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In a world where it’s easy to change programs, Auburn kicker Alex McPherson is the outlier.
He’s been with the Tigers for all of his collegiate career, setting foot on the Plains in 2022. Since then, McPherson has seen three head coaches look to bring the program back to its old standard.
But something is different this time around with head coach Alex Golesh. Players see the energy that he is looking to put into the building, and the kicker noticed that immediately.
“I think we've built a great foundation for the brotherhood of this team,” he said at SEC Media Days, “and I think going into this fall camp it's going to be huge for us to continue to build that and just the relationships with each other and with the coaches.”
The relationship between McPherson and Golesh is one that is already close-knit. It’s not often that a special teams player is selected to an event like SEC Media Days, which took place in Tampa, Fla., but Golesh thought differently about his kicker.
It told McPherson a lot about the person that his head coach is, more importantly.
“He told me I deserved it, and building that relationship with Coach Golesh, getting to really know him and his family over these past few months since he's gotten there, and it's such an honor,” he said, “coming from him especially.”
The SEC will bring ups and downs to Auburn in Golesh’s inaugural season, but McPherson believes that his team can compete with the best in the conference. Coming from last season, former head coach Hugh Freeze continued to bring in top high school talent and supplemental transfer pieces helped aid that.
Auburn couldn’t put it all together, which led to his firing. However, with Golesh, the bonds make for a higher floor in 2026.
“I would just say the relationship part of the team,” McPherson said. ‘I think we have the talent. Coach AG and the rest of the staff have really pushed the relationship piece of it.”
The Tigers’ schedule is filled with loaded opponents, including a season-opener against Baylor in Atlanta that could define how Auburn is looked at for the remainder of the season. Golesh spoke about what his goals are for his inaugural season, and McPherson will be one of the team’s leaders to help embody that.
“Just to be able to hold one another accountable, lift one another up, things like that,” he said.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/auburn as Auburn Kicker Alex McPherson Details Culture Change From 2025 to 2026.
