Somehow, the college football world keeps topping itself in shocking developments. As stunning as the coaching exits of Lincoln Riley and Brian Kelly were, such news was not as shocking to the Odyssey as Bo Nix announcing his entry into the transfer portal. The Auburn QB had his best year in 2021 before an ankle injury shut him down. Nix led Auburn to victories at LSU, as well as triumphs over Arkansas and Ole Miss.
But those are mere details. Bo Nix was loved as an Auburn legacy. His dad, Patrick, is one of Auburn’s all-time best QBs, leading the Tigers to an undefeated 11-0 mark in 1993. Obviously, Nix had an issue with the Auburn coaching staff. He was not won over by first-year coach, Bryan Harsin. Perhaps Nix was ticked off at Harsin’s early firing of their receivers’ coach or the season-end dismissal of offensive coordinator Mike Bobo.
In this era of instant transfers, players have never had more power. Harsin’s world has flipped upside down. His promising debut started to unravel when Auburn blew a 28-3 lead against Mississippi State on the Plains. To say that their loss to Bama was devastating would not be hyperbole. The Nix loss is another gut punch to Harsin. He may not be able to recover at a program with a very quick trigger finger.
What’s next? The Odyssey wonders. About the only story that could surprise us more is if another legacy star, Aidan Hutchinson, announces that he is giving up his NFL career so that he can be a grad assistant coach at Ohio State.
