STARKVILLE — Jordan Hill is in his first year covering Auburn for The Opelika-Auburn News. He took some time to speak with The Dispatch ahead of Mississippi State’s matchup against the Tigers on Saturday.
In a conversation with The Dispatch that can be found in its entirety on the newspaper’s podcast, Bully Banter, Hill discussed Bo Nix, Gus Malzahn and more.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: I guess we’re at that time of the year where we’re calculating Gus Malzahn’s buyout. But, what’s this season been like and how have you seen the progression of this team through the first nine weeks?
A: First off, $21.3 million. I have that number in my back pocket. It’s been a real strange season. Early, they had the loss to Georgia where the offensive and defensive line had issues. They seemed to figure things out in really close wins against Arkansas and Ole Miss, and I think the back half of the year there was a thought that maybe they wouldn’t beat Alabama but look competitive and show that they made strides. But it’s been a really rough end and below expectations this year for Auburn, I would say. The Alabama game wasn’t even close by halftime. It was evident they were going to run away with it.
Q: I feel like the last three or so seasons have been a speculated “doom and gloom” saga for Gus when you reach the last two weeks of the season. Since this is your first year on the beat, is this essentially an initiation on the Auburn beat for yourself?
A: I guess so. There’s no hazing or anything like that; it’s just a lot of pre-writing stories that never come to fruition. To that point, there’s been a narrative of, “oh, Gus is in trouble” the last few years, but there would be that game that he needed to win that he did win. For all intents and purposes for all of hot seat talk, I really don’t think they’re going to make a move no matter what as far as this year goes. Had they won the Texas A&M game, everyone might have exhaled and said, ‘OK, still a disappointment but not an end-all, be-all.’ Well, they weren’t able to finish, so there’s still that talk. Although I guarantee if things don’t go well Saturday that talk will not subside.
Q: A lot has been made of Bo Nix and his progression — or lack thereof. Have you pinpointed anything that’s maybe stalled his progression and lack of ability to make more plays in the passing game?
A: The biggest thing, and this has been the knock on Bo since he got to Auburn, is just consistency. We saw it again against Texas A&M. Specifically in the first half, he had a wide-open throw on the west side of the field, and Bo just airmailed him — it wasn’t even close. It wouldn’t have taken a perfect throw, but he was just totally off. I think it’s been a thing of mechanics where he’s gotten out of being mechanically sound on some of those throws, and that has to be on the coaches for not really pushing that he has to play mechanically sound and do it consistently. Because I think there’s no doubt he’s a really talented quarterback, and he has taken the next step running the ball.
The full interview with Hill can be found on Bully Banter, which is available wherever podcasts are listed.
Hodge is the former sports editor for The Dispatch.
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