Published On: 09.01.21 | 

By: Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Alabama NewsCenter 2021 football preview: Auburn University

Quarterback Bo Nix (10) throws a pass during an Auburn practice. Head Coach Bryan Harsin is placing a lot of emphasis on developing his quarterbacks and keeping errors to a minimum. (Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics)

Bryan Harsin knows no one is perfect. That said, the first-year coach at Auburn wants his quarterbacks to have perfection – or at least the consistent pursuit of it – as their aim.

“There’s a high standard for that position daily,” said Harsin, whose Tigers kick off their season at 6 p.m. Saturday as they host the Akron Zips. “It’s not just in the game. As a quarterback, you don’t have a lot of opportunities to have even bad moments, let alone bad days at practice.”

Two-year incumbent starter Bo Nix and LSU transfer T.J. Finley have had to understand that no detail of their effort can be taken for granted. Even in walkthroughs, they have to concentrate on putting the ball where it needs to be and not on the ground.

“When you play action, even though you’re walking through, you’re like Peyton Manning,” Harsin said. “You’re sticking the ball out and you’re very deliberate about what you do. That’s the biggest thing that I hope these guys are understanding and we’re getting through to them, just how important every single thing we do at that position is.

“At the quarterback position, every rep you take, it’s like a game rep,” he continued. “You’ve got to treat it like that because there’s so many different things that happen throughout practice, in a game. There’s no way as a coach you could ever come up with all the situations that might actually happen to a quarterback. Every rep you get, you’ve got to be in that game mode, you got to be focused.”

Signal-callers don’t get “days off,” the coach said. From getting up in the morning, to showing up at practice, to making that first throw or making that first handoff, it has to be right.

“You can’t just show up out there and then use the wrong cadence and give the old, ‘My bad,’” Harsin said. “That’s not what we want and that’s not what’s going to help the other 10 guys on the field. You’ve got to be right. You’ve got to get the guys lined up properly, you’ve got to be able to handle all the different things that we’re doing on that side of the ball with the cadence and checks and different looks that we get.”

Nix is doing a better job of that, the coach said, and Finley is catching on to those details as well. He added that he likes where freshman QB Dematrius Davis is in his development, that he’s come a long way for a young player and being in the new system.

“I think one of the advantages that we have with our quarterbacks is they learn how to play the position at the highest level as far as what it takes to run a system and what it takes to be able to go out there and prepare properly to do all that,” Harsin said. “They’re learning what it takes and we still have a ways to go from that standpoint. But both (Nix and Finley), what I like about them is they’re a lot more positive out there on the field in a good way.”

Neither dwells on his mistakes, he said. Each looks to correct them.

“Let’s not make it twice,” the coach said of quarterback errors. “That’s really what I like about that group of quarterbacks. They just come back and they’ll make a play the next time. Very rarely have I seen, so far, that we’ve just had back-to-back negative plays. That’s a key component to that group, those players in particular and how we’re developing those guys.”

While Auburn quarterbacks are learning the Harsin way of approaching their position, offensive linemen are cross-training, learning multiple positions.

“This guy got three reps on it at guard (and) now he’s gonna get three reps at tackle,” the coach said. “I think it helps him get a better understanding of the communication, the work that those two have to do together. Also, it allows us a little bit of freedom to be able to move guys around and say, ‘Here’s the best five.’”

Harsin recalled a season during his time at Boise State that he used 11 different combinations of players on the offensive line. He hadn’t really thought about it.

“It was a reporter that brought it up and talked about it,” he said. “That’s something that’s always stuck with me, that you’ve got to be prepared for that.”

The coach acknowledged that the ideal is to have the same five players on the offensive line so they develop continuity. But, especially with the uncertainty of the pandemic, preparation for other contingencies is key.

“Those guys do need to be ready,” Harsin said. “We are still working through who the best five are. At this point for the O-line and D-line, who are the best guys? Who are the toughest guys? Who are the guys that can go out there and be the most consistent up front? That’s one of the things right now we’re trying to figure out.

“If you want to play, if you want to play on this team, be consistent,” he continued. “Go out there and play good football every single day. Be consistent. Be a guy that we can count on, we can rely on. Be a guy that as things get more challenging throughout practice, you show some toughness.”

Alabama NewsCenter is posting season previews for all 15 college football programs in Alabama. Read about West Alabama, Tuskegee, Samford, Alabama A&M, Birmingham-Southern, North Alabama, Troy, South Alabama, Miles, Huntingdon, Alabama State, Jacksonville State and UAB. Look for the University of Alabama football preview Thursday.