re: Gatewood not at practice today

If you watch Nix’s high school highlights it looks really similar to how he’s playing now. He had a 59% completion percentage his senior season

I’ll be honest all I remember are his junior highlights from when he was being recruited. I did not know that

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My big question for Gus is this - did Joey have reasonable expectations for his role, and could you have avoided this situation where it's Nix or bust.

If Joey thought he knew what was best for the team or acted like a child, then it's hard to blame Gus. I don't think Gus should have to appease Gatewood to keep him around.

But if Joey was mature about it for the most part and simply made an emotional and perhaps immature decision after finally discovering he'd never really get a chance regardless of what happened with Nix, then I think Gus handled it poorly and we're in a shitty position as a result.

Sad to say, I think it's probably option #2.

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We will never know, but the way Gus was talking preseason I suspect he filled Joey's ear with "you are 1b", "we will have a few packages a game for you", etc...with Joey's HS history he probably took him at his word and believed his play would define his future. After all if Bo was successful he'd transfer but have some decent film or pass Bo on the depth chart and secure the job.

Gus, Gus'd this one up because he has shown the ability over the years to manage the roster poorly. I trust that Joey didn't deserve to win the starting job, but I refuse to believe that a physical talent like him in our offensive scheme failed to earn some level of trust to the point of being a part of the game plan in a significant way. Our coach can't plan in that manner and Joey leaving midseason is the inevitable reality of Gus' weakness as a leader on the field.

In the end I wish he'd of sucked it up and stayed till the end of the year. In the prism of his life I believe it would be the better choice.

From an Auburn football perspective not having a "reasonable back up" makes the likelyhood of Gus being more cautious with Bo even greater.

Bo’s game has always been messy but with his dad as coach he was able to have the space to make it work.

He’s used to throwing nearly 40 times a game and most of those are improvised plays

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I mean, I don't see a ton of difference between the two options. Gus clearly thinks he knows what's best for the team and I can't imagine it sat well with Joey regardless of his external reaction to it. He saw the writing on the wall and made his choice. Time will tell (or suggest) if it was a good choice.

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I guess it comes down to the overall philosophy Gus has when using QBs. I don't want to be in a position where the HC has to handhold a kid to get him to stay so that we avoid the position we're now in. Gatewood isn't that important and the college game shouldn't work like that.

But if his expectation was simply what he had been told - you'll be used, you're important to us, there may be a time where Nix struggles and we need you to go in and get us moving - and Gus didn't do any of that shite, then I think there is something Gus could have done (followed through on those representations) to avoid this scenario.

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Every coach that has two good QB's in college football right now faces the exact same thing that Gus is facing

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Yep. And it is no surprise to see how some here and elsewhere on message boards are handling it (poorly) given the timing.

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But if his expectation was simply what he had been told - you'll be used, you're important to us, there may be a time where Nix struggles and we need you to go in and get us moving - and Gus didn't do any of that shite, then I think there is something Gus could have done (followed through on those representations) to avoid this scenario.

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Maybe so - certainly possible. It's the availability heuristic, most likely, but it seems like the defining moment was when Gus didn't let him go on the field. Whether real or not, that moment now symbolizes the moment when Gus made his decision.

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And it is no surprise to see how some here and elsewhere on message boards are handling it (poorly) given the timing.

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Thats why you dont make decisions or statements based on emotion. You use logic. Thats all this is. People who do not know how to handle their emotions.


This was inevitable to happen. Everyone knew it. It was the same for Malik Willis. But, emotional people dont handle things well.

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He's staying in school til the end of the semester. This allows him to focus on finding his transfer destination. Leaving the team probably allows him to talk to other schools and coaches, because there's rules against that if he's still on the team

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Possibly. But we are way past the 1/2 part of the season. Im sure he was just emotional when he left the team. Probably needed someone to talk to him to help him with that decision. He could have stayed through November, continued to practice and possibly get playing time then leave. One more month would not have changed things much.

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Every coach that has two good QB's in college football right now faces the exact same thing that Gus is facing. And it has ended up the same for every one of them. You can not satisfy two QBs. Especially when they are the same year. One is going to play, one isn't.

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I agree, and the modern era of football has made this a reality.

But, I do think you have two problems that sort of transcend this situation.

1) Something made Gatewood leave mid-season. His own stupidity or pride, feeling like he's not getting the minimum he bargained for, etc. I don't know what it is, but now we're in a dire spot as a result. I'm not saying that falls on Gus, it might not, and in that case it's not something to really complain about. But if Gus following through on representations to Gatewood could have bought us the security of a real backup for 4 games, then our current situation isn't something which is merely attributable to life in portal-era CFB.

2) Gus use of backups generally. It's very much a surprise when we play new QBs because they rarely get substantive playing time. Gus is terrible at program continuity to begin with, and the QB situation doesn't help. Many complain this extends beyond QB (workhorse RBs). I go back to your point about the inability to satisfy talented backups, and that is only going to get worse in this environment. But I think Gus will continue to make it harder on himself and the program than it likely has to be.