aubiefifty 18,231 Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 Harsin ready to assess 'pecking order' of Auburn quarterback room By Nathan King4 hrs 9 AUBURN, Ala. — Bryan Harsin has known that Bo Nix, now one of the most veteran quarterbacks in the conference, was going to be the leader of his offense since he was hired. Now after a month-plus of getting to know Nix’s competitive side in the weight room, Harsin will take to the field with his QB and test out his arm. The presumed three-year starter this fall is atop Harsin and new offensive coordinator Mike Bobo’s current quarterback “pecking order” at the start of spring ball. Behind Nix will be former Bowling Green transfer Grant Loy, who was also Nix’s backup in 2020. Harsin and Bobo will mix and match the starters with the backups throughout spring ball, so true freshman Dematrius Davis and redshirt freshman Chayil Garnett, who round out the QB room, will get their opportunities, as well. And Harsin wants all his passers to approach each day of spring practice like they’re going to be called up to lead the starters during that respective practice — because they probably will be, at some point. “Guys will get their shot to run with the 1s and 2s, or whatever we consider the 1s and 2s at the time,” Harsin said Monday prior to the team’s first day of spring practice. “What I want to see from that group in particular — I want to see guys prepared every single day. I want to see guys come out there and compete, execute, operate the system. I think that’s a big part of what we have to do at the quarterback position — we’ve just got to operate every day, and how we do that at that position is going to lead to how our offense goes. “If we can get that down and feel good about what we’re doing at the quarterback position, I think our operation as a whole can improve on the offensive side. Those guys know that.” With Davis being an four-star early enrollee out of the Houston area, all of Harsin’s scholarship quarterbacks have been on campus since January. They got to know him and Bobo — also viewed as a high-level quarterback developer, like Harsin — during the winter workout period. “I think Coach Bobo’s doing a great job with those guys,” Harsin said. “... I enjoy just watching these guys, how they prepare themselves, what their demeanor is in the weight room and on the field, and how they operate.” A former quarterback himself at Boise State, Harsin sympathizes with the changes Auburn’s QBs — particularly Nix, who’s now on his third offensive coordinator in as many years — are having to continually adapt to with the new system set to be implemented soon. Loy is on his fourth head coach — two at Bowling Green and two at Auburn. Harsin said earlier this offseason that the Tigers’ offense will be a blend of ideals from he and Bobo, with the offensive coordinator handling play-calling duties. During his five years as a player in Boise, Harsin played three different head coaches and an interim — the late Pokey Allen, interim coach Tom Mason, Houston Nutt and Dirk Koetter — and “four different offensive systems,” as Harsin described it. Nix, a rising junior, is now on his second head coach in Harsin and third offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in Bobo — after Kenny Dillingham (2019) and Chad Morris (2020). Harsin knows continuity is a commodity in college football, and he’s ready to do all he can to help the quarterbacks — and the rest of the roster, at that — not miss a beat this spring, especially after they didn’t have spring practices in 2020. “I always appreciate that at the quarterback position and all of the players on each side of the ball that have to learn something new — and it’s a little different language and you have to apply it,” Harsin said. For the most part at the beginning of spring ball, Auburn’s offense and defense will practice on the same field, Harsin said. Additionally, the team will spend most of its time on the outdoor field for now, with the indoor field primarily serving as a space for individual drills with position coaches. “I’m an outside guy,” Harsin said. He’s certainly taking in all the warmth of Alabama in mid-March as compared to his previous situation in Idaho, wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants during 70-degree weather at Auburn’s first practice Monday. The Tigers spent most of Monday’s practice session with their position groups but did close out the day with some 11-on-11 drills. Sign up for the Auburn Undercover Newsletter and get Auburn breaking news in your inbox 9COMMENTS They’ll also practice Wednesday, Friday and Saturday this week. Harsin said most of his focus during the first week will go toward making sure players develop good “practice habits” that can allow them to learn fundamentals with their new coaches. “I think that’s underestimated when there’s a change and players have to learn something new,” Harsin said. “That takes a tremendous amount of time to do that and a lot of energy and a lot of focus and a lot of dedication to have yourself ready. I feel like our quarterbacks have done a good job and Coach Bobo has done a good job of getting them prepared. We’re going to see how that looks when we get out there and practice.