McShay has Malik Willis picked to go #17 in draft

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

It’s a shame we didn’t give him a real shot at AU. 

[TJRanger175 209]

****Was

We are heading in a different direction now where the players on offense actually get coaching

[JerryAU 1,714]

Just now, Eagle Eye 7 said:

It’s a shame we didn’t give him a real shot at AU. 

He wouldn't have been developed or ever placed in a position to be as successful had he stayed at AU.

 

[I_M4_AU 8,285]

Just now, Eagle Eye 7 said:

It’s a shame we didn’t give him a real shot at AU. 

It is a great example of what a QB evaluator and developer can do for a player.  🤫

[AUCE05 369]

In fairness, he was a skinny raw QB when he was here.  IDT he goes to any SEC program and develops to where he is today.  Perfect storm for he and Freeze. 

[Pat Fossum 158]

You mean where the program was. Not is. We've moved on from that regime.  Plenty encouraging signs right now. OL isn't one of them (at this moment) but other than that I can't really find anything to not feel positive about. To your point, everybody is given an equal shot and there are no guarantees that just because you started this past year you are going to start next. Everyday is open competition for a starting spot and you've got to continue to work and get better everyday. Pretty refreshing.

Good luck to Malik, though. That's awesome.

[SRBautigerfan 1,040]

Freeze developed a QB into a 1st rounder.  That should pay off for both of them.

[I_M4_AU 8,285]

2 minutes ago, AUCE05 said:

Perfect storm for he and Freeze.

I can agree with this portion, but Gus stifled any creativity in any of his backup QBs. Malik got the Gus stink face more than any player I have ever seen.

[AUAlumnTN 211]

I remember reading an article when he first started out at Liberty where he (MW, that is) pretty candidly said that transferring and sitting out a year gave him the chance to put his head on straight and really work on becoming a better player. I think he's probably a guy who was always going to shine brighter in an environment where he could develop at his own pace but it really does sting that such a talent walked out the door. 

[AuburnEagle79 2,171]

Glad he went to Liberty. Probably a career and life defining move. 

[CCTAU 3,366]

38 minutes ago, Eagle Eye 7 said:

It’s a shame we didn’t give him a real shot at AU. 

We did give him a real shot. The problem is that he could not develop himself. So the real shot wasn't really a fair shot.

 

 

[caleb1633 1,418]

It's amazing how much talent came through here under Gus and was completely wasted. It's also amazing how much OL talent never came through. Either he couldn't acquire the talent, or he'd waste what he got.

[USATiger 741]

Willis is to be given a lot of credit.  Once Auburn signed him to play QB, the dude worked tirelessly to improve his skills.  If he'd been given a glimmer of hope that he could earn the QB spot, he would've stayed.  There was no hope for anyone not named Nix once Bo got to campus.  I'm happy for Malik, never expected to see his name mentioned in the top rounds of the NfL draft, goes to show you what hard work, perseverance and a dream will get you.

[TigerPAC 993]

personally, can't stand mcshay but kudos to willis

[shabby 1,958]

19 minutes ago, USATiger said:

Willis is to be given a lot of credit.  Once Auburn signed him to play QB, the dude worked tirelessly to improve his skills.  If he'd been given a glimmer of hope that he could earn the QB spot, he would've stayed.  There was no hope for anyone not named Nix once Bo got to campus.  I'm happy for Malik, never expected to see his name mentioned in the top rounds of the NfL draft, goes to show you what hard work, perseverance and a dream will get you.

We speak around this so much without knowing how much truth there is to this. Was Nix ordained the next Auburn QB by PTB or was he legitimately thought to be the best qb prospect?

 

[CodeRocket 410]

That should help explain exactly where our football program is today. 🤔

Maybe, but I don't think he could have played oline.

[cole256 17,084]

What it tell you as well watch what posters you choose to dub as your go to know it all......I had quite a few "debates" being told how Malik should change positions.

People are quick to say certain guys shouldn't play QB for whatever reasons.

[USATiger 741]

2 minutes ago, shabby said:

We speak around this so much without knowing how much truth there is to this. Was Nix ordained the next Auburn QB by PTB or was he legitimately thought to be the best qb prospect?

 

Nix is as talented as they get.  So it's hard to say he was pre-ordained.  I do know that no other QB in the room felt they had a chance to win the job, none. 

Nix didn't have the work ethic, outside of typical football stuff, that the others had, and he was always thought of as untouchable.  Not laying blame at the Nix's, it wasn't their doing.  Just something that didn't sit well with the team as a whole.  Even this year, Nix isolated himself until Harsin benched him against Ga St.  I truly believe if Harsin had Bo  all three years, Nix would've been a much better QB, more importantly, a teammate.  He was always the coaches kid, which isn't always great with development.  Hear the same with respect to Vandergriff, fwiw.

[Hank2020 3,232]

16 minutes ago, tigeraddikt said:

So is Todd McShay now reporting from his room in rehab? 

Is that not nice? Should I not have said that?

I think you already knew that. Probably need to listen to the guy on your other shoulder (no pitchfork).

[Tigerpro2a 5,650]

1 hour ago, Eagle Eye 7 said:

It’s a shame we didn’t give him a real shot at AU. 

This one is touchy for me. I am as critical of the previous staff as any, but does anyone really know this to be true?   MAybe Gus just sucked at evals and missed on it.

[fishepa 1,914]

1 hour ago, AuburnEagle79 said:

Glad he went to Liberty. Probably a career and life defining move. 

A shame when going to Liberty defines your football career more than going to Auburn.

[USATiger 741]

4 minutes ago, Tigerpro2a said:

This one is touchy for me. I am as critical of the previous staff as any, but does anyone really know this to be true?   MAybe Gus just sucked at evals and missed on it.

Well, Gus' tenure provides a lot of evidence he sucked at evals and missed, but really it was more about the lack of effort to develop the QB's in general.  Gus wanted a ready-made, ready-to-go QB.  We know those guys are few in numbers.  No HS QB steps on college campus and is where they need to be, as a QB, as a leader.  Gus is the anti-QB whisperer, but he is also a guy that reads a room of important people.  Turning the reigns over to Bo before he truly earned it, made the folks Gus wanted to keep happy, happy.  

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

I’m not sure Harsin is developing anyone either . I like to think back to days when Pat Dye could take a 2 star and make him an all SEC . Even Tubby could develop players, the last 3 coaches at AU just never showed me they have that ability. We complain about Saben getting all the talent but the truth is he develops that talent as well. His 3 stars become all Americans. If folks at AU think that all we need is about 20 5 stars to sign then I can assure you it won’t be in your life time. 

[selias 2,398]

33 minutes ago, shabby said:

We speak around this so much without knowing how much truth there is to this. Was Nix ordained the next Auburn QB by PTB or was he legitimately thought to be the best qb prospect?

 

If you really think it was the PTB/GOB that ordained BN as the next QB1 when he set foot on campus, then you haven't paid attention to both the announcement and timing of his leaving .

[JerryAU 1,714]

30 minutes ago, shabby said:

We speak around this so much without knowing how much truth there is to this. Was Nix ordained the next Auburn QB by PTB or was he legitimately thought to be the best qb prospect?

 

It could be both.    He was a 5* QB + an Auburn Legacy that painted a great story for Auburn during a time when we needed the positive attention.  He was pre-ordained to be the staring QB from the moment he stepped on campus, and the media jumped on it.   Whether Gus thought he was the best prospect or not I think it was pretty obvious the decision was made.  For whatever reasons the kid just never lived up to all the hype and couldn't consistently perform at an SEC level in his 3 yrs.