What’s next for Joey?

[aubiefifty 16,660]

What’s next for Joey Gatewood after losing out on Auburn starting quarterback job?

Posted Aug 21, 9:15 AM

Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics

 

By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com

Well before Gus Malzahn came to a decision on who would be Auburn’s starting signal-caller, Kenny Dillingham had an open discussion in the Tigers’ quarterback room.

The first-year offensive coordinator wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page, regardless of the ultimate outcome of Auburn’s quarterback competition between Bo Nix and Joey Gatewood.

“Everybody in that room is going to help us this year,” Dillingham said. “And you see it year in and year out. And our motto is ‘Ride for the Brand.’ So, if you're with us right now, you're with us. And that's kind of what we've talked about is in our room, we have to be the closest room on the football team regardless of who wins the job; we're going to have each other's back in all aspects of life. And that's kind of what we've talked about. And we've put that on the table since I got here, and I firmly believe in that.”

Nix ultimately won the job, the news first delivered one-on-one by Malzahn early Tuesday afternoon. Malzahn then informed Gatewood personally, then the entire team during a pre-practice meeting. Nix’s coronation culminated with a press conference Tuesday evening, when he was introduced to the media for the first time since enrolling on campus in January.

“He handled it, in my opinion, about as good as you can handle it,” Nix said of Gatewood. “He had a really good practice today, so obviously it didn’t faze him that much. But like I said, Joey is a great talent. He can run the ball and throw the ball just about as good as anybody. We have two really good quarterbacks on Auburn. That’s for sure.”

With the spotlight now firmly on Nix as the new face of Auburn’s program, what does it mean for Gatewood, the redshirt freshman and former top-50 recruit who has drawn physical comparisons to former Heisman winner and national champion Cam Newton?

How true freshman Bo Nix became QB1 at Auburn

A look at how Bo Nix set himself apart from Joey Gatewood in the Tigers' quarterback competition this fall.

The redshirt freshman made strides in his development over the course of spring practices, summer player workouts and fall camp, and the coaching staff appear confident in his big arm and his ability to run the ball. It’s just that Nix surpassed him over the last couple of weeks, and the decision became evident to Malzahn and Dillingham as they reviewed the totality of fall camp over a 48-hour period that began Sunday afternoon.

Gatewood will be Auburn’s clear-cut backup quarterback this season, though Malzahn was sure to clarify that Nix will not be on a short leash and will be given the opportunity to play through some anticipated growing pains early in the year.

“You don't want to be thinking that you're going to pull the rope on him,” Malzahn said. “You go with a guy and let him play. Especially as freshmen, it wouldn't have mattered which one — you've got to be patient.”

That backup role will be vital, especially with the difficulty of Auburn’s schedule and how willing Malzahn and Dillingham appear to be in allowing Nix the freedom to run the ball this season. Injury is always a risk, in that regard, and having Gatewood ready and waiting helps ease some of those potential concerns.

That’s not to say that Gatewood won’t have a role beyond serving as Nix’s backup this season.

Malzahn wasn’t ready to say what the plan will be for the 6-foot-5, 233-pounder in the season opener against Oregon on Aug. 31, understandably not wanting to tip his hand toward Mario Cristobal and the Ducks. Over the course of fall camp, however, the vibe given off around the program was that, regardless of who was named QB1, both would have a role to play this season given the praise each has received and the specific skillsets each brings to the table.

As parroted by Malzahn, Dillingham and players such as running back Shaun Shivers: The Tigers expect both quarterbacks will help them win this season.

“He’s our backup quarterback that we have a lot of confidence in,” Malzahn said of Gatewood. “I told him we’re going to need him this year to be ready. We’ll see what happens with everything. It gives us a lot of flexibility, so we’ll see what that means moving forward.”

Though Malzahn left his answer open-ended, that flexibility means Auburn could have specific packages designed for Gatewood while Nix still receives the majority of the snaps, or Gatewood could provide a change of pace offensively. Both are capable dual-threats, and while Nix is the more polished passer at this stage, he isn’t as physically imposing as Gatewood, who has done some of his best work when he has been able to tuck the ball, run and take on would-be tacklers.

“He be trying to run everybody over,” wide receiver Eli Stove said in the spring. “He’s a strong, big guy. I would expect him to do that, too. I feel like he’s a running back with the ball, making all the cuts and all that. He’s making good decisions, too.”

