The No. 1 mission, Nix says, is not throwing or running more. It is winning . . .

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Tigers are set for the first scrimmage of preseason camp

ByPhillip Marshall

3-4 minutes

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T.J. Finley is one of two new quarterbacks on the 2021 Auburn football roster.

 

AUBURN, Alabama – It won’t be a game. The score won’t matter. Tonight’s Auburn football scrimmage at Jordan-Hare Stadium will be a practice, though an important one. Players with legs heavy from six demanding practices in seven days will try to show first-year head coach Bryan Harsin that they are making progress toward being physically ready for the season-opener against Akron on Sept. 4.

At some positions, starting jobs are secure and the search if depth. At others, starters have not yet emerged. When the scrimmage is over, first-year head coach Bryan Harsin and his assistants will study the video and make decisions on what will come in the week to follow.

Auburn quarterback Bo Nix on the run. (Photo: Jason Caldwell/Inside The Auburn Tigers, 247Sports)

As usual, eyes will be on the quarterbacks. Bo Nix, the two-year starter, has been No. 1 since spring. TJ Finley, the 6-foot-7 LSU transfer, has turned some heads, too, as has redshirt freshman Dematrius Davos.

Senior wide receiver Shedrick Jackson says all have been impressive. He says Davis has looked like a different player than in the spring. He says he’s been impressed by Finley. But his opinion on the quarterback race – if there is one – is clear.

“Bo does his thing - still being consistent, being the guy we look up to, so it’s good,” Jackson said.

Quarterbacks, Harsin says, must be on their games every day.

“There are really no days off at that position,” Harsin said. "That's where I think these quarterbacks are learning that right now: It's got to be from when you get up in the morning and you show up to practice and the first throw you make or the handoff or the cadence.

“You can't just show up out there and then use the wrong cadence. The old, 'My bad' is not what we want, and that's not what's going to help the other 10 guys on the field. You've got to be right.”

The No. 1 mission, Nix says, is not throwing or running more. It is winning.

“Our ultimate goal is a championship,” Nix said. “And then, other than that, it's just winning as many games as possible. Our goal is doing whatever it takes to win. Whether that's running the ball throwing the ball, it doesn't really matter.”

Harsin has made it clear that, every time the pads go on, he wants to see physicality, players on the attack.

“Who's going to do that up front, o-line and d-line-wise?” Harsin said. “Who's going to go out there and be a physical player that we know can get into a game and actually cause some damage?"

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Though the scrimmage will be closed to the public, Auburn Football Letterman’s Club members will be allowed to watch. Will they recognize new schemes? Probably not to the extent some would think.

“There's not really much I can probably speak on about that,” offensive lineman Brandon Council said, “but I know we're going to be downhill and more physical in the run game for sure."

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