4 burning questions for Auburn’s offense in 2020
If everything goes according to plan, Auburn will kick off the 2020 football season in under three months against Alcorn State.
The Braves shouldn’t provide much of a challenge, but the Tigers’ schedule ramps up with a trip to Atlanta to face North Carolina the week after. There are lots of questions the Tigers must answer before then, on both sides of the ball.
Here are some of the questions the offense must address:
How big of a step forward will Bo Nix take this offseason?
Auburn quarterback Bo Nix was in no way a bad quarterback in his first year on the Plains.
Not much could realistically be expected of Nix, then a true freshman, last year. But he did a serviceable job in an offense that struggled mightily at times (the road loss to Florida) and looked excellent at others (the win over Alabama). Still, there were moments when Nix struggled, notably in road losses to LSU and Florida and the home loss to Georgia.
Nix threw for 2,542 yards and 16 touchdowns last season, and ranked 84th nationally in pass efficiency. He held a 125.0 passer rating in 2019, and the AP SEC Freshman of the Year improved as the season wore on.
There’s good news for Nix: The Tigers return the bulk of their receiving production in Seth Williams, Anthony Schwartz and Eli Stove. Nix has a year of major college football under his belt now and, should the transition to new offensive coordinator Chad Morris go smoothly, could be in for an improved season.
What will Chad Morris’ offense look like?
Auburn coach Gus Malzahn has good reason to be excited about the hiring of former Arkansas head coach and Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris.
Morris served as the offensive coordinator at Clemson from 2011-14, before taking over as the head coach at SMU in 2015. His success at Clemson — a 41-11 record, two Orange Bowl apperances and a 2011 ACC title — provides plenty of reasons to be optimistic.
Morris’ Clemson offenses were some of the best nationally. Clemson’s offense in 2012 and 2013 marked the first time in ACC history that an active member of the conference had averaged more than 40 points per game in back-to-back seasons. Clemson was also one of two FBS schools with a 3,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard rusher and 1,000-yard receiver every year from 2011 to 2013.
The rebuilding job he oversaw at SMU is also a positive sign: The Mustangs went 1-11 the year before Morris was hired, before going 2-10, 5-7 and 7-5 under him.
Arkansas hired Morris following the 2017 season, but he managed only four wins in 22 games before being dismissed.
Who starts at running back?
The obvious question, and likely the topic of dozens of sports articles once fall rolls around: Who replaces JaTarvious Whitlow as the Tigers’ No. 1 running back?
This might have been a serious question even if Whitlow stayed in Auburn, because the Tigers’ backfield is a crowded one.
Junior Malik Miller, sophomore Shaun Shivers, freshman D.J. Williams and redshirt freshman Harold Joiner all return next season, each with a solid amount of experience. But that does not erase the question mark that Whitlow’s departure leaves.
Aside from Williams, who had 84 rush attempts, none of those returning players had extended carries last year, even when Whitlow was sidelined with an injury. Much of that was likely due to how crowded the running back position was. The Tigers had six serviceable running backs, including senior Kam Martin, and a position group that was so stacked it made it nearly impossible to evenly split action.
The arrival of highly-regarded running back recruit Tank Bigsby gives the Tigers another option.
What will Auburn’s inexperienced offensive line look like?
The Tigers are not short of options, but lost a multitude of experience from last year’s offensive line.
Left guard Marquel Harrell, left tackles Prince Tega Wanogho and Bailey Sharp, right guard Mike Horton, center Kaleb Kim and right tackle Jack Driscoll have all left the program
Auburn somewhat addressed this issue in recruiting: The Tigers signed three early enrollee three-star offensive linemen in Avery Jernigan, Kilian Zierer and Tate Johnson.
With the Tigers missing out on spring practice, it’s officially open season for a starting spot on their offensive line.
Auburn football 2020 schedule
* Denotes neutral site game. Bold denotes home game. All game times are TBA.
- Alcorn State, Sept. 5
- *North Carolina, Sept. 12 (Atlanta)
- at Ole Miss, Sept. 19
- Southern Miss, Sept. 26
- Kentucky, Oct. 3
- at Georgia, Oct. 10
- Texas A&M, Oct. 17
- BYE, Oct. 24
- at Mississippi State, Oct. 31
- Arkansas, Nov. 7
- UMass, Nov. 14
- LSU, Nov. 21
- at Alabama, Nov. 28
