Jackets assistant has ties with foe

AUBURN, Ala. - Bo Nix wears his favorite football jersey everywhere, even to church.

The 5-year-old left his No. 10 Auburn uniform back home in Atlanta on Saturday, though.

His father Patrick may be a former Auburn quarterback, but he's the current Georgia Tech offensive coordinator.

And the family loyalty, Patrick said, belongs to the school that signs dad's paycheck.

"We always taught them to cheer for wherever dad's at and Auburn," Nix said of his three children, Bo, Emma and Caleb. "Now we've got a conflict. The kids, they don't understand how money works. They don't understand where their food comes from and where their clothes come from."

Even with that understanding, Georgia Tech's visit Saturday night to Auburn's Jordan-Hare Stadium was tough on Nix. He is an Auburn icon, setting the school record for passing efficiency in his career during the early 1990s.

He also threw one of the most famous passes in program history. The undefeated Tigers trailed rival Alabama 14-5 on Nov. 20, 1993.

Facing fourth down-and-5 midway through the third quarter, Nix, then a sophomore, replaced starter Stan White, who'd been injured on the previous play.

Nix's first pass went 65 yards for a touchdown to Frank Sanders, and Auburn went on to a 22-14 victory.

The play is known in Auburn lore simply as "Nix-to-Sanders."

"It'll be a little different, but obviously once you put the headphones on, it's a game and it doesn't really matter who's on the other side," Nix said prior to the game.

Nix has coached against his old team before. He was Georgia Tech's quarterbacks coach when the Yellow Jackets beat Auburn 17-3 in Atlanta two years ago.

He remembers well the family aftermath of that meeting.

"Bo didn't know any different because he was three," Nix said. "But my little girl was five at the time and she cried when it was over. She thought we were supposed to tie."

Reach Adam Van Brimmer at adam.vanbrimmer@morris.com or (404) 589-8424.