Auburn football: 10 reasons why 2021 could be a special season

Auburn football coach Gus Malzahn went out and declared that next season could be a special one. The War Eagle dishes out ten reasons why that could be.

Gus Malzahn didn’t talk about Auburn football’s upcoming rescheduled matchup with the Mississippi State Bulldogs during his Sunday press conference following the Tigers’ 31-20 loss to Texas A&M at Jordan-Hare on Saturday afternoon.

His mind was instead on next season–an interesting thought considering the turnover the team has been seeing recently…and could continue to see if things don’t improve against Mississippi State and in a potential bowl-game–and how next season could be special, per al.com:

"“I think we’ve got a chance to have a really, really special year if the majority of our guys come back,” Malzahn said. “So I’m very excited about that.”"

So just how could this be the case? The War Eagle has 10 reasons why Malzahn may be onto something:

1. Bo Nix will have a more proper spring (we think)

To say that this past spring was disruptive for the career of just about every collegiate athlete is an understatement. Bo Nix engineered five games where the offense was able to put up 48 points or more, so there is evidence the offense could hum along far better than it has this season.

Assuming we are fully adjusted to whatever this “new normal” is, Nix should have a more proper spring to get acquainted with his offensive weapons.

2. Lee Hunter will be terrorizing opposing offensive lines and quarterbacks

The six-foot-five, 292 pound Lee Hunter will be arriving in the Plains in 2021, and after sitting out his high school senior season (he has a young daughter, back off), he should be feeling fresh and healthy heading into his inaugural season with Auburn football.

It would be unfortunate and dare I say a less special season if Hunter decided to opt-out of his freshman year as well.