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A different Auburn offense awaits the Bulldogs this time

In the 2017 regular season matchup on the plains between Auburn and Georgia, the Bulldogs were headlined by Jake Fromm, a deep stable of talented backs, and dangerous receivers on the outside.

Georgia’s current offense is headlined by Jake Fromm, a deep stable of talented backs, and dangerous receivers on the outside. Not much has changed apart from the names on the backs of the jerseys. Chubb and Michel were replaced by Swift and Herrien. Javon Wims, Riley Ridley, Terry Godwin and Mecole Hardman were replaced by Lawrence Cager, George Pickens, Demetris Robertson and Dominick Blaylock.

Auburn’s offense, however, is miles from what it was in 2017.

Instead of an established pocket passer in Jarrett Stidham, the Tigers are now led by true freshman dual-threat quarterback Bo Nix. Kerryon Johnson, who torched the Bulldogs for 233 total yards and a touchdown in 2017, was replaced by JaTarvious Whitlow. Whitlow has been dealing with a knee injury and didn’t play against Ole Miss. His absence has been filled by true freshman D.J. Williams. Ryan Davis and Darius Slayton had their shoes filled by Anthony Schwartz and Seth Williams.

While Auburn’s receivers have established themselves as players to be reckoned with, the Tigers backfield contains a couple of true freshmen learning with each game they play. The roster turnover has been tougher on Auburn than Georgia, but Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart is wary of what a Gus Malzahn coached offense can do.

“Gus has always had a lot of different things. They’ve got different tempos and formations. They’ve got different groupings,” said Smart. “There’s just a lot to prepare for. A lot of offense. At the end of the day, you’ve got to be careful that you don’t overload the kids with too much and paralyze them.”

Smart and company waltzed into Auburn two years ago with a freshman quarterback and lost. The tables have turned. Malzahn is now the coach who places the keys to his offense in the hands of a true freshman. Smart praised Nix’s ability to run the ball, stating it differs slightly from that of Stidham.

"It's different. They allow Nix to do more with the run game. He pulls it and makes good decisions. He very rarely is wrong when it comes to pulling the ball,” said Smart. “He runs the offense well. You can tell it's more of what Gus is used to as opposed to Stidham, who was probably more of a passer, but was a good athlete, too."

Junior inside linebacker Monty Rice respects Nix’s legs as well.

“Stidham could run, but Nix is obviously way faster than he was,” said Rice. “He can scramble. He makes it tough on third downs. We probably can’t run all of our stuff, because you’ve got to play him a certain way so he doesn’t scramble for a first down.”

With a Malzahn offense, you can expect to see the ball being run downhill with two other plays mixed in. With the Tigers missing their lead back as of last weekend, they will presumably rely on yet another true freshman in D.J. Williams. How big of a difference will it make if Whitlow is unable to go?

“A big difference. He's a stud SEC back,” said Smart. “He's physical; he's hard to bring down. He makes their run game tick because their run game is meant to be powerful, downhill and bruising. The young kid has come in and done a good job of that, but Whitlow is a difference-maker for them."

D. J. Williams has put up great numbers while filling in for Whitlow. The freshman has rushed for 303 yards in four games this season, with 130 and 93 yards coming against LSU and Ole Miss, respectively.

At the receiver spot, Auburn is led by the duo of Schwartz and Seth Williams.

Schwartz is widely regarded as one of the fastest players in the nation. He holds multiple records in the 100-meter dash with times as low as 10.07, and won a gold medal as a member of USA’s U-20 4x100 meter relay team.

Schwartz has 417 total yards and three touchdowns this season. 112 of those yards came on the ground.

Seth Williams is Nix’s go-to receiver. The sophomore has 35 catches for 569 yards and eight touchdowns, all of which have surpassed his season totals from last year.

Still, Rice is confident in his teammates in the secondary, pointing to the receivers they face on a daily basis.

“Our defensive backs do go against Georgia—Pickens, Matt Landers, and Lawrence Cager—every day,” said Rice. “Seth (Williams) and Schwartz match well with each other. They do the right stuff. They make a lot of plays and have a quarterback who can put them in the right position to do so.”

Smart has prepared his team for what’s to come on Saturday but remained wary of throwing too much at them.

“I think sometimes when you know the history of somebody, it can be worse, because you try to prepare for everything you’ve seen; it makes it hard to do,” said Smart. “You’ve just got to get them ready. And that’s why I think we’re getting closer.”


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