SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA DAYS

July 22, 2021

Bo Nix

Auburn Tigers

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Junior quarterback Bo Nix. Bo, as you head into the 2021 season, just what are you looking forward to getting back out on the field?

BO NIX: Good afternoon and War Eagle. I'm excited to be here today. I know there's a lot of people from Auburn that could be representing, and I'm just thankful on their behalf to be up here.

We're excited going into the 2021 season. There's a lot of things going on that are new, but a lot of the basic things that we'll have at Auburn that will be tradition, and we'll go back to normal.

So we're excited to play in front of 85,000 people again and play in front of all the great atmospheres that we have all across the SEC and even other places. I know we get to go up to Penn State and play this year, which will be fun.

Right now we're just looking forward to the Akron game and putting everything together and going out there and getting a win.

Q. 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?

BO NIX: He is 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.

So I'm excited to meet him.

Q. Your coach, working with him as a former quarterback, what are some of the things that you guys are trying to do to take the next steps in your development? Presnap is something he mentioned at one point. What are some of the things you guys are working on to help you take that next step?

BO NIX: Absolutely. Just coverage recognition and preparing for the defenses going into the game is extremely important for the presnap. Obviously, he talks all the time about operate and execute, which is the most important part of being a quarterback. Knowing a presnap will give you an idea of what they could be in, so it can allow you to just adapt once the play starts.

Most guys, most good quarterbacks are instinctive anyway, so once the play starts they just kind of roll with what they have and they make things work. But understanding the presnap will get you out of many things and will tell you kind of what the defense is not in, which can help you as a quarterback.

And all about the SEC is just processing information as fast as possible, and the quarterbacks who succeed process information, and they get the ball out where it needs to go.

Q. Sort of along those same lines, we've talked during the spring when you were still just getting to know Coach Harsin and Coach Bobo, what areas of your game and the new offense do you feel like you've made the most strides in since then and now with the fall camp not too far away?

BO NIX: Obviously, a bunch under center this year, so that's different. I found I really enjoyed going under center. It provided a different vantage point, different way of seeing things. I felt like it literally got me closer to the ball, so I was closer to the defense. I can keep my eyes up the whole time.

No matter how much we're under center, that's a different dynamic to our offense, which I'm excited about. I learned a lot about being under center. I've never really been there in the past. So for moving forward, obviously, the NFL guys are all a lot under center.

So continue to do that and obviously the different checks that they're asking me to do. I'm excited about because I feel like I can get us in the right play, and that's only for our advantage. So we're always running a good play for the defense.

Q. I just wanted to ask you about NIL. Obviously, you announced that deal with Milo's early on, July 1st, and I know you had that quarterback camp coming up with your family. I was wondering what has your approach been like the last few weeks and what it's been like dealing with all that.

BO NIX: Obviously, we're all excited about the opportunity that NIL can bring and we're thankful that they passed that law because it's beneficial for us to make things off our name, image, and likeness. I think it's valuable for each person on the team.

The thing is that everybody can use it. It's not just cut for a certain amount of people. Everybody on the team, every collegiate sport can use it, which is fun. And it kind of starts us off quicker. It starts us as business people, it starts our career off faster.

Obviously, I have done a few things, and obviously the quarterback camp coming up next week, my dad and I, we've always had ideas of creating our own quarterback camp and doing things like that to give back to the community.

It's at Pinson Valley High School where I went to high school, so it's a chance to go back and pour into the lives of the community and just do what we love doing, and that's being the around the football. So we're excited for that. It's next Wednesday. It's come pretty fast. Obviously, we've tried to do that before the season.

But just opportunities like that that are out there for us as athletes, I think that's the biggest thing for us, and it's just for us to capitalize on it and make the most out of the opportunity.

Q. You've had an interesting ride at Auburn so far. What have you learned from the criticism and from winning the big games and the difference between those two things? And how have you learned to deal with it?

BO NIX: That's a great question. That's an honest question, so I appreciate that. The biggest thing I've learned is no matter what you do in life, you could be the most influential person in the country, you could change so many lives, but there's always going to be that one person, more than one person, that doesn't like what you're doing or disagrees or thinks that you can do something better.

In high school, you don't really go through that kind of stuff. Usually everybody is nice to you and they're your fans, so you don't have to go through that. You may go through some rival schools that will talk mean to you, but that's just the fun of being in high school.

In college, I feel like no matter what side you're on, you could get bad-mouthed and criticized. It goes with the territory. I knew coming to Auburn what I was going to face. I knew it was going to be difficult. You have to deal with certain fans across the state.

