AUBURN — Big plays aren't a bonus. At least not in the mind of Auburn football offensive coordinator Derrick Nix.

They're a prerequisite to having a successful offense, a necessary tool to be effective on that side of the ball. It's a facet of the game Nix, who joined the Tigers following a 16-year run at Ole Miss that featured him coaching running backs and receivers, helped the Rebels be efficient at last season.

Amongst the 14 teams that played in the SEC in 2023 — this means Texas and Oklahoma are excluded because they didn't play SEC schedules — Ole Miss ranked No. 4 in explosive runs, which are defined by Pro Football Focus as rushes that pick up at least 10 yards. Removing contributions from quarterbacks, which are often born of broken sets and scrambles rather than schemed-up plays, the Rebels ranked No. 3 in the conference with their running backs collecting 59 explosive runs.

The passing game also featured a knack for big plays, as quarterback Jaxson Dart averaged 9.3 yards per attempt. That ranked No. 3 amongst the 14 conference QBs who led their teams in dropbacks.

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Nix is hoping to bring some of that pop to the Plains.

"Being a fundamentally-efficient scoring machine, it requires us to make explosive plays," Nix said Thursday. "It becomes a standard, and expectation. We just try to challenge our guys to expect it. If our offensive line can protect (and) the quarterback makes the right read against the right coverage, you should make the play and it should be an explosive.

"We should be able to count on that, week in and week out. That is something that we talk about and something that’s expected and needed for this offense to thrive."

Nix will have tools as his disposal in his hunt for big plays. Senior running back Jarquez Hunter is the conference's top returning rusher, and he was voted as a member of the preseason All-SEC team in July. Tight end Rivaldo Fairweather's stature and talent provides a matchup nightmare for opponents, and all four of the true freshman receivers, namely Cam Coleman, have flashed this offseason.

But even with Hunter and Fairweather on the roster in 2023, Auburn struggled to generate explosive plays. The Tigers were in the top half of the SEC in rushes of 10 or more yards last season (No. 6) — the RBs accounted for 38 of those rushes, a total that finished tied with Texas A&M for No. 8 — but were severely lacking through the air.

Quarterback Payton Thorne's average yards per attempt settled at 6.6, which ranked last amongst the 14 SEC QBs who led their teams in dropbacks. That's not all his fault — receivers have to make plays when targeted deep to get the average up — but it's a stat indicative of Auburn's overall struggles throwing the ball last season.

"I don't really want to even remember last year," Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said Friday. "I don't want to set (Thorne) up for undue criticism or anything. Obviously, quarterbacks are going to have that if you don't have success, and they're going to get all the praise if you do have success. But I'm pleased with exactly where he is.

"The work we've done in the offseason to understand each other has been beneficial, I can see it. I think he's very confident, and, obviously, having guys that he feels like can win at the top end of the route has helped him, too, to eliminate some of that hesitation that I think makes for a really, really bad decision."

Auburn will be better set up for success if it can generate big plays in 2024. That's what Nix plans to do.

"Explosive," Nix said when asked to describe his offense. "I think the other key word is being consistent."

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Explosive plays a requirement, not preference for Auburn football