Alex Golesh Sends Strong Message After Auburn's First Fall Camp Scrimmage

The first scrimmage of fall camp for the Auburn Tigers gave Alex Golesh plenty to think about. And not all of it was good. The Tigers went through around 115 plays with the first and second-team groups while working through several different situations, including red zone, short yardage, third down and overtime. Golesh's biggest takeaway? Auburn was too inconsistent. There were pre-snap mistakes offensively, missed tackles defensively, and issues operating through crowd noise. Golesh said the Tigers looked like an experienced team at times and a really young one at others. That's not what he wants. "Humble the heck out of yourselves," Golesh said. And considering Auburn is getting closer to shifting its attention toward the season opener, the next week of camp will be important. There were positives. Tristan Tia continues to separate himself as Auburn's backup quarterback. A position that surely they'd like to have settled before the beginning of the season to have some consistency behind Byrum Brown  Golesh said Tia, who transferred to Auburn this season from Oregon State, has taken all of the second-team reps essentially and made "monumental steps" since arriving at Auburn. There are still freshman mistakes, but Golesh believes there's some "gamer" in him. The offensive line remains unsettled. Jacob Strand continues to receive significant first-team work at guard, battling with Deryc Plazz. Perhaps the biggest development was Stanton Ramil playing the entire scrimmage after Auburn carefully managed his workload throughout camp. Having Ramil healthy is paramount for the beginning of the season, after the injuries that have piled up on the Auburn offensive line. Ramil, who transferred to Auburn from Michigan State this past offseason, will likely be the team's starting right tackle at the beginning of the season.  Golesh believes Auburn could eventually have seven or eight offensive linemen it feels comfortable playing. The same depth is beginning to develop elsewhere. Alvin Henderson impressed with the second-team offense after putting together several strong practices. Cody Sigler's effort immediately stood out to Golesh on the defensive line. And Auburn's secondary is finally getting healthier. Sylvester Smith-Reed participated in the scrimmage, Caleb Harris returned, and Auburn had its full group of cornerbacks available. Champ Anthony's versatility continues to give Auburn plenty of options. Golesh said Anthony worked across all five secondary positions during the scrimmage, giving the Tigers another player they can move around based on matchups. Although the words may sound negative from Alex Golesh, it might just be a surprise or a shock to the system for Auburn fans, as the new head coach is just holding the team to a new set of standards.  The depth chart is beginning to take shape, but as he's made it clear, no one is safe until the games start going. Golesh is looking for consistency, and after that first scrimmage, Auburn clearly still has some work to do before it gets there.