Nix, Gatewood 'rooting for each other' in Auburn QB battle

When Auburn cut its starting quarterback candidates down to true freshman Bo Nix and redshirt freshman Joey Gatewood, first-year offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham sat down with them.

According to the 29-year-old coordinator and quarterbacks coach, he told them how he expects each to react when one of the two is inevitably labeled a backup.

Dillingham isn’t looking forward to bumping either Gatewood or Nix down the depth chart when head coach Gus Malzahn names one of the freshman quarterbacks the starter for the season opener against Oregon. But he’s confident the loser of the QB battle’s attitude will be such that Dillingham’s goal of boasting the tightest-knit group on the team will still be intact.

“Everybody in that room is going to help us this year,” Dillingham told reporters Thursday at the team’s annual assistant coach media day. “… So, if you're with us right now, you're with us. And that's kind of what we've talked about is in our room, we have to be the closest room on the football team regardless of who wins the job. We're going to have each other's back in all aspects of life. And that's kind of what we've talked about. And we've put that on the table since I got here, and I firmly believe in that.”

With four days until the fall semester begins at Auburn, Dillingham said the Tigers aren’t “any closer” to naming the starter, though the coaches have gathered more information about their impending decision.

But closer from what checkpoint, exactly? Malzahn, Dillingham, other coaches and all the players who have spoken during the team’s fall camp have reiterated the battle is a dead heat, and both quarterbacks are performing at a high level. That’s to be expected, obviously, from a staff that’s always been reserved about position battles, injuries, and even standout players or plays from scrimmages.

Most assumed Gatewood had a narrow edge entering camp, though that was all speculation based on his experience with the system and playbook installation. But the feeling recently has been that Nix — who took the majority of first-team snaps in the final media viewing window Monday and has scored a handful more touchdowns than Gatewood in the scrimmages — holds a slight edge as the 15 practices wind down.

Regardless of who is named the starter for Week 1’s contest in Texas, both could play in that game. Malzahn could easily play both through the first three games leading up to the conference opener at Texas A&M, then decide again prior to that trip.

Still, the looming announcement from Malzahn regarding who will take the first snap Aug. 31 will sting for one of the two former elite prospects.

Losing isn’t currently on either Nix or Gatewood’s mind, however, according to their offensive coordinator. They’re too focused on trying to act as mature leaders when the other returns to the sidelines after a series.

“That's one thing I've been extremely pleased with, is those guys are rooting for each other's success,” Dillingham said. “It's not rooting against them; it's that we're rooting for Auburn. And when one person makes a great throw, everybody gets excited. It's not, 'Oh, man. That's not good for me.' It's, 'Oh man. That's great for Auburn.'”

One of the key reasons Malzahn brought in Dillingham was to mentor the QBs as a young and energetic voice in their ear. Yes, Dillingham is the quarterbacks coach, but despite Malzahn returning to play-calling, he’s still the offensive coordinator. However, Malzahn is more than comfortable with the young coach spending long periods of the practices with just the passers, away from the rest of the offense, adjusting and tweaking not just their arms, but their leadership qualities, too.

He consistently is seen at practices running behind Nix and Gatewood out to pace drills, ordering them to take charge and command the drills like they’re seasoned veterans. He does the same in full-team stretches, hovering around the two freshmen, lightly grabbing their helmets and reminding them they’re always being watched, always being critiqued.

The youngest member of the coaching staff is Malzahn's top confidant in this year’s QB race — the third that’s yielded tangible preseason competition in the Malzahn era, after Nick Marshall vs. Jeremy Johnson in 2013 and Sean White vs. Jeremy Johnson vs. John Franklin III in 2016. In 2015, starting responsibilities bounced between Johnson and White for most of the season, and in 2017, Jarrett Stidham ran away with the job against White.

As a result Dillingham’s comments carry more weight than any of the other assistants regarding his prized QB talents.

“They’ve both gotten better,” Dillingham said of Nix and Gatewood. “You can see the growth from spring. What people don’t realize is we can’t watch them throw the football, we can’t do football with them from spring until camp, so watching them learn the offense, get better and come out and execute things from spring until now, they’ve all drastically gotten better.

“I think they are both really good players. ... We’ll just kind of see how camp ends.”