Bo Nix is no longer a freshman — but it's been that way for some time.

Since midseason, his head coach, Gus Malzahn, has proclaimed that both Nix's level of maturity and the degree of competition he'd been challenged with accelerated his growth under center — far quicker than a normal true freshman quarterback in college football.

And Nix is his own worst critic. That's also been a constant during Auburn's 2019 campaign. But even he thinks he did alright.

"I feel like I've definitely grown from the beginning of the year," Nix said. "I've done some really good things. I've done some things that I wish I could have back."

Nix wishes he could have back some errant decisions — his six interceptions, his self-sacks against Florida, his missed fourth-down conversion in the flat against Georgia. But overall, Nix kept the turnovers limited and orchestrated the offense well enough to earn SEC Freshman of the Year.

"I've seen the defenses, I've learned different coverages and learned different things that I might not have seen in high school," Nix said of his development. "That's always good moving forward. But this year was definitely a learning curve from high school to college. It was definitely a big step. But I feel like I handled it as best as I could."

Nix, who will turn 20 in February, still has his critics, of course. He's never been one to tune into social-media buzz, whether negative or positive. But it's not like he can completely ignore it, and he's come to realize that as he's matured.

"You're always going to have those who are never happy with whatever you do, so they're always going to complain about something," Nix said. "I'm not worried about them, I'm not worried about what people on social media have to say."

Nix will have his second coordinator and position coach in as many seasons as former Arkansas head coach Chad Morris has already begun work with his new QB during bowl practices. In his various tenures as a coordinator and head coach, Morris has a high average in terms of churning out productive players under center. And now he's got the top freshman passer in Auburn history to work with.

“I’ll just continue to learn things about him, learn how he does things — because every coach will do things differently,” Nix said of Morris. “So I’ll just continue to learn him, and he’ll continue to learn me."

But even as his immediate instructor changes, Nix's preparation will not. The freshman keyed relentless film study and an in-depth understanding of a given defense's fundamentals as the biggest week-to-week changes from high school to college. But he thinks he's got his routine down pat.

Nix said he may not have recognized a defense's tendencies early in the season, but simply raw experience and snaps as the year progressed elevated his in-game smarts and decision-making.

There's always a tell, even in the upper echelon of SEC defenses. He just has to find it.

"Someone always gives something away," Nix said. "If you find that, you can tell where each piece of the puzzle is going to be."

There's still an Outback Bowl to be played that will add to Nix's experience. Then comes his first offseason in charge — with Morris and a receiving corps that returns key pieces and brings in a handful of blue-chip talents.

And those players that have the most to gain from Nix's success can't wait for Act 2.

"Stay in the film room. Just watch film. Break down teams. Just continue to throw,” sophomore wideout Seth Williams said of what he expects from he and Nix's offseason together. “Just call everybody in there and throw and throw and throw. That’s the only thing you can do.”