RSB director: Bo Nix unfairly took brunt of criticism with Auburn football

Former Auburn football quarterback Bo Nix is setting the college football world ablaze in his first campaign post-Plains. Oregon has been the perfect fit with Kenny Dillingham, who primarily formulated the play-calling during Nix’s freshman season at Auburn, and the Ducks’ offensive line and star wideout Troy Franklin have given the Pinson kid the tarmac to take off in Eugene.

Unfortunately, the Tigers are simultaneously tanking in conference play with 3 straight losses — the last two of which were competitive in mere spurts — after escaping a Week 4 matchup with Mizzou with a win Auburn didn’t exactly earn.

Because of that, many are coming to Nix’s defense following a break-up with the school he was seemingly destined to lead to greatness given his father’s ties and how high the bar his freshman season set.

Anthony Schwartz bluntly asked the Auburn family if Nix and Gus Malzahn were still the ones to blame for Auburn football not being at the top of the SEC during the Tigers’ Week 7 48-34 loss to Ole Miss, and Reese’s Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy, an 18-year NFL scouting veteran who was was part of teams that appeared in six Super Bowls, believes Nix unfairly took the brunt of criticism while at Auburn:

Jim Nagy: “No QB in this draft class has raised stock more this season” than former Auburn football QB Bo Nix

That last sentence from Jimy Nagy in his praise of Bo Nix was key — according to Nagy, no QB has risen his NFL stock more than Nix. That doesn’t place him at No. 1, of course, since Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, and Hendon Hooker all had top pick projections out of the gate and are leading undefeated or one-loss teams ranked higher than Oregon.

Still, it likely propels him past everyone else, including UCLA’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who Nix just bested. By season’s end, Nix could have risen himself even higher, having better physical measurables than Young and being much younger than Hooker.