Week One has come and gone for Auburn football, and just like that the 2021 season has begun. The Tigers started off strong, absolutely running over Akron with a 60-10 victory. Although Akron is definitely a bad team, there were great takeaways from the first look at the Bryan Harsin era.
Bo Nix looked great. He completed 20 of 22 passes for a 90.1 percent completion rate, and the offensive line gave him all the time in the world on most snaps. Bigsby dominated the first half and gave way in the second to true freshman Jarquez Hunter, who posted a stat unlike any other Auburn freshman since 2009.
Though this game was practically decided before anyone hit the field and next week’s matchup versus ASU isn’t exactly a hot ticket, Auburn football has given Tiger fans a lot to be happy about at the beginning of the season.
Following the game, Coach Harsin named five players of the week, representing the offense, defense, special teams, the O-line, and the D-line:
Auburn's @CoachHarsin announces Bo Nix as Offensive POW, ZaKoby McClain as Defensive POW, Wesley Steiner as Special Teams POW. Brodarious Hamm was O-Line POW and T.D. Moultry the D-Line POW
— Jason Caldwell (@ITATJason) September 6, 2021
It’s no surprise that QB1 Bo Nix earned offensive player of the week with his impressive Week One stats, putting up 307 total yards. The defensive player of the week, linebacker Zakoby McClain, racked up 7 tackles in the first matchup. The D-Line player of the week, T.D. Moultry, also put up 7 tackles, making him and McClain the Tigers’ leading tacklers to kick off the season.
Linebacker Wesley Steiner was the special teams player of the week with two tackles under his belt, and Brodarious Hamm was named O-line player of the week.
Nathan King of Auburn Undercover reports that Harsin’s main focus heading into Week Two is to not let a big win distract from the next game, and he’s interested in the players’ mindset after a blowout win.