Auburn coach Gus Malzahn continues to be impressed with QB Bo Nix’ development, especially looking back on his true freshman season in 2019, and how he handled a difficult schedule facing the likes of Florida and Georgia, and then winning the Iron Bowl at the end.

“I was unbelievably impressed with everything, how he handled the pressures and all that,” Malzahn said at his Tuesday press conference. “Of course you look at the Iron Bowl, that’s the most pressure I think probably a quarterback can be in, in a rivalry game, the way he played, helped us win the game, being a true freshman at home.”

New offensive coordinator Chad Morris will tailor the offense around Nix, Malzahn said.

“We’re going to play to his strengths,” Malzahn said. “Last year, he created a lot of things on his own, and with the scrambles and all that, his decision making, he is a run threat too. So we’re going to play to his strengths and rely on him a lot.”

A year older and with more experience, Nix is a different player right now, the coach said, and was voted one of the team captains recently.

“He got the second most votes,” Malzahn said. “So that just tells you he’s a team leader now, he’s got a lot of confidence. I know him and Coach Morris have worked extremely hard together. He’s excited, Coach Morris is trying to build this thing around his strengths, too. I think he’s in a real good spot to lead us and I think he’ll definitely improve. But at the same time, when you look at that schedule, I’d like to see a lot of these other teams play that schedule and see how their quarterback does. But I like where he’s at.”