Urban Meyer: Auburn, Bo Nix could be better than expected

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Posted 6 minutes ago

247sports.com

 

Urban Meyer: Auburn, Bo Nix could be better than expected

ByKevin Flaherty

3-4 minutes

 

Former coach and current FOX Sports college football analyst Urban Meyer picked Auburn among the SEC teams that he thinks will be better than expected this season. On FOX Sports’ Big Noon Kickoff, Meyer pointed to Auburn’s overall talent level and said he’s a fan of second-year Auburn quarterback Bo Nix.

“I think Auburn recruits well, has a good coaching staff, and they’ve got a good quarterback,” Meyer said. “This guy is a multi-purpose -- we loved him at the beginning of last year. I think the step between a first-year and second-year starter -- the difference is phenomenal … Bo Nix is a football guy from a football family, and at a heck of a program. I’ve got him in my top 5. I think Auburn is going to be right there.”

The top-ranked dual-threat quarterback and No. 33 overall player in the 2019 247Sports Composite, Nix jumped straight from the frying pan into the fire as a true freshman, setting an Auburn freshman record with 2,542 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and six interceptions, while he chipped in 313 yards and seven scores on the ground. With Nix at the helm, Auburn went 9-4 with all four losses — at Florida, at LSU, Georgia at home and Minnesota in the Outback Bowl — coming to ranked teams that went a combined 49-6 last season. And it’s not like Auburn lost every game against a top team it played last year, either. The Tigers defeated a pair of teams that finished in the top 10 in Oregon and Alabama; the Crimson Tide and Ducks each lost one non-Auburn game last year, with Alabama’s lone loss coming to eventual national champion LSU.

So what can Nix do as a sophomore? For one thing, Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said there shouldn’t be any freshman jitters.

“I will say this. He is very confident,” Malzahn said in a recent interview. “There is no doubt about that.

“I can tell he is starting to feel like this is more of his team,” Malzahn said. “That is natural progression for a true freshman that starts.”

Nix has new offensive wrinkles to adjust to as well, with Auburn hiring Chad Morris at offensive coordinator. Morris had tremendous success as an offensive coordinator at Clemson and Tulsa before spending the last five years as head coach at SMU and Arkansas, respectively.

“He is getting used to Coach Morris’ offense,” Malzahn said. “They have done quite a bit of things, but Bo can handle them. I would say he had a good first week.”

Defensively, Auburn loses All-SEC defensive tackle Derrick Brown up front, but should once again field a strong unit thanks to a terrific group of linebackers that should be among the SEC's best. If Nix and the offense can take a step forward, then, the Tigers could surprise in a shortened season.

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