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gr82be 14,910 Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 5 hours ago, aubiefifty said: And Harsin wants all his passers to approach each day of spring practice like they’re going to be called up to lead the starters during that respective practice — because they probably will be, at some point. “Guys will get their shot to run with the 1s and 2s, or whatever we consider the 1s and 2s at the time,” Harsin said Monday prior to the team’s first day of spring practice. “What I want to see from that group in particular — I want to see guys prepared every single day. I want to see guys come out there and compete, execute, operate the system. I think that’s a big part of what we have to do at the quarterback position — we’ve just got to operate every day, and how we do that at that position is going to lead to how our offense goes. Impossible, this can't be. Is this even legal? Why, I've never heard of such foolishness as having a backup QB prepared to run the offense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToomersStreet 798 Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 2 hours ago, gr82be said: Impossible, this can't be. Is this even legal? Why, I've never heard of such foolishness as having a backup QB prepared to run the offense. You misread the concept. Next youre going to mistake something like "developement of a intermediate passing game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDUBB4AU 5,287 Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 9 hours ago, gr82be said: Impossible, this can't be. Is this even legal? Why, I've never heard of such foolishness as having a backup QB prepared to run the offense. Absolute poppycock I say Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaker 2,457 Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Coach Harsin is a master at misleading those listening in from other programs. "Master at espionage," as Charlie Daniels once said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaker 2,457 Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Seriously, "Harsin knows continuity is a commodity in college football, " is not accurate. Actually, continuity is rarely achieved with the crazy money paid to coaching staffs. Not to nit pick, but this is far from true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McLoofus 35,182 Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 20 hours ago, Beaker said: Seriously, "Harsin knows continuity is a commodity in college football, " is not accurate. Actually, continuity is rarely achieved with the crazy money paid to coaching staffs. Not to nit pick, but this is far from true. "Commodity" means something that is valuable or useful, not something that is common. Clemson is the best high profile example, but Harsin's got a great grasp on continuity himself. Boise's entire culture is continuity. Their last 3 coaches, going back 20 years, were all either promoted directly from OC or previously served as OC before being hired as HC. And Harsin's career is defined by Boise. 26 years in college football, and 22 of them were spent at Boise as a player or coach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAG 34,754 Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 21 hours ago, Beaker said: Seriously, "Harsin knows continuity is a commodity in college football, " is not accurate. Actually, continuity is rarely achieved with the crazy money paid to coaching staffs. Not to nit pick, but this is far from true. How is that statement false ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaker 2,457 Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 15 minutes ago, McLoofus said: "Commodity" means something that is valuable or useful, not something that is common. Clemson is the best high profile example, but Harsin's got a great grasp on continuity himself. Boise's entire culture is continuity. Their last 3 coaches, going back 20 years, were all either promoted directly from OC or previously served as OC before being hired as HC. And Harsin's career is defined by Boise. 26 years in college football, and 22 of them were spent at Boise as a player or coach. Ok, I see where how this is being described. Just a little awkward to a simple minded person, like myself. Thanks. Yeah, I agree, Boise has been a model of consistency and continuity it appears. They have not climbed to that point, Harsin specifically, and maintained great success by accident. I am thinking Harsin may be our next Pat Dye type coach. Lots of work yet to do, but he has the DNA for it I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaker 2,457 Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 3 minutes ago, DAG said: How is that statement false ? I was thinking the writer was describing 'continuity' as being easily found and plentiful. Like oats or grain or gasoline is found on every street corner and we all know with the crazy money being paid to staffs, they move like the wind (often). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McLoofus 35,182 Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 7 minutes ago, Beaker said: I am thinking Harsin may be our next Pat Dye type coach. Lots of work yet to do, but he has the DNA for it I believe. He certainly seems to share some of those traits and I hope you're right. No nonsense, patient, long term outlook, build from the ground up, decades of experience in the sport at different levels... So as not to confuse folks, I feel it necessary to always offer the disclaimer that I'm not making any predictions for success. But I could not be happier about the significance of this new direction. It really is like much of the conversation on this site and elsewhere served as an customization process for the new model. So many boxes checked. Not just a change from the last coach, either. It's not a shot at him. This is a cultural shift decades in the making. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SumterAubie 3,086 Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 On 3/16/2021 at 9:43 PM, gr82be said: Impossible, this can't be. Is this even legal? Why, I've never heard of such foolishness as having a backup QB prepared to run the offense. Complete heresy it is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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