out on your marriage, like, because it got really hard? Are you gonna walk out on your kids because it got really hard? Like, no. Like, like, as a man, you're not doing either of those things. So let's teach this right now. And I think that part, if you could change would be absolutely monumental. It would force young men to have to go through the Tough and not have an out all the time. Now, again, I think there has to be exceptions and I'm not even telling you. I know the perfect solution. I really don't. That's way above my pay grade. But that would be the one thing is like, man, like, if we can somehow get it to where. At least two or three years to start where, where a young guy's got to go through the, the heart of being a freshman and a sophomore and, and, and being able to, to grow into a role, being able to grow as a leader, like, I, I think that would be priceless.
- [26:52]
B
I heard all that and all that made a lot of sense. But everybody that heard you say, I'm a 40 something year old man knew exactly what you meant because you don't really remember anymore. Like, I don't remember. I'm 41, 42, 43. It doesn't even matter. All right, coach, last question for you and I'll get you out of here this season. Like, what, what do you have to get done? Like, what do. What is the, what is the thing that has to get done to get you in the. Going in the right direction? I'm not going to say like, how many games do you have to win, but what do you really want to see from your guys to get this thing turned around? When I was a coach, Rick, man, my first year, it was his first year, we go to Tennessee and it was the hobnail boot game. It's the moment, coach, when I looked around and everybody was like, okay, he's been selling me this message and I've been listening, but now I believe it. Like, what, what's going to be success for you this year and in this next season?
- [27:43]
A
Yeah, I think, you know, that's been like the one question that, that has gotten asked a lot. And I've really sat and thought about it because you get here in December, like you're moving a million miles an hour. Like, the last thing I've thought about is like, man, what does success really look like? And I think as I've thought about it, like, more than anything, you want to have an identity. I think elite football programs have an identity. And you can look across the NFL, you can look across college football. They have an identity. Like you can pinpoint to heck, you're all in the modern say, why, why are they good year in, year out? Well, and you could probably tell me better than I could tell you, but it starts with elite defense, right? Like, you know that like, like detail, tough, physical. Like, like, well, for us to be really, really successful in year one, we have to have an identity. Like, if we, if we leave year one and, and not just our football team, but honestly, like the general public that watches college football can say, man, like, those guys are this. And for me, I can sit here and drill down what I want it to be. I think until the guys in your program really own it, it's just me talking and it's coach talk. But like, more than anything else, like a physically and mentally tough football team that's smart, don't do dumb things, don't hurt yourselves, and a team that's willing to go finish like this league, it doesn't take analytic research to know that, that over 90% of the games in this league are one score games. Which, which tells you like, man, like, it's all relatively evenly matched. And so what's, what is the difference? Well, like, like it's really what's gotten Auburn to be one of the true blue bloods in college football. Elite defense, run the football well. You got to be tough physically, you got to be tough mentally to do those two things and you got to be really, really smart. You know, we lost six games here a year ago by one score. Yeah, like, so, like, like why? And that's not, not asking you for the answer. And I don't know the answer because I wasn't here. But, but to me, that can't be who we are. And so if we could leave year one with a true identity of who we are offensively, defensively, special teams, and then as a team, I think we'll have a chance to, to set ourselves up for success as we build. But, but that's the biggest thing, like my biggest fear in life is if we leave year one and it's like our right, what are we, you know, like, like what are we truly, from an identity standpoint, I think what we've been able to do offensively and defensively and special teams, in terms of the guys leading those units, it's really clear from an identity standpoint schematically who we are now. Who are we as a football team from a toughness standpoint, from being, from being really, really smart and situational football, like, I think that's a huge sign of if a team is heading in the right direction is do they play high level situational football. And if we leave year one with that, obviously I want to win all our games. I think we all do. And that's, that's going to be the standard here as we go. But, but it starts with our identity. And that piece of. It'll take care of itself. Before you let me go, I got a question for you because I've been meaning to ask you this, and this might be good tv. Anyways, you just went through this recruiting process, right?
- [31:07]
B
Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
- [31:08]
A
As a dad now. Yes. What was the thing that shocked you the most from going through it as a player to what is this? I guess 18 years later? 16 years?
- [31:18]
B
20. 20 something years later. Yeah, I think the. I think the biggest. The biggest shock was how much it's changed from a. Listen, the. The meals are the same, the showing you around are the same. The uniform stuff is obviously bigger and bolder, but. But I think the. The conversations and the mo. The more it is about, like, about where you're going, you know, Like, I thought more about, you know, college and fit more than I thought about the next level and how much money I was making and was going to be. I think it was more relational. I developed relationship with these coaches at a really high level, and they checked in with me and I knew who. I knew who I was going to and kind of who they were and what they were. And I think it was very relationally driven. And I think, you know, when you go to these different spots, it's all different. It's not always relationally driven. And when the money talk happens, I was. I was like, whoa, okay. You know, when it happens in the equation and it might happen a lot faster than you thought, like, which is absolutely the case. So I think it was very different. When you come through it from that perspective and you're trying to shepherd your son into it, you're like, okay, you know, I was like, buddy, take a peek around with. With who is here with you on this visit. With who's going to be with you on these visits. That's who you're going to become. Like. Like, these are the kids you spend time with. When you spend time with these kids, that's who you're going to be, right? Like, this is, hey, guess what? This is the town that we call H O M E. This is home. Like, do you like it? Like, forget the football. Do you like living here? Do you want to be here? Is this something that you would be, like, excited about? You know? And so I. I think just the difference in, like, man, it was so relational. And now it's like a dm and you're like, hey, you got an offer. It's like, holy. And I listen, I got letters, you know, because it was before Social media. But like, your coach came to your school and saw you so many times, right? Like, and just built that relationships. And now like, my son, like, put a video up of him, you know, doing a nasty dunk and then all of a sudden he's getting DMs in his message about, like, hey, we want you to come visit us. Hey, you know, and it's like, I don't even know you yet. Like, I don't even know who you are. And hey, let's come make a visit. That was. That was very different.
- [33:33]
A
Yeah, accelerated, right? Like, it's all sped up.
- [33:36]
B
Yeah, all sped up. And every recruiting story is obviously different. But I can tell you this, coach, by listening to you and talking to you and I've known you. But, like, I can tell you this, that's the best answer I've ever heard about what you want to be. And Auburn fans should love hearing that. Like, knowing who your identity and what you. Because I'll be honest, Auburn, Auburn fans, like, man, we've invented ways to lose. Like, we have invented way. I. I've never seen, you know, always in every game and then just finding a new way to do it. But knowing who you are and what you are will go a long way. Like, listen, we're going to be this. And the great teams of Auburn have all been, you know, offensively in the past, have just been so much fun to watch. They knew who they were and they could build it around that. And I think knowing you, coach, you're going to have that. And I appreciate so much your time and love the background. The background is super dope. So is the lid. And wish you luck this year on the plains, coach.
- [34:27]
A
I appreciate it, Dave. Thank you so much. War Eagle, brother.
- [34:30]
B
War Eagle. You demand.