Gus Malzahn has a reason now to be an even bigger Broncos fan.
Malzahn, now head coach at Central Florida, had that position at Auburn from 2013-20. That included two years of coaching Jarrett Stidham and two seasons of having Bo Nix.
Stidham joined the Broncos last season and is a candidate to become their starting quarterback in 2024. And Nix was selected by Denver with the No. 12 pick in Thursday’s first round of the NFL draft. He also will compete for the job along with Zach Wilson, acquired Tuesday from the New York Jets.
“It’s pretty neat that they’ve got two of my guys,” Malzahn said in a phone interview with The Denver Gazette. “I think I’ll be keeping up a lot with the Broncos this season.”
Malzahn remains close to Nix and Stidham. So, might anything be difficult seeing them compete for Denver’s starting job?
“No,’’ he said. “I’ll root for both of them. They both have a good relationship, so it will be a good deal.”
After being Auburn’s starter in 2017 and 2018, Stidham was selected in the fourth round of the 2019 draft by New England. He is entering his sixth NFL season but has just four starts, two to close last season when the Broncos benched Russell Wilson before eventually releasing him.
Nix took over for Stidham as the Tigers’ starter in 2019 and played three seasons for them. Malzahn was fired after the 2020 regular season. Nix ended up playing again for Auburn in 2021 before transferring to Oregon for his final two seasons.
“I followed Jarrett at Auburn and didn’t get a chance to be his teammate but looked up to him all my way through,’’ Nix said.
After moving on to Central Florida in 2021, Malzahn continued to keep in touch with Nix. He talked to him last Wednesday before the draft to wish him the best.
“I’m proud of him,’’ Malzahn said of Nix going to Denver. “He was a guy that when I recruited him, I knew he was an NFL talent. He’s got confidence. He’s like a coach on the field. The first game he ever played for Auburn; he threw a touchdown pass to beat Oregon with nine seconds left to win the game (27-21) on a two-minute drive. He beat Alabama 48-45 as a true freshman. It doesn’t get much more pressure than that.”
Nix’s father, Patrick Nix, was a standout quarterback at Auburn from 1992-95. With his father as the head coach, Nix started at quarterback at Scottsboro (Ala.) High School in the eighth grade. He later moved on to Pinson Valley (Ala.) High School when his dad became head coach there.
“We started recruiting Bo in the eighth, ninth grade,’’ Malzahn said. “You knew even way back then he had a chance to be a big-time quarterback. It was a long process (recruiting him) but for him to get there and start as a true freshman in the SEC, which is extremely hard to do, and be successful was really neat. … He is a special one. It was a blessing to coach Bo in the two years I was there with him.”
So now that Nix and Stidham will be competing against each other, Malzahn was asked to compare the two.
“There’s a lot more similarities than there are differences,’’ Malzahn said. “I would say they’re both athletic, making things happen when it breaks down. They both have arm talent. They both are winners. I mean, Stidham beat Alabama his junior year (26-14 in 2017). Games don’t get any better than that.”
Now, Malzahn will be watching the competition closely in Denver.
“Those are two good ones, I’ll tell you,’’ he said. “They’re both outstanding humans and they’re both unbelievably competitive and really talented.”
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.