Auburn football and Bo Nix have gone their separate ways in 2022. Nix, who transferred from the Plains following a 6-4 season as a starter before an ankle injury wiped out the final three games of his 2021 campaign, has gone straight to the top 10 in the AP Poll with the Oregon Ducks. Auburn has gone to the bottom of the SEC West standings and harsh rumors about Bryan Harsin’s coaching style have come to light, leading to many fans being over his tenure as Tigers head coach.
Speaking of being over Harsin, Nix has admitted that he was over Auburn football during his third year under center, and first under the Boise Native. He told CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd as revealed in an October 28 piece.
"“Last year, I was just kind of over it. Each week it was something else. There was, quite frankly, nothing I could do about it. I just remember kind of being miserable. It wasn’t fun anymore.”"
In the same interview, Nix declared that Oregon would beat Georgia if they played tomorrow. He said that the result would be different from the 49-3 destruction of his Ducks by the Bulldogs during the Chic-Fil-A Kickoff Game September 3 and that ‘everybody knows that.’ Do we?
Auburn football head coach Bryan Harsin takes a huge narrative hit with Bo Nix’s comments
As if the media and Auburn Board of Trustees needed more ammo, they were just gifted the perfect quote from Bo Nix to use against Auburn football head coach Bryan Harsin come season’s end when performance reviews are due — if he even makes it that far.
That Nix essentially just blamed his loss of passion for the game of football speaks awfully to Harsin’s ability to develop a blue-chip prospect. Nix had taken a big step back his sophomore year during the 2020 pandemic season, but one can’t discount the Chad Morris factor there too. He was still someone capable of being developed, but Harsin and Mike Bobo drove him to unhappiness, and eventually, the Plains altogether.
Now, he’s thriving with his freshman year offensive coordinator (Kenny Dillingham) who led him to a career-best season with Auburn. Oregon had invested in offensive line talent for years and got a coach who directly appealed to Nix’s situation.
It sounds like Auburn did the opposite.