Alabama Hiring Derrick Nix for WR

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Derrick Nix was named offensive coordinator and running backs coach at Auburn on Jan. 17, 2024 and enters his second season in the position in 2025.

In his first season at Auburn, Nix tutored first team All-SEC back Jarquez Hunter for his senior year, as Hunter rushed for 1,201 yards, including a 278-yard effort at Kentucky, the most game yardage by an FBS player in 2024. Hunter was a fourth-round NFL draft pick of the Los Angeles Rams.

A native of Attalla, Alabama, Nix spent the 16 years prior to his arrival on The Plains at Ole Miss, 12 as running backs coach and four as the Rebels' wide receivers coach. For his last two seasons in Oxford, the veteran coach was assistant head coach.

In 2023, Nix helped Ole Miss achieve an 11-2 record while the offense was in the top 20 nationally in scoring offense, total offense and passing offense. Three Rebel receivers ranked in the top 12 in the Southeastern Conference in receiving yards, including wide receiver Tre Harris who had a career-best season as he was fifth in the league in receiving yards (985) and fourth in receiving touchdowns (8).

In 2022, Nix mentored a talented crew of Rebel receivers that paired with the SEC's top rushing offense. Senior transfer Malik Heath led the way with 971 yards on 60 catches and five touchdowns. Jonathan Mingo returned for his senior campaign and had 861 yards and five scores on 51 catches, including the FBS' top receiving game of the season: an Ole Miss record 247-yard outing at Vanderbilt.

In 2021, Dontario Drummond became just the sixth Rebel to ever eclipse 1,000 yards receiving in a single season, notching 1,028 yards and eight touchdowns on 76 total catches.

Nix's first season as wide receivers coach was a memorable one as he guided Elijah Moore to an All-America campaign. Being coached by Nix for the first time, Moore led the nation in receiving yards per game (149.1) and receptions per game (10.8) on his way to being named a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award as one of the best wide receivers in college football.

Nix, regarded as one of the top recruiters in the SEC, has tutored some of the most productive backs in Ole Miss history in Dexter McCluster, Brandon Bolden, Jaylen Walton, Jordan Wilkins and Scottie Phillips, while the Rebels have ranked top-three in the SEC in rushing three times.

In 2019, Nix coached a rushing attack that ranked second in the SEC and ninth nationally with 251.3 yards per game. The trio of Jerrion Ealy (722 yards), Phillips (542 yards) and Snoop Conner (512 yards) combined for 1,776 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground.

During the 2017 campaign, Wilkins thrived under Nix's guidance. The senior running back rushed for 1,011 yards to become just the fifth Rebel in school history to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark in a single season.

With a variety of running backs with different styles and strengths at his disposal, Nix helped the 2015 Ole Miss squad lead the SEC and rank top 10 nationally in scoring (40.8) and total offense (517.8 ypg). The Rebels eclipsed 600 yards of total offense in three games, a school record, and more than 200 yards rushing in six contests.

In 2013, Nix helped the Ole Miss offense rank top five in the SEC and top 25 nationally in total offense (473.3 ypg), which also broke the school record at the time. Led by a bevy of talented rushers, the Ole Miss ground game was a headache for many opposing defenses to try and stop.

The Nix backfield stable helped Ole Miss register the third-best ground game in the SEC in 2010 (207.58 ypg), while Bolden ranked No. 5 in the league in rushing (976 yards). A Nix pupil for the duration of his career, Bolden finished second in school history in both total touchdowns (33) and rushing TDs (27), third in all-purpose yards (3,681) and fourth in rushing yards (2,604).

In 2009, McCluster became the first player in SEC history with 1,000 rushing yards (1,169) and 500 receiving yards (520) in the same season.

Nix, one of the best-known players to ever wear a Southern Miss uniform, began his four-year stint on the Golden Eagles sidelines as a defensive graduate assistant in 2003. The following year, Nix was promoted to tight ends coach before being appointed to the running backs coaching position, where he spent two years.

A three-time all-conference selection, Nix was a record-setting running back throughout his Southern Miss playing days and was named to the USM "Team of the Century."

Nix was the first Golden Eagle ever to rush for 1,000 yards in each of his freshman and sophomore campaigns and the only Southern Miss and C-USA player ever to rush for 1,000 yards or more in three seasons.

Nix is a 2002 Southern Miss graduate with a bachelor's degree in sports administration. He and his wife Allison have one daughter, Ava, and twin sons, Derrin and Dray.

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TideSaint

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