To be clear, if Gatewood sees time against Oregon, it won’t be some seemingly random rotation — as Malzahn previously did with multiple quarterbacks, unsuccessfully at that, during the 2016 season opener against Clemson. If anything, it would be a more refined two-quarterback system, potentially in the same vein as Florida in 2006 with Chris Leak and Tim Tebow, when Leak was the primary quarterback but then-freshman Tebow thrived in short-yardage situations with designated packages. Texas similarly used such a system in 2015 with Tyrone Swoopes, who ran the Longhorns “18-Wheeler” package after losing his starting job to then-freshman Jerrod Heard.

At SEC Media Days last month, Malzahn didn’t rule out the possibility of a two-quarterback system, saying he is “open to whatever” gives Auburn’s the best chance to win games.

Gatewood, of course, is no stranger to a two-quarterback system. At Bartram Trail he split time with Riley Smith, now at Boise State, and passed for 1,468 yards and 12 touchdowns while rushing for another 1,100 yards and 16 scores during his senior season. The Bears finished that season as the Class 7A state runner-up in Florida.

Even if Gatewood doesn’t see the field against Oregon, Auburn will have two non-Power 5 matchups over the following two weeks — at home against Tulane and Kent State — to figure things out before the start of SEC play. It stands to reason, at least, that Malzahn will be sure to carve out a role for Gatewood during that time and see how he can be incorporated into the offense before Auburn’s schedule hits conference action.

“I will say this about Joey, and I told him this: He's going to help us win games this year,” Malzahn said. “There's no doubt in my mind. The good thing is, with everything we've confirmed, is that we've got two guys that we feel like we can win with.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

[AuburnEagle79 2,163]

Joey will have packages. He can be the wildcat guy. If I've seen anything out of Gus the past 6 years, he won't mind finding a way to get Joey on the field. I just hope he doesn't try the whole 2016 mess. 

[aujeff11 6,243]

I basically think he’s going to be lucky to see 7 snaps a game unless injury happens.

I think he a capable backup though, so the coaching staff doesn’t have to be ultra conservative with Nix’s running abilities, though he still shouldn’t explode into defenders like Sean White used to do.  SW would deliver some heroic hits as a runner but would fracture himself in the process as well lol. 

[Scotty2Hotty 520]

13 minutes ago, AuburnEagle79 said:

Joey will have packages. He can be the wildcat guy.

I think we'll see a healthy split of Boobie and Joey at Wildcat. Boobie the closer to the needed yardage. Joey a little further away to offer than 1% chance of a pass. Regardless, I expect the most Wildcat since 2010-2011.

Would be cool if someone like @StatTiger could break down the number of Wildcat plays each season since 2009.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,637]

They'll probably give him the majority of snaps in at least one of those two burner games, if not both. I think Gus wants to be absolutely right about not starting Joey 

[DAG 33,954]

59 minutes ago, Scotty2Hotty said:

I think we'll see a healthy split of Boobie and Joey at Wildcat. Boobie the closer to the needed yardage. Joey a little further away to offer than 1% chance of a pass. Regardless, I expect the most Wildcat since 2010-2011.

Would be cool if someone like @StatTiger could break down the number of Wildcat plays each season since 2009.

I hope all wildcats go to Joey..That is just my opinion, but I imagine you will probably be more accurate. I also expect him to transfer by the end of the year, if he doesn't get a resemblance of an opportunity to start at QB. With that being said, if Bo proves to be not ready, he has his shot. We have seen this happen in the last couple of years with premier SEC teams.

[WDE0007 166]

It's hard to say given how the starting QB position played out with our SEC powerhouse rivals, UGA and Alabama. If Bo plays as well as hoped, then Joey's probably entering the transfer portal at the end of the season. But...I think both those schools' QB stories should teach every player one thing: even you are the backup, you need to be ready when your name is called, cause you never know when you need to take over. Or why. Stay ready, prepare like you're the starter, and let the chips fall where they do.

[Zeek 16,605]

2 hours ago, AuburnEagle79 said:

Joey will have packages. He can be the wildcat guy. If I've seen anything out of Gus the past 6 years, he won't mind finding a way to get Joey on the field. I just hope he doesn't try the whole 2016 mess. 

I've always been fine with doing this for backup quarterbacks if they are going to be allowed to run a diverse set of plays. He has to be viewed as a passing threat when he comes in to the game. If he only comes in to run the daggum zone read then you're telegraphing exactly what's going to happen for the defense.