So each and every time, every moment of criticism, you've just got to reflect on where you are and what I'm doing. I'm just thankful to be at Auburn, to be the quarterback here, and that's a very -- I mean, it's a very great position to be in. I know there's a lot of people that would like to be there, and I'm just thankful for that opportunity. I'm thankful for what the Lord's done to my life.

At the same time, I know who's I am, and that's important. I know that Jesus Christ died for me, and no matter what happens, I can always go to Him in a time of need. I've gotten closer to Him throughout my college experience because, as a freshman, when you're young, you're 19 years old, you have 40-year-old men talking bad about you, it's a different perspective, and it's one that you have to look back and realize that the world is bigger than football and so much is going to happen outside of it.

Tomorrow the sun will come up. Especially after games, I can get up and I can go to church and kind of reset my life and know that no matter what happens, football will end one day, and it's just all about what kind of impact I can have on the lives of others.

Q. Kind of similar to Philip's question about how you've grown over the few years at Auburn, in terms of your game play, where are you right now as a quarterback in comparison to where you thought you'd be and what do you want to accomplish in terms of your skill set at that position before you graduate?

BO NIX: I've been in a few different offenses. This will be my third different offense, third different offensive coordinator, but it's exciting because I've gotten to learn and grow with each individual coach.

I knew coming in -- my dad was a college coach, so I knew coaches would come and go, but obviously Auburn is there to stay. So I chose Auburn because I wanted to go and grow as a person and just grow as a player, and I knew Auburn would do that for me.

The past few years really in my college career, I've grown a lot, and I've grown in ways that I didn't even know I could grow. One of the main ones is just how tighter windows and how the difference of high school and college, how the speed of the game is so much different.

So going into year 3, I've seen a lot of football. I've seen a lot of defenses. I've played against some of the top defensive coordinators, top defenses in the country, and that's continued to just add up and build to where now I feel as confident as I ever have been.

I can get back there and get set, know where to go with the ball. I feel like this offense Coach Bobo has done a great job of when you get this, you're going here. When you get this coverage, you're going here. This is your answers for all of this. This offense, we have a bunch of answers that I'm really looking forward to, and I know where I'm going with the ball.

And we're doing different protections and we're doing different formations, just very multiple as an offense to where maybe we can get an advantage over defenses and we can keep the defense on their heels.

And I can continue to play fast, put us in the right play, and make those throws that will separate quarterbacks from the college level to the pro level.

Q. First of all, Tony Fair posted on social media that he's coming to take the head off the elephant. I just wanted to know what your reaction to that remark was. Also, do you have a little bit more confidence going into the Iron Bowl now that it's coming back to Auburn this year? You guys have had a lot of success with the game when it's at home in recent years as well.

BO NIX: First of all, I had a lot of confidence going into Tuscaloosa last year. I don't think the location changed my confidence or anything like that. As a matter of fact, I was probably more excited to go to Tuscaloosa just because of how hard it was going to be and how difficult it was going to be.

And another thing, Tony, he transferred into us, and that quote, obviously it's a confident quote, but I hope he's coming to take the head off the elephant. I hope he's not coming to get the head taken off the Tiger. So that's really important.

I think that actually I like the quote. I think it's important because we're not scared of Alabama. I know that a lot of people want us to be scared, but we're really not. They had a great team last year. They beat us last year head to head, and they beat us pretty bad, but that game was close at the beginning, and it was honestly closer than they had played. There at the end they just did what they do, and they obviously had a great team. So they continued to just build on that.

But I'm excited. I'm happy he said that because everybody at Auburn should come in with the mindset of beating Alabama, and that's just important to us, it's important to me. Obviously, I understand how it is beating them in 2019, and we have a lot of guys on our team that's beaten them.

So moving forward, especially this year, having it back home, obviously, it is exciting to play the Iron Bowl in Jordan-Hare Stadium. It's going to be one of the biggest, loudest games of the year. It always is. So we're just excited.

I think there's a mutual respect between Auburn and Alabama. I think they know that they're going to Alabama to beat Auburn, and we are going to Auburn to beat Alabama. All the games are always respectful. It's fair, and both sides appreciate the other for what they have to go through.

But for Auburn, we are here to win those big games and to take the head off the elephant.

Q. 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 have the offense with Mike Bobo and some of your new coaches do you like the most?

BO NIX: I really feel like I can -- 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, and so that just shows how he grew and that he tried to take advantage of the opportunities that 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.

Q. What's the potential of Auburn's offense this season? You guys struggled last year.

BO NIX: At times 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 -- like Coach Malzahn was at Auburn for a while.

Obviously, over time guys started playing well against him, and so now just it's refreshing to be able to do different things will give us an advantage.