AUBURN | I can remember watching Bo Nix beat Oregon in his first college game with a late touchdown pass to Seth Williams and win his first Iron Bowl a few months later, and thinking this kid is going to do special things at Auburn.
And he did, but it was never enough to satisfy him or the high expectations that preceded the arrival of a 5-star that was born to quarterback the Tigers.
Nix started the first 34 games of his career before it ended with a broken ankle in the second half of the Mississippi State game, which he continued to play on until the final series.
That fourth quarter was quintessential Nix, fighting and struggling to win no matter the cost. Perhaps Nix got too emotional at times but it came from the heart of a true competitor.
I’ll take a fiery quarterback 10 times out of 10 over a robot that doesn’t care.
Nix leaves with a 21-13 record, ranking first in total offense with 8,120 yards passing and rushing, third in career passing yards with 7,251 and tied for third with 47 touchdowns accounted for rushing and passing. Those are impressive numbers but they could have been so much better, especially the record, with a little more help from his teammates and a stable coaching staff.
It’s that lack of support that is the main reason Nix needed to leave. And frankly, I can’t blame him. Had he returned, Nix would be playing for his fourth offensive coordinator in four years, and that doesn’t include Chip Lindsey, who was the coordinator when Nix committed.
Under Gus Malzahn, Nix played for two years in an offense with a simplified passing attack. He had a pretty good offensive line his first season before playing behind one of the SEC’s worst the next two.
This season’s wide receiver corps was one of the worst in the conference too, and AU had a 1,000-yard rusher this season for the first time since 2017 — just barely — when Tank Bigsby reached 1,003 yards in the Iron Bowl.
In contrast, his father Pat Nix, had Frank Sanders, Willie Gosha, Tyrone Goodson, Thomas Bailey, Karsten Bailey and Robert Baker to throw to during his two seasons as the starter from 1994-95. He had Stephen Davis and Fred Beasley at running back and an offensive line that included Willie Anderson, Victor Riley and Shannon Roubique.
It’s questionable how much help Nix would have around him for a fourth season at Auburn, and if he wants to improve his NFL Draft stock, finding a team, coaching staff and a system where he can put up big numbers will be a priority.
As for Auburn, it looks more and more like a program in rebuilding mold, especially on offense. But the transfer portal offers opportunities and the Tigers will likely seek help at quarterback and a number of other positions.
The Nix era is over at Auburn. He’s still got an opportunity to finish his college career on an upswing and perhaps play on the next level.
Auburn folks should be rooting for Nix to do just that because he’ll be pulling hard for his alma mater for many years to come.
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In two days, Auburn will put the finishes touches on its 2022 class for the early signing period.
Bryan Harsin and his staff are planning to make a statement finish.
The Tigers have several targets making decisions over the next two days, and then most of the rest are announcing on Wednesday.
If things go right, Auburn could be the talk of Signing Day. Harsin and his staff have put themselves in position to finish with some high-profile prospects and potentially flip several top players committed to SEC rivals.
How well Auburn finishes, however, remains to be seen. There are no guarantees in recruiting. AU’s finish could be good or bad or somewhere in between.
I don’t blame long-time followers, or really short-timers too, for being a little skeptical. Heck, I’m pretty skeptical myself.
But this is a new era under Harsin and NIL is sure to play a factor this year and even more in the years to come.
There’s two other factors to keep keep in mind as we head down the homestretch. There’s always the opportunity to build on Wednesday’s outcome during the late signing period, which is Feb. 2.
And it’s no longer just about recruiting. It’s about talent acquisition and the transfer portal can certainly play a key part when it comes to constructing the 2022 roster.
Still, the next three days will be huge for Harsin and great opportunity to build some momentum for his football program and send a message to the rest of the conference that Auburn is ready to get back to competing with the big boys.
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More than four years. That’s how ridiculously long it took the NCAA to complete its investigation of Auburn.
As it turns out, most of what they uncovered was known shortly after Chuck Person was arrested in an FBI sting. And nothing they uncovered showed me that Auburn received a competitive advantage on the court or in recruiting.
Person needed to be fired and the players ruled ineligible for a period of time. I wouldn’t argue with that.
But the rest — the self-imposed postseason ban, the recruiting restrictions, the silly two-game suspension for Bruce Pearl — all of it seems rather excessive, especially in the era of NIL.
All that said, it’s just good to finally have this over and done with. Now, Pearl and his staff and his players and the Auburn family can put their full focus on the season.
It’s a big weight lifted off everybody’s shoulders.
And it’s a team that’s already shaping up to be one of Pearl’s best in his eight seasons at AU. The Tigers have already improved over the first nine games and should be getting back their top returning player, Allen Flanigan, within the next week or two.
Better buckle up.
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In today’s musical journey, we go back 72 years to the birth of a country music and Yellowhammer State legend. On Dec. 13, 1949, Randy Yeuell Owen was born on a farm near Fort Payne, Ala. Along with two cousins, they formed Alabama, which became the best-selling country music band of all-time. Alabama has had over 40 No. 1 singles, 10 No. 1 albums and sold over 75 million records worldwide. The group won CMA’s Entertainer of the Year three times in a row from 1982-84 and ACM’s Entertainer of the Year five times. They were inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2019 and awarded the first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award. Alabama’s ability to mix country with rock and pop is credited with making country music more mainstream and paving the way for many artists and bands that followed.
Owen and his cousins, Teddy Gentry and Jeff Cook, first formed the band, Wild Country, in the late 1960’s. Owen and Gentry grew up on separate cotton farms on Lookout Mountain. After graduating from Jacksonville State in 1973, Owen moved to Anniston with his cousins where they began playing in local bars. They continued to tour and finance their own records before signing with GRT Records in 1977 and changing their name to Alabama. After GRT went bankrupt, Alabama signed with RCA in 1980 and had their first No. 1 hit, Tennessee River. Hit after hit followed — too numerous to list them all — but they included 1981’s Love in the First Degree, 1982’s Mountain Music, 1983’s Dixieland Delight, 1984’s If You’re Gonna Play in Texas (You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band), 1986’s She and I and 1989’s Song of the South. Christmas in Dixie, which was released in 1982, has become a popular holiday song. Owen, lead vocals and guitar, Gentry, backing vocals and bass, and Cook, lead guitar, fiddle, keyboards and backup vocals, have been staples of the group for their 50 years together and they remain active today. Five different artists have been a part of the band as drummers.
