The opportunity at UCF was intriguing to Alex Golesh on many levels.
He wasn't necessarily looking to leave Iowa State as he had a comfortable role with the Cyclones as tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator, but UCF offered a situation he couldn't pass up.
Golesh, who was hired by Josh Heupel in January as the Knights' co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach, spoke extensively with the the media on Wednesday, two days before the start of spring practice.
"I think getting into a different offensive system, I've always been fascinated by the origination of it and Coach Heup putting his own twist on it," Golesh said. "The offensive success has been really public. An opportunity to learn and grow in that capacity with an opportunity to be a coordinator. In talking to Coach Heup, I was really fascinated by the opportunity. I wanted to be a part of continuing to build this program and taking it to new heights. Continuing to build this offense and taking it to new heights."
And though he tried to take any personal relationships out of the decision-making process, it didn't hurt that he's already close friends with offensive line coach Glen Elarbee. The duo spent a season together at Oklahoma State in 2008 and Elarbee's wife Holly actually introduced Golesh to the woman who would later become his wife.
"Holly, Glenn's wife, was hanging out and brought lunch one day," Golesh said. "I met her and kind of got to talking a little bit. She said one of her friends was coming into town and so we went bowling and got pizza. So her best friend has become my wife of 11 years now. They grew up together. Their parents have been friends for a long time. Holly was maid of honor at our wedding. Glen and I individually have been really close for a long time. Obviously our wives are really close.
"We've never worked together since our time at Oklahoma State. We've always said, 'Wouldn't that be cool.' This profession is so much about relationships. Relationships go beyond football. Glen has been a dear friend and our wives have a pretty tight support network. We went through it together. You come up through the profession and you learn and grow. Here's an opportunity to work together. I'd be lying if I said that wasn't a huge deal for me to go into a situation, take on a new coordinator role and at the same time have the support. If the o-line coach and you are on the same page, you're in a good spot. It all starts with those guys. Glen is one of the best in the country and on top of that is one of the best people I've ever met."
Golesh did add that Holly did an "incredible job" recruiting him to UCF.
"She's a way better recruiter than Glenn," Golesh said with a smile.
Here are more highlights from the 20-plus minute interview:
Heupel's initial pitch to Golesh included the plea, 'Help us grow.' The UCF head coach saw a need for better tight end development. Golesh is considered one of the best tight end coaches in the country after helping Iowa State completely transform a position that was non-existent to one that in 2019 featured an All-American in Charlie Kolar.
Golesh said the tight end is one of the most "developmental" positions on the field. He said he and Heupel have a similar history in recruiting tall, lanky wide receiver-type bodies and molding them into productive tight ends who can help in the passing game right away and then develop into run blockers.
Golesh said quality tight end play allows offenses to become more multiple, noting how tight ends these days are becoming more coveted by the NFL for the potential mismatches they can create.
"That position is so unique that's why 14 tight ends got drafted (last year)," Golesh said. "It's become a commodity position in terms of really big athletic guys that can be mismatches in the passing game and help you run the ball. There's a premium on defensive ends and edge rushers that can block those guys."
UCF only has one returning tight end in redshirt senior Jake Hescock. The other three scholarship tight ends are newcomers: Jordan Davis and Cornelius Forrest are true freshmen who enrolled in January and Zach Marsh-Wojan is a junior college signee who will arrive for Summer A.
"We've got to recruit better there and develop better there," Golesh said. "It's not a knock on anything. It's the nature of the position. A guy medicals (Jonathon MacCollister) and a guy transfers (Anthony Roberson) and you end up really thin. That's a huge priority for me. In fact, the first thing I do every morning is take 20 minutes to make sure I'm recruiting in the right manner there to be able to help us. We've started that by signing a junior college guy that hopefully can give us some immediate depth. The next step is taking high school kids we can truly develop."
