Ranking AU by position: No. 9
AUBURN | The second in our series of ranking Auburn football by position continues today with quarterbacks at No. 9. We’ll countdown from 10 to 1 over the next couple of weeks.
WHY NO. 9: Mostly inexperience with the top two quarterbacks both freshmen. Several recent opponents have excelled with freshmen quarterbacks but that’s no guarantee Auburn will have that same degree of success this fall. Also, AU’s backup quarterback for the past two seasons couldn’t even make the final two in the competition for the starting job.
OVERVIEW: When Auburn opens up the season Aug. 31 against Oregon in Arlington, Texas, either redshirt freshman Joey Gatewood or true freshman Bo Nix will be under center.
Gatewood was a standout this spring, showing much improvement in his passing acumen and certainly brings a dual-threat element to the position the Tigers haven’t had since 2014.
Nix is probably the best passer on the team right now and his running ability is underrated. He’s also shown a lot of maturity since arriving at AU in January. It’s easy to envision either of the two winning the job and I certainly wouldn’t rule out both playing significant roles this season.
Junior Malik Willis and redshirt freshman Cord Sandberg are in a tier below Gatewood and Nix. Willis served as AU’s backup the past two seasons but wasn't much of a factor in the quarterback competition past the midpoint of spring. It’s unclear if he’ll still be a part of the team by this time next year, and if he is, what position he’ll be playing.
Sandberg is still transitioning from playing minor league baseball the previous six years. He has dual-threat ability and should provide quality depth in the coming years.
FINAL NOTE: If we touch on this these rankings after the season, the quarterback position probably has the most potential to improve. And if it does, that probably equates to a pretty good season for Auburn. Gatewood and Nix certainly have the skill set to be difference makers this fall.
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