The big-business landscape of college football has never seemed more conflicted or distracting.

The approach of USF coach Alex Golesh remains basic, uncomplicated and pure.

He's going to outwork you.

"I've said it a million times, but there is no substitute for hard work and doing things the right way,'' said Golesh, in his first season with the Bulls after turning the SEC on its head as Tennessee's offensive coordinator. "You can always work harder than someone else. It's a choice. In recruiting, you can write one more letter, send one more text, make one more FaceTime call, make the relationship even stronger. You can still outwork people. You can still out-scheme people. Other things might change, but I don't think those things ever will.

"Look, we're going to work extremely hard. We're going to outwork everybody in college football, both as a team and as a staff. And we're going to be who we say we are, which is treating guys the right way, loving them, respecting them, but demanding a lot of them and then holding them accountable at the same time. And they're welcome to hold the coaches accountable, as they should.''

In the USF football program, whether you are toiling in the practice-field heat, selling tickets in an air-conditioned office, drawing up X's and O's in a meeting room, pressing the flesh at a well-heeled community gathering or creatively delivering a message on a social-media channel, everyone has equal skin in the game.

But there is a hierarchy.

There is a leader.

And he's setting a breakneck pace.

"It's a next-level work ethic,'' Bulls quarterback Byrum Brown said. "Just count the number of Red Bull's in his office. We've all heard the quote: 'Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.' But when he says it, when he does anything, there's such energy, such swagger. He inspires me to be my best — every single day.''

"There's real and there's fake … and Coach Golesh is real,'' Bulls linebacker D.J. Gordon said. "He's actions, not words. You just don't see it enough in today's world. I'm humbled by it.''

"Coach Golesh tells us, 'You're always at the bottom of the mountain and no matter what's going on, no matter how you feel, you've got to work harder than the next guy and climb to the top," Bulls wide receiver Sean Atkins said. "If we have that mindset every day, if we keep showing up and working hard, great things will happen.''

Bulls quarterback Bryce Archie, a transfer from Coastal Carolina, was looking to get some extra work in during a random Saturday night in the offseason. But no one was around. The Indoor Performance Facility was closed.

"I didn't want to disturb him on the weekend, but I called Coach Golesh and asked if there might be somebody around to let me in,'' Archie said. "He said, 'Yeah, no problem, I'll be right down.' He was up in his office, watching film. It blew me away.''

An Honest Day's Work

As a teenager, Golesh remembers bagging groceries at Kroger, dashing off for a strenuous football practice, then heading back to Kroger for a few more hours of bagging groceries.

That was a typical day for the son of two hard-working Russian immigrants. They first arrived in Brooklyn for a few years during the early 1990s, when Golesh was in grade school, before settling in Dublin, Ohio. When Golesh and his older brother Eugene wanted something, they had to earn it. That included their first cars (and the insurance). They learned how to value everything they had. And nothing was wasted.

At Ohio State University, he was a student assistant, working insane hours. It was the kind of job where you could easily feel invisible, maybe even unappreciated. But Buckeyes coaches, guiding a national championship-level program, still talk about the young Alex Golesh.

"You could always see that he was a guy that our people could count on,'' former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel once told the Toledo Blade. "If you asked him for data or a film cutup, you were going to get very usable information. My recollection is that he was around every corner and he was someone the coaches knew they could count on.''

Golesh started at the bottom of the coaching ladder — then methodically climbed up every rung.

He has been part of a staff that was fired, at which time he briefly became a bartender and wasn't sure what was next. He has grinded in anonymity at desolate coaching outposts. He has tasted the glory of winning big in the SEC and seen his reputation skyrocket as the next big thing.

Whether it was Ohio State, Northern Illinois, Oklahoma State, Toledo, Illinois, Iowa State, UCF, Tennessee or USF, Golesh said he never chased a job. No task was too small. No situation was too overwhelming.

"I remember going to one of his Toledo games that started late and ended late, maybe we got back to his house at 1 in the morning,'' said Eugene Golesh, his brother, now an executive with Nationwide Financial in Ohio. "I got up pretty early, still pretty tired, looked around and said, 'Where's Alex?' And his wife (Alexis) just said, 'Oh, he's already back at the office.' That's my brother.''

Golesh will constantly talk about working hard.

"I think I slept pretty well on Christmas Eve … the rest of the nights, maybe not so much,'' said Golesh, smiling. "I don't gauge it like that. I don't count up the hours. When you sleep, you sleep. When you've got to work to do, you get up and do it.''

He also believes in working smart.

"My family is my 'why' and that's always my priority,'' said Golesh, speaking about his wife and their two children, daughter Corbin and son Barrett. "Your family is in the middle of the whole thing and some of my coolest moments are seeing my kids on the field.

"I think it's important for the guys to see me not only modeling being a good leader, but also a good husband, a good father and a good citizen. The things we emphasize, we need to live those values.''

Which is reflected in Golesh's now-trademark phrase:

Be Who You Say You Are.

"You know what you're going to get with Coach Golesh every single day,'' Bulls associate head coach/run game coordinator Matt Merritt said. "It's more than a slogan. It's real.''

Genuine And Honest

As a young coach, Golesh got advice he never forgot.

"It was what my parents stood for, how I was raised, how I was coached in high school and what I truly believe,'' Golesh said. "When I became a head coach, a number of people I admire told me, 'Never change.' And I don't intend to change.

"I think in college football, people step into different roles, then they forget what got them there or what their identity is. I'm not a big slogan or motto guy or somebody who puts out wristbands. I don't have pyramids of success. But those words mean something to me.''

Be Who You Say You Are.

"All people really want is to be told the truth and be held accountable,'' Golesh said. "When you tell people the truth, there's a genuine respect and genuine love. That's what our culture is. You can define it a million different ways. But it boils down to being honest and authentic.''

Golesh likes to have his players mix and mingle, straying from the normal cliques of a position group. He requires them to know the hometowns of their teammates — and the mascots at their high schools.

When Golesh encounters a player in the halls and asks how they're doing, it's never "OK'' or "fine'' or "not bad.'' There's an expected response and they all know it.

Golesh: How are you doing today? 

Player: I'm elite, coach. I'm elite.

"In today's world, I feel like a lot of guys make decisions based off what they see other people doing,'' Bulls cornerback Aamaris Brown said. "You know, being a follower instead of being a leader. As a team, we want to be who we say we are and not put on an act.

"I like the way Coach Golesh operates. He has set a foundation and a standard, then he holds us to it. At the same time, he's very energetic, very playful. He cares. He's not one of those coaches all stuck-up, so busy and rarely talking to his players. He's approachable. He always brings that good energy. But for sure, that man does work.''

That man does work indeed.

When a reporter sat down with Golesh during the spring, after getting significant time, there was a few more topics to cover. Golesh was asked how much more time was available.

"As little as humanly possible.''

He said it with a smile. He answered a few more questions. Then he returned to work.

"There's a reason we took this job,'' Golesh said. "My question (for any prospective program) was, 'Is there an actual commitment to being elite at football?' Not pretty good. Not kind of good. Elite. That's what I see. There's accessibility to players and this is a talent acquisition game. They are giving us the resources and people we need. This is a great job in a great place and there are so many positives for the future.

"All that being said, we've got a lot of work to do.''

His players understand.

"With Coach Golesh, it's like a fire is lit under him every single day,'' Bulls tight end Gunnar Greenwald said. "He constantly brings the fire. Our mindset is there's always somebody out there working. If you take a day off — or even a rep off — somebody else is getting a step ahead of you. We want to be the hardest-working team in college football. That's a reflection of our head coach.''

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