from tough times at Auburn to Oregon stardom

Oregon quarterback Bo Nix’s outstanding 2023 season has propelled him not only as a Heisman Trophy finalist but also has him shooting up NFL mock draft boards.

Nix already has won the Pac-12’s Offensive Player of the Year and the Campbell Trophy, or the “academic Heisman,” as the nation’s best scholar-athlete, He hopes to add more hardware when the Heisman Trophy is handed out Saturday night in New York City.  He is the school’s fourth finalist and hopes to become its first winner since Marcus Mariota in 2014.

Here are a few things to know about Oregon quarterback Bo Nix:

High school stud

Bo Nix won back-to-back Class 6A state championships at Pinson Valley in Alabama. He received Mr. Football honors as a senior in 2018 after racking up more than 12,000 yards in total offense and accounting for 161 touchdowns during his prep career. He was also named Gatorade’s Alabama Player of the Year. He signed with Auburn that December and enrolled in classes in January.

Rough times on the Plains

Nix was named Auburn’s starting quarterback in 2019 after enrolling early and beating out two others for the job. His first start coincidentally was against Oregon and he threw a 26-yard touchdown pass with 9 seconds remaining to complete the 27-21 win. He capped off the regular season by leading the Tigers to a victory over rival Alabama.

The Tigers went 6-5 during the 2020 COVID season, which led to the firing of coach Gus Malzahn. Nix’s final season at Auburn led to a benching and ended when he broke his ankle in a November game against Mississippi State.

Nix was booed by home fans and explained how he tried to win over the tough Auburn faithful.

Oregon quarterback Bo Nix fires a pass during warm-ups before the Pac-12 championship game against Washington at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Dec. 1, 2023.

Impressive 2023…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/bo-nixs-path-heisman-finalist-133534905.html

Author : USA TODAY Sports

Publish date : 2023-12-09 13:35:34

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