Bo Nix’s potential is clear to SEC opponents

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The Bo Nix hype is real, and players from other teams in the SEC are picking up on it.

At the Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, both Nix’s teammates and his past opponents spoke highly of his potential and said they expect to see big things out of him next season.
When Nix was named quarterback as a freshman, coach Gus Malzahn and Nix’s teammates steadfastly stood by him. Even during games where he struggled, like after the loss to Florida, they said he was learning and would get the hang of college ball soon.

Then Nix helped Auburn win the Iron Bowl. Malzahn’s messaged changed after that game. It went from one of support for a young quarterback to one of confidence that Nix will win a championship.

“I’ve said it all along — he’s got something special to him,” Malzahn said after the game. “He’ll win a championship … before he gets out of here.”

Even after Auburn lost the Outback Bowl to Minnesota, Malzahn stuck with what he said, and Nix’s teammates picked it up, too. Defensive end Marlon Davidson, one of the players representing Auburn in the Senior Bowl, made an even bigger assertion about Nix’s potential after the Outback Bowl.

“Bo Nix is going to be one of the greatest quarterbacks in our history,” Davidson said. “And, I mean, I put that on him because I know he can handle it.”

Left tackle Prince Tega Wanogho, who is at the Reese’s Senior Bowl but can’t play due to a medical flag, protected Nix all season and said he could really see his improvement through the year. Wanogho saw it in the Iron Bowl, but he said he also saw it in losses. Just because the games weren’t in Auburn’s favor didn’t mean Nix didn’t step up Wanogho said.

“I feel like he’s going to prove something,” Wanogho said.

Florida linebacker Jonathan Greenard was on the other end of one of the games that didn’t go in Nix’s favor. In fact, Greenard was responsible for messing with Nix’s composure. The Swamp was the most hostile environment Nix had played in at that point, and on the very first play Greenard had a quarterback hurry. On the second, he held Nix’s running back Boobee Whitlow to a one-yard gain.

“Basically, from the first play when I hit him, you definitely could tell I rattled him just a little bit,” Greenard said.

But within that game alone, Greenard said he could see Nix learning and improving. He said that hit “sped his clock up” and forced him to think on his feet. Nix learned he couldn’t sit patiently in the pocket but instead had to take action.

Greenard thinks that game was a really good experience for Nix. Add in games against Georgia, LSU and Alabama, and Nix has a wealth of experience after just one season. Greenard said he’s seen people write Nix off for the losses, but those same people weren’t talking like that during the Oregon game. Beyond the losses, there are positives hinting at what Nix could become.

“You've seen flashes of things that he can do,” Greenard said. “All of this and he was just a freshman. He made young mistakes, and he's going to clean them up real good.”

When Arkansas defensive lineman McTelvin Agim looks at Auburn’s offense, he not only sees Nix’s potential but also the threat that Nix’s skill combined with offensive coordinator Chad Morris’ scheme will present. While Agim doesn’t know Nix personally, he does know Morris.

He spent two years with Morris as his head coach, and he said that Morris can work with whatever quarterback he gets — and Nix happens to be a particularly skilled one.

Agim also pointed out that Nix made mistakes rooted in inexperience and that he has the talent to become great under any good scheme. Morris’ scheme would fall under that category, Agim thinks, and it might work so well that Nix could be a three-year player.

What does Agim expect the SEC will see out of Auburn in the future?

“A lot of points,” Agim said. “Bo Nix going crazy on everybody. That’s what I expect to see from them.”

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