True freshman Bo Nix named Auburn's starting quarterback for Oregon opener

It has been known since the first day in May that Auburn would start a freshman at quarterback against No. 13 Oregon on Aug. 31 in Arlington, Texas. The only question was whether it would be a redshirt freshman or a true freshman: Joey Gatewood or Bo Nix.

On Tuesday — 12 days before that first game — we learned the answer.

Nix, the five-star dual-threat quarterback ranked No. 1 at his position in the Class of 2019, will start for the Tigers against the Ducks in the first game of his college career. Head coach Gus Malzahn announced his decision before practice Tuesday after spending the previous two days meeting with his staff.

Nix will be the eighth quarterback in Auburn history to make his first career start as a true freshman (which has been allowed by rule since 1972) and first since Jeremy Johnson in 2015. He'll be the second ever to do so a season-opener after Travis Tidwell, who did so in 1946 when there was a shortage of players due to World War II.

This is a job Nix has been preparing for almost his entire life. He's not only the son of a coach, but the son of a former Auburn quarterback, too — Patrick Nix threw for 4,957 yards and 31 touchdowns over 32 games for the Tigers from 1992-95 and spent the next 17 years as a college coach, with including Jacksonville State, Henderson State, Samford, Georgia Tech, Miami and Charleston Southern.

Bo Nix spent his entire high school career playing for his father, who was the head coach at Scottsboro High from 2013-16 and has been at Pinson Valley since 2017.

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"I'm new to Auburn. And he's like the walking encyclopedia," offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Kenny Dillingham said. "I mean, we have the quarterbacks over to my house, and I forget what we were talking about. And Bo talked about like a 1987 game where we caught a fade ball or something. And I go to a book I have of Auburn history. And he's over here telling me about things that happened before he was born. And I'm like, man. So, I mean, for me, that's the biggest thing. He's all in on Auburn. He's all in. He's been born and raised all in."

Nix, the reigning Alabama Mr. Football, set state records with more than 12,000 yards of total offense and 161 total touchdowns (127 passing, 34 rushing) during an illustrious high school career playing for his dad.

Bo Nix arrived at Auburn in January as the least experienced player in a four-man quarterback competition that also included Gatewood, redshirt freshman former minor league baseball player Cord Sandberg and junior Malik Willis (who has since transferred to Liberty). By the end of his first spring on campus, he had risen to "1b" to Gatewood's "1a."

He spent the summer working to improve himself further, including training with former NFL quarterback Jordan Palmer (who also worked with former Tigers quarterback Jarrett Stidham) in California. Not long after fall camp began, it became clear that Nix had moved ahead of Gatewood, as he was the one first in the pecking order during practices and scrimmages.

"We know a lot about him," Malzahn said earlier this fall. "Recruited him for a long time. We knew obviously his dad's a coach, and you could tell in the spring, that he understands football, he understands the defense. He's worked extremely hard in the summer, and he's in a better spot than he was when he was in the spring. There's no doubt about that."

There's a good chance Gatewood will still end up being involved in Auburn's offense. Malzahn has brought up more than once how "different" the quarterbacks are — both are dual threats, but Nix has the higher ceiling as a passer, and the 6-foot-5, 233-pound Gatewood is a physical runner who teammates have compared to Cam Newton.

It stands to reason that the Tigers could find a way to use both. And even if they don't do that against Oregon in Week 1, non-conference home games against Tulane and Kent State the next two weeks should provide an opportunity to give each quarterback more game experience.

But for now, the biggest question Auburn faced entering fall camp has an answer — Nix will start at quarterback on Aug. 31 at AT&T Stadium.