HOOVER, Ala. – Reporters meeting new Auburn coach Bryan Harsin for the first time learned one thing: the man likes to talk.
In the 40 minutes allotted, Harsin only had to answer three questions.
Quarterback Bo Nix was a bit more accommodating. The Tiger junior touched on a number of subjects, including working with new offensive coordinator Mike Bobo and new teammate Demetris Robertson.
I was just wondering if you had a chance yet to work with Demetris Robertson, who's transferring to Auburn, and kind of what's been your impression of him?
Nix: “He's finishing up graduating, so once he gets on campus and once he gets going, I'm excited to work with him. He's had great experiences, going from Cal to Georgia. So now playing with us. So he's been in the league, he knows how tough it is. He knows what it means to play in this conference.
“So hopefully, his experience will be a great thing for our receivers, who because of events leading up to this, guys leaving and stuff like that. Those guys continue to gain experience, so maybe he can help them bridge the gap. I'm excited to meet him."
What parts of your game do you feel like you haven't been able to display that maybe you can this season? And what traits of the offense with Mike Bobo and some of your new coaches do you like the most?
Nix: “I've shown it and done it in the past. I know I can do it. I've just got to continue to do it. That's making tough throws from the pocket.
“Obviously, I do a good job of seeing coverages and knowing where the ball's supposed to be. Sometimes I've just got to pull the trigger and make those tighter throws, and if they're picked, they're picked. But if not, at least I knew I tried it, and at least I knew that's where I was supposed to go with the ball.
“I think sometimes as quarterbacks, we get gun-shy because of maybe not turning the ball over or anything, but if you look at all the great quarterbacks, they threw some picks and they tried to thread the needle a little bit. That's what made them good. That's what made them successful.
“Peyton Manning led the league his rookie year in interceptions, and he's one of the best to ever play. So that just shows how he grew and that he tried to take advantage of the opportunities he was given.
“One of the aspects of Coach Bobo's offense that I really like is how multiple it is and how different formations, different plays, a lot of different checks, a lot of combo plays, which will give us an advantage because the defense can line up and we can get in the right play, and then we can match up better against them.”
What's the potential of Auburn's offense this season? You guys struggled last year.
Nix: “We had really good times last year, and other times we were just a few first downs away from having different outcomes of the game. So if you look at last year, we could have been 8-2, 9-1, realistically, but things just didn't go our way at times, and we ended up losing a few games.
“This year, just excited to be around different coaching staffs, and I'm excited to do different things and to have a different offense that maybe won't be as much like Coach Malzahn's was at Auburn for a while. Obviously, over time, guys started playing well against him, and so now it's refreshing to be able to do different things that will give us an advantage.”
