Arguably the most watched position competition in the SEC was settled today, and Auburn coach Gus Malzahn explained how it unfolded.

In a press conference with reporters, Malzahn outlined how he came to the conclusion to choose Bo Nix over Joey Gatewood, and why he decided to announce it today. Malzahn added that he told Gatewood that, “we’re going to need him to be ready.”

“He can run. He can really run,” Malzahn said of Nix, “Joey (Gatewood) can run too. That’s the good thing about it is that both of those guys can run.”

The news comes less than two weeks before the opener against Oregon.

“Just felt that we needed to let our team know who the starting quarterback is going into Oregon,” Malzahn said. “It was a very good competition. … We’ve got two quarterbacks we feel we can win with.”

Nix, of Pinson, Alabama, was a blue chip recruit and Auburn legacy who set Alabama state records with more than 12,000 career total offense yards and 161 career TD accounted for. His father played quarterback at Auburn from 1992-95.

Gatewood is a redshirt freshman from Jacksonville, Florida. His only action last season was when he rushed for 28 yards in the Music City Bowl. Another top-notch recruit, Gatewood was an Elite 11 finalist.