JD PicKell: Bo Nix is better positioned for success at Oregon
Bo Nix is in for a big change next season at Oregon. After spending the first three seasons of his college career in the SEC at Auburn, the quarterback now heads west for the Pac-12.
As On3’s JD PicKell pointed out in a recent YouTube video, the competition Nix faced on a weekly basis with the Tigers was among the best in college football. Compare that to the teams he will see with the Ducks, and it’s fair to say Nix has a much easier road ahead than he would have had he stayed at Auburn.
“It’s going to be an easier gauntlet for Bo Nix than it was in the SEC,” PicKell said. “That’s not to knock the Pac-12, say anything negative about Oregon or any of those schools in their conference. But when you just look at the facts, look at the teams they’re playing against, it is a different beast week to week. Let’s talk about the 2019 schedule that Auburn played his freshman year: at A&M, at Florida, at Arkansas, at LSU. Oh by the way, you have to come home and play Ole Miss, Georgia and Alabama. Talk about the gauntlet. Talk about going through the ringer. That is a difficult schedule as a quarterback when Auburn’s still trying to piece things together offensively — and by the way, you get a new head coach.
“All these different things happened at Auburn during his time to have a schedule like that? That’s just the conference schedule. Never mind they played Oregon his freshman year at a neutral site.”Now look at his schedule this coming season: at Washington State, at Arizona, at Cal, at Colorado, at Oregon State. Not to knock those programs, but they’ve very different than talking about going to Baton Rouge, to The Swamp, to Kyle Field. Atmosphere will be much less intimidating. Team you’re playing against on the field will be less intimidating.”
Even against that difficult schedule in 2019, Nix still managed to win SEC Freshman of the Year while breaking several school freshman records in the process. The son of a former Auburn quarterback and the No. 2 signal caller in the 2019 class according to On3 Consensus, he continued to show his potential over the next two years.
Nix threw for 2,294 yards, 11 touchdowns and three interceptions this past season as Auburn went 6-7. He had surgery on his ankle toward the end of the season that caused him to miss the final three games. As he works his way back from that injury, he also has to get used to a new environment and new head coach in Dan Lanning, who is also in his first year with the Ducks.
Once again looking at the schedule, it’s easy to see a path where Bo Nix is successful at Oregon. This past season the SEC boasted eight of the top 50 defenses in all of college football according to yards allowed per game. The Pac-12 had just three.
“If Bo Nix has seen what he’s seen in the SEC, you’ve got to imagine it will fell pretty good to be lining up against Washington State as opposed to looking across the line of scrimmage and seeing some freak show first round pick every week,” PicKell continued. “There’s no real way to say it without being kind of offensive, but that’s just the fact of the matter. It’s going to be an easier schedule for Bo Nix and I think that’s going to be a welcome sight for him. He’s had a lot of experience playing against NFL Jr. in the SEC.
“So to play in the Pac-12 now is going to be like taking off that weight vest. You know you do pull ups with a weight vest and it’s really difficult and maybe you get four or five reps and then you take it off and bust out like 15? Because that weight was so heavy and such a high level of difficulty and then you get to playing a lower level of difficulty and it translates well. There’s some thing Oregon need to do around him to make that a reality, but I think it’s going to be a welcome change for Bo Nix and ultimately bode well for him.”
But while his overall schedule will be a lost easier, Bo Nix hasn’t escaped the SEC quite yet. Oregon is set to kick off the 2022 season on Sept. 3 against the defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs.