Tank Bigsby’s 46-yard touchdown run may have been the highlight of Auburn’s A-Day scrimmage on Saturday, but coach Bryan Harsin took a more holistic approach.

“The only way you get better is playing the game,” Harsin said. “I saw some solid execution with our blue (first-team) offense. I thought that blue defense played well. Our second offense did not move the ball very well or very consistently but I think that’s because of the defense playing around the football fast and getting to them.”

Some of the other highlights included Anders Carlson’s 2 field goals and 25,210 fans turned out to see Harsin’s first A-Day at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Bigsby and Shaun Shivers combined for 119 yards on 19 carries. Canion led Auburn’s receivers with 51 yards on six catches. Freshman quarterback Dematrius Davis and Malcolm Johnson Jr. combined for the game’s longest pass play, a 42-yarder in the fourth quarter.

Nix connected on a 4-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Canion which gave the mostly first-string Auburn team a 17-3 win over the Tigers.

Overall, Nix completed 12 of 20 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown, and added 29 rushing yards on five carries.

“He made good decisions,” Harsin said of Nix. “I thought Coach Bobo did a good job of really challenging him and making him operate, and that’s what you want to see from your quarterback. He’s a weapon. He’s got the ability to extend plays and make plays. He did that today.”

Smoke Monday set the tone for the first-team defense with a tackle for loss after a completion on the opening play, one of five TFLs for first unit. Redshirt freshman Nick Curtis made A-Day’s only takeaway. He recovered a fumble that Kamal Hadden forced.

Bigsby earned offensive MVP honors, as he rushed for 64 yards on seven carries, and added 22 receiving yards on two catches. Defensive MVP Trey Elston made a game-high six tackles and broke up a pass. Carlson was the special teams MVP.