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Chad Morris hasn’t even coached a single game for Auburn but he’s already got the support of the most important player on the offensive side of the ball on The Plains.
The recently hired offensive coordinator is already on staff on The Plains following Kenny Dillingham’s departure for Florida State and has been busy working to prepare the Tigers for the upcoming Outback Bowl.
During his first media availability following the Iron Bowl, SEC Freshman of the Year Bo Nix was asked to share his thoughts on his new offensive coordinator.
“We had a conversation and (Gus Malzahn) said he was going to go with Coach Morris and I was excited,” Nix said in a video posted to YouTube by Auburn Athletics. “I knew whatever Coach Malzahn was going to do was going to be for the better of the team, for the better of the offense and I was looking forward to it.”
Nix’s season had its fair share of ups and downs on the field, the freshman completed just 57 percent of his passes for 2,366 yards with 15 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also added another 301 yards and seven scores on the ground.
While those numbers are solid, especially considering the competition Auburn faced this season, Nix struggled in Auburn’s three losses to Florida, LSU and Georgia. That’s something he discussed when sharing his thoughts on his first season at Auburn.
“I definitely feel like I’ve grown from the beginning of the year, I’ve done some really good things. I’ve done some other things that I wish I could have back but as an overall freshman year,” Nix continued. “I’ve taken care of the ball pretty well. I’ve seen the defenses, I’ve learned different coverages and learned different things that I might not have seen in high school. That’s always good moving forward. This year was definitely a learning curve from high school going to college was definitely a big step but I feel like I’ve handled it as best as I could and we are on our way to a 10-win season which is great.”
Now it’s Morris’ job to get Nix to play at a higher level more consistently during the quarterback’s sophomore season on The Plains. Considering the defensive losses the program is projected to suffer this offseason, if Auburn hopes to finish its season in Atlanta next fall, they’ll likely have to do so while leaning on Nix to get them there.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