 

 

[IronMan70 3,277]

Joey could very well end up with double digit rushing TDs as the backup QB. Now that would be something. You just never know.

[Sizzle 3,909]

2 hours ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

They'll probably give him the majority of snaps in at least one of those two burner games, if not both. I think Gus wants to be absolutely right about not starting Joey 

Yep this battle isn’t over quite yet unless Bo comes out killing it from the beginning

[weagl1 1,781]

I think he will play a lot.  Just because Bo is the starter for the first game doesn’t mean he is the starter for the whole season.  Anything can happen and usually does.  

[AU64 10,122]

1 hour ago, Sizzle said:

Yep this battle isn’t over quite yet unless Bo comes out killing it from the beginning

Yep....and wildcat or zone read or whatever....the guy with the ball has options .. he just has to make good decisions ...and he can move the ball.

[C'viewTiger 242]

4 hours ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

They'll probably give him the majority of snaps in at least one of those two burner games, if not both. I think Gus wants to be absolutely right about not starting Joey 

This would be good. However Gus isn’t known for pulling a QB in a burner game. Based on history, I would expect him to get Bo as many snaps as possible to get him experience ASAP and ready for the bigger games. 

[AUsince72 11,084]

Being Auburn University's back-up Quarterback...

 

[Gowebb11 9,302]

4 hours ago, DAG said:

I hope all wildcats go to Joey..That is just my opinion, but I imagine you will probably be more accurate. I also expect him to transfer by the end of the year, if he doesn't get a resemblance of an opportunity to start at QB. With that being said, if Bo proves to be not ready, he has his shot. We have seen this happen in the last couple of years with premier SEC teams.

Hopefully we will have some big leads and Gus will get JG some true QB snaps, instead of bringing him in to hand off to RBs up the middle. I think the fact that he burned his redshirt will likely keep him in the fold until he’s a grad transfer, as long as Gus gives him some quality backup snaps. 

[Apraser99 168]

I'll tell you what is next....he will be brought in in predictable situations and get hammered because the defense knows exactly what is coming....seen it too many times with Gus.

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

Saw this thought I would add what is actually happening instead of rumors  hope this puts to rest Joey is leaving crap.

[AU64 10,122]

wow...such negativism.......Let's see.....KJ ran how many wildcats when everyone knew what was coming .? ..and scored or made the needed yardage almost every time.   Having an idea who is gonna carry the ball ...and stopping the play is not the same thing.  JMO but Boobee if Joey....either will be hard to stop on a wildcat type play.

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

7 minutes ago, AU64 said:

wow...such negativism.......Let's see.....KJ ran how many wildcats when everyone knew what was coming .? ..and scored or made the needed yardage almost every time.   Having an idea who is gonna carry the ball ...and stopping the play is not the same thing.  JMO but Boobee if Joey....either will be hard to stop on a wildcat type play.

Wild cat is nothing more than a power run with 10 blockers and a big runner. KJ passed just enough to keep them honest but the play is designed as a power run with the offense knowing where it’s going. Statue of Liberty, bootlegs and others trick plays  are way to often knocked for losses. Do the power run and worse case scenario you turn it over on downs at the 1 yard line. With our defense I like our odds on the next four plays. 

[augolf1716 21,093]

Well I think Joey may be thinking...........................warning language

 

[gr82be 14,401]

37 minutes ago, Apraser99 said:

I'll tell you what is next....he will be brought in in predictable situations and get hammered because the defense knows exactly what is coming....seen it too many times with Gus.

How I wish I could think of a way to rebut this. 

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

Some day Joey could be the next Patrick Nix coming off the bench and beating uat or uga or even LSwho 😁

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

By the way talking AU QBs did any know or know of Billy Tucker that was AU quarterback I believe in 1949?

[aujeff11 6,243]

17 minutes ago, gr82be said:

How I wish I could think of a way to rebut this. 

Generally, Joey may be brought in for 3rd and short and GL situations, but the threat of pass is still there which should be like taking candy from a baby if the defense is expecting a power run. 

If I had to guess, that threat is just as much underestimated as Nix’s wheels. 

[DAG 33,954]

43 minutes ago, Eagle Eye 7 said:

Saw this thought I would add what is actually happening instead of rumors  hope this puts to rest Joey is leaving crap.

Something pretty much we all knew along with Oregon. That’s why I didn’t get all the battling last night