What Bryan Harsin and Mike Bobo's past might tell us about Bo Nix's potential in 2021

If Nix is going to remain Auburn's QB1 in a new era, he needs to take that next step as a passer. Now he has two different QB developers coaching him.

QB Bo Nix (Todd Van Emst/Auburn Athletics)

Maybe the sophomore surge was never really in the cards for Bo Nix.

Auburn’s starting quarterback switched to a new offense in 2020, but he did so in an offseason that skipped over spring practices. And while other quarterbacks in the SEC and across college football had better 2020 seasons under first-year coordinators, he still had to play behind an offensive line that was light on experience and blue-chip recruiting talent when compared to the rest of the top teams in the country.

Whatever the root cause, Nix simply didn’t take the big step forward that some expected during his sophomore season. His completion percentage (57.6 percent to 59.9 percent) and yards per attempt (6.7 to 6.8) just improved slightly. His quarterback efficiency for the season fell from 125.0 to 123.9, as he threw more interceptions and fewer touchdowns on a per-game basis.

Now the calendar has flipped to 2021. Nix will enter his third year as a college quarterback, and …