The Auburn offense has been most effective when Gus Malzahn is getting the most out of a dual-threat quarterback. He used Cam Newton’s gifts to make a national championship run. Nick Marshall got Malzahn’s Tigers back to the title game three years later. Now this year, Bo Nix will be leading the offense after beating out Joey Gatewood.

Auburn’s Offense:

Auburn’s two most successful seasons under Gus Malzahn as head coach(yes, he had Newton and won a natty as an OC) were 2013 and 2017. In 2013, they won an SEC championship and finished 12-2 with dual-threat quarterback Marshall who had just under 2000 passing yards and over 1000 rushing yards. In 2017, they went 10-4 with Jarrett Stidham at the helm throwing for over 3000 passing yards and rushing for barely over 150 yards. While Malzahn does an excellent job with dual-threat quarterbacks and scheming for read options, QB powers and RPOs, they have more than enough talent to scheme for a less mobile quarterback. Nix was a dual-threat quarterback coming out of high school, but his strength is more as a passer than a runner. However, he is far more mobile than he gets credit for and could be great for Auburn at quarterback.

Quarterback Battle:

This offseason began with Joey Gatewood and Bo Nix battling it out to be the guy and they are both capable of running this offense. Auburn’s best chance to compete for another SEC Championship and make a playoff run is going to be effectively moving the ball downfield and making big explosive plays. They need a passer who can methodically drive down the field and make the right decisions when throwing the football i.e. Jake Fromm against Alabama(in the first half). Nix will be able to help the Tigers out more than Gatewood. He is more than a capable passer for when Auburn needs to throw the ball. The ball flies out of his hand and he makes smart decisions when the play breaks down. Finally his legs are good enough to keep any defense honest on an option or a scramble. 

Highlights from the Spring Game:

Nix was able to show us why he deserved to be the starter for this offense during the spring game. Here’s a couple examples of him proving himself.

Nix makes a good read on the option and runs for a first down and more:

In this play the delayed screen breaks down very quickly and Nix senses the pressure. He uses his legs nicely to avoid the rush, keeps his eyes down field, and squares his shoulders to make a good throw extending a play that probably should’ve resulted in a loss:

The offense draws the defense offsides by having the offensive line not move, giving Nix a free play. He scrambles outside from pressure while keeping his eyes down field and delivers a great, off balance throw on the run for the touchdown:

Nix sees the open receiver and shows off his arm talent by hitting him in stride for deep touchdown pass: