When the Denver Broncos named rookie Bo Nix as their starting quarterback on Wednesday, they put the finishing touches on the ultimate case study of how transferring can change a college football player’s life and a program’s trajectory. Without his epic two-year career reclamation effort at Oregon, there’s no telling where Nix would be now.
And without Nix, it’s doubtful that the Ducks’ rebuild would be so far along as they enter the 2024 season ranked No. 3 and poised to contend for a conference title during their first season in the Big Ten.
When Nix hit the portal following the 2021 season after three years as Auburn’s starting quarterback, Oregon stood out as an obvious potential destination for the former five-star prospect. At least, it should have been an obvious potential destination from Nix’s point of view.
For Ducks fans, it was fair to wonder whether Nix was the right option as first-year coach Dan Lanning sought to hit the ground running. He had just finished 11th in the SEC in passer rating during an injury-abbreviated 2021 season with Auburn and it seemed like his development had stalled. He certainly wasn’t getting any NFL Draft buzz, despite the fact that he was draft-eligible.
Lanning made a savvy offensive coordinator hire in Kenny Dillingham, who knew Nix from their time together at Auburn during Nix’s freshman season in 2019. Nix showed glimpses of greatness that year before Dillingham left to join Florida State’s staff.
It was no coincidence that Nix announced his commitment to Oregon three days after Dillingham was officially introduced as the Ducks’ offensive coordinator. Lanning gave the duo freedom to do things their way and the careers of Nix and Dillingham took off in tandem.
Freed from the limitations in personnel and schematics inherent at Auburn under Gus Malzahn and Bryan Harsin, Nix shined. He threw 3,593 yards and 29 touchdowns in 2022. Even though Dillingham left after that season to become the head coach at Arizona State, Nix returned to Oregon for a 4,508-yard, 45-touchdown encore in 2023 under new coordinator Will Stein.
He left Oregon as the program’s all-time leader in completion percentage and single-season record holder in completions, passing yards and passing touchdowns. In the process, he established Oregon as a premier destination for high-quality quarterbacks.
Under Lanning, the Ducks have shown they can turn a fringe NFL Draft prospect into a Week 1 starting quarterback in the NFL as a rookie. Nix’s success surely helped Oregon land Oklahoma transfer Dillon Gabriel, the 2024 preseason Heisman Trophy favorite. He joins the Ducks after a much more successful pre-Oregon career than Nix endured at Auburn.
Nix isn’t the only quarterback to find an unexpected career boost following a transfer. Four of the six quarterbacks selected among the top 12 picks in the 2024 NFL Draft were players who transferred after the 2021 season.
In addition to Nix, the Chicago Bears’ Caleb Williams (Oklahoma to USC) and the Washington Commanders’ Jayden Daniels (Arizona State to LSU) are beginning their rookie season as starters in the NFL following two years of prolific production at their respective second schools.
There is no shortage of cautionary tales about how transferring can go wrong and college coaches are often quick to voice their frustrations over what they perceive to be a perpetual state of unrestricted free agency in the sport.
But without the ability to move freely, what would have happened to players like Nix and Daniels? While Williams always seemed destined for stardom and merely transferred to follow coach Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma to USC, the journeys of Nix and Daniels required more turns.
If you want a glimpse of what may have happened to Nix had he stayed at Auburn, look at Jarret Stidham — one of the quarterbacks he beat out for the Broncos’ starting job. Stidham, a fourth-round draft pick in 2019, was Nix’s predecessor at Auburn.
Had Nix remained with the Tigers, a fourth-round draft selection may have been the best-case scenario. Instead, he left to find the coach and system that fit him best, and he wasn’t required to sit out a season before thriving in his new environment.
The transfer portal is an imperfect system, sure. But look no further than the top of the Denver Broncos’ depth chart for a reminder of the life-changing power that comes with freedom of movement for college athletes.
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Author: David Cobb
August 21, 2024 | 4:36 pm
