Auburn is putting a focus on getting Bo Nix help when the time comes to scramble.

Nix has shown quickness and a nifty ability to evade pressure in and outside of the pocket. The 6-foot-2, 207-pound true freshman quarterback has taken just one sack through two games, but Gus Malzahn thinks the skill-position players around him need to be ready to get open and bail out Nix more often on improvised plays.

"Yeah, the scramble drill, you can't do enough of that," Malzahn said Sunday. "And you know, once a week we, you know, get that going. We didn't do a great job last night. And that was really a focus, too, that we’ll have on this week.

"... And he can extend plays. Anytime you can extend plays, a lot of times those broken plays can turn into scramble drills and you get some cheap ones. So we'll continue to work extremely hard with our rules and everybody on the same page, you know, in those situations."

Nix occasionally darts out of a clean pocket, but he tends to keep his eyes upfield. While Malzahn wants his quarterback to stay out of harm's way, he thinks it's just a matter of time and comfort in the offense before Nix regularly moves straight up in the pocket to push the ball downfield — like he did in the face of pressure on his game-winning touchdown pass to Seth Williams to beat Oregon.

"There was couple times he stepped up — couple of times he got pressured, he had to," Malzahn said. "I think it's just a matter of, you know, just getting used to everything and getting used to playing college football against talented defenses and everything that goes with that. But like I said, he's a quick learner."

Nix eclipsed the 200-yard mark through the air, passing for 207 and a pair of scores — with no turnovers — and a 31-yard touchdown to Will Hastings.

Auburn's defense saw firsthand the effectiveness of some well-oiled scramble plays Saturday. Tulane quarterback Justin McMillan was lightning-quick outside the pocket, and his receivers bailed him out on a few coverage breakdowns. Granted Auburn's secondary stepped up and played an overall dominant game, but it was still shown how difficult that facet of an offense can be to defend.

“Man, in the SEC, every quarterback can run,” Auburn cornerback Noah Igbinogehene said.

Auburn’s offense should — theoretically — find success in Week 3 at home against Kent State. Malzahn sees any and all upcoming experience for Nix invaluable ahead of SEC play the following week.

“You know, I think every snap he has, he learns from it,” Malzahn said of Nix. “That's probably the best way to put it. He's real hard on himself. He wasn't real happy. But he did do some good things. The thing that I really like is, you know, he can extend some plays. He made some really good throwaways on some downs that could've been negative plays.

“He's got a gift of getting out of trouble and throwing the ball away. I think it's just a matter of him being more comfortable as we go. I expect him to do that.”