Golesh also alluded to the lack of passing productivity from UCF tight ends in 2019, nothing there wasn't really a suitable replacement for Michael Colubiale. He also mentioned how the top Heupel offenses have always featured top level quarterback and tight end play, pointing out past examples at Oklahoma and Missouri.
"I put a lot of time into it and take a lot of pride in growing as a developer at that position," Golesh said. "I feel like I've still got room to grow obviously. Recruiting is where that starts. Recruiting is where everything starts but that position here today, that's a huge priority."
Even before UCF became a coaching possibility, Golesh had been keeping an eye on the program.
"To be honest with you, I studied a lot of (UCF) in the offseason conceptually," Golesh said. "As a football coach, you take the offseasons to try to get better and evolve. You look at the top five, 10 offenses in the country and UCF was there. Mizzou (with Heupel) was there prior too. I've studied it over the past five or six years. I've studied it, broken down and seeing what concepts can fit."
Golesh added that he watched UCF live several times this past season.
"Like every other college football coach in the country, I watched some Friday night games sitting in the hotel," Golesh said. "It felt like UCF was on a lot. I've had a longstanding relationship with Glen Elarbee, so obviously as close as we are, when you have friends you tend to watch those games a little bit more with a different viewpoint. Less as a fan, but cheering for the o-line. I've seen and studied a lot of UCF.
"From this past year's games, the first thing I did when I got here was sit down and started going through it from a personnel standpoint and then a scheme standpoint. Really familiar with the system, but not as familiar with the personnel. Those are what the seven weeks have been. Figuring all that out and trying to see where I can help continue to improve it."
While UCF's offense was among the best in the country last season, Golesh is looking for ways for how he can make it even better. Heupel had mentioned to him the need for better efficiency on third down and in the red zone.
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Asked about the differences between this UCF offense and ones that he saw in the Big 12 at Iowa State, Golesh said the biggest is obviously the tempo.
"When you combine tempo offense and speed, it's really a lethal combination," he said. "That's the best approach to attack a defense. Multiplicity within that can be the difference. Obviously the success here for the last decade is what you sell in recruiting and what you sell to coaches who want to come here. You want to be a part of something that's high end and elite and you want to continue to make it better."
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Golesh also said joining an existing staff was also a new experience. Ever since he became a full-time coach with stops at Toledo (2009-11), Illinois (2012-2015) and Iowa State (2016-19), he had been part of a new staff.
"This is a unique learning experience for me to get to know the players and staff," Golesh said. "I probably wear out Tuck (Anthony Tucker) daily in terms of questions about the offense and the players themselves. You spend a lot of time figuring how you do things here, like where you drop your recruiting letters, where you park, where you grab a sandwich at lunch. Instead of everybody figuring it out together, you're kind of on your own. I've leaned a lot on the assistants and the support staff."
He laughed and said he can finally drive home without using his GPS.
"Every day is new and a learning experience."
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Regarded as a top recruiter, Golesh was asked what goes into that process. He said it's about communication and being relentless.
"I look at recruiting as a huge part of our job," he said. "I make it important... I try to never skip a day or skip a step in recruiting. When you coach at the college level, recruiting is how you get better fast. I've always looked at it that way. Communication is huge. Being able to communicate with the young people, their families and the high school and junior college coaches. Communication among your staff. Not having an ego goes a long way in recruiting in terms of needing help and asking for help. I think so much is involving as many people as you can. As many people can touch a young man and his family, the comfort level grows. It certainly helps.
"Being genuine and honest. I've always tried to be really genuine and honest, communicate really well. I'm not for everyone. UCF is not for everyone. But the guys that it's for, you try to develop a relationship and work harder than a lot of people. It's like offensive football and the business world. There's a level of work and the reward kind of goes hand in hand. You work and work and try to cast a wide net.
"I've always taken a lot of pride in communicating really well, being really upfront and honest. Generally young people like that. So much today is out there and so public. Back 15 years ago when I first started, you could tell a young guy something and it was hard to fact check. Now there's something called Google and you can fact check just about anything. The more upfront and honest you are, it certainly helps."
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