Auburn football is back, and the Tigers rang in the Harsin era with a sound 60-10 victory over the Akron Zips. Auburn looked good from all sides, ending the game with no turnovers and only three penalties after 60 minutes.
Auburn football’s new coaching staff brought new schemes and play styles to the Plains, but as of Saturday, the transition appears to have gone seamlessly. The running backs looked fantastic, the receivers made great catches, and the defense was on point. Most importantly, Bo Nix looked calm and collected and passed for a completion rate of 90.1 percent.
For the first time in his Auburn career, Nix played under center, but in the words of The JBoy Show’s Jake Crain, it looked like he’d been doing it his whole life. Nix explained that the new scheme is a nice change, and it allows for more perspective in the pocket:
"“It’s a good changeup because it provides different angles in the pocket and it provides different launchpoints…it does help, kind of a different perspective. You know sometimes when you’re in shotgun you’re just back there at five yards and you have the same perspective of the front, of the coverage, and things like that so when you move closer to the ball you can get more of a good perspective, your eyes can stay up longer from the center exchange, and you can get a different perspective, which is always good for the quarterback.”"
Nix said the balance between shotgun and under-center felt good on Saturday, and he enjoyed the way the schemes made the defenses think. He credited his performance to Coach Harsin and Coach Bobo and said he’s very comfortable being in the pocket.
The whole team looked composed in the season opener, with clean execution and a lack of procedural penalties. Nix explained that it all came down to preparation:
"“I think it just shows how we’ve prepared and how our coaches have prepared us and gotten us ready to go so that when we get into play action with a play clock and guys running out on the field and coming in and out of the huddle, no huddle, switching it up, cadences…I felt we were locked in and focused and did a great job of that.”"
The season is only going to get more challenging for Auburn football, but if the first game was any indication, the Tigers are prepared for what is to come.