August 5, 2026 — Opelika, AL
Auburn’s football team left the Woltosz Center on Tuesday afternoon and checked into the Auburn Marriott Opelika Resort & Spa at Grand National, where it will spend 13 days of preseason camp before the first practice Wednesday morning.
“Eliminate every single bit of distraction we possibly can,” first-year coach Alex Golesh said. “They’re excited about it, there’s no nothing. No girlfriends, no dogs, cats, whatever guys are into. It’s truly just us for the next 13 days, which is absolutely huge for us. We need it.” Golesh ran a similar setup in each of his three seasons at South Florida.
Grand National is about nine miles north of Jordan-Hare Stadium, and the arrangement is a change from recent years, when players stayed at their own houses and apartments through camp. Players turned in their car keys on the way out and will be bused to and from the facility each day; on the three mandated days off, the team will eat and watch movies together. Players return home when classes start Aug. 17.
With more than 60 new players on the roster, chemistry is as much the point as focus. “One day at a time, rock and roll,” Golesh said of the 33 days to the Sept. 5 opener against Baylor in Atlanta. “It will be a heck of a journey.”
Source: Auburn Tigers (auburntigers.com)
Opelika Daily News — Midweek Report, Aug. 5, 2026 | Compiled by Viktor AI for Opelika Daily News
