There was always a football field where Bo Nix allowed himself to dream.

Nix watched the games, and then carried his passion into the grass behind his house in South Carolina and Alabama, mimicking the plays, running and throwing, his goals gently coming into focus without him really knowing it.

“It was always Auburn. No matter where our dad was coaching, it was always Auburn. It was us pretending to be Auburn vs. whoever they played the day before,” said Caleb Nix, Bo’s younger brother. “It was an imaginary game.”

As the Nix family watched Bo pose for pictures inside the Pat Bowlen Fieldhouse on Friday, holding an orange jersey, reality clobbered them over the head. The son, the brother, the husband, the kid who once worked as a ball boy at Charleston Southern was a Denver Bronco.

The last time Nix was in Colorado, he and his father spoke at a local church over the summer. Now, their prayers were answered.

“It’s surreal. It’s one of those special moments for him. He grew up playing football, and when you do that, you dream of playing in the NFL. As a dad, you want to see your kids reach their dreams, so now here it is,” father, Patrick Nix, told The Denver Post. “For the longest time, you go through the mock drafts and the speculation; it’s real now.”

Patrick provided the script for his son’s goals through his profession, through old highlights. Dad played quarterback at Auburn from 1992 to ’95, helping the Tigers go 11-0 in 1993. Bo followed, playing for Auburn. If Disney was writing the script, this is where the story would show him getting carried off the field, holding a trophy in The Plains as credits rolled.

Instead, Auburn was a layover, a lesson. What happened there made Bo stronger and turned him into a legend at Oregon, about as far away culturally and geographically from his roots as imaginable.

As such, Nix, drafted 12th overall by the Broncos on Thursday night, arrived in Denver with purpose and focus. For months identified as a cerebral and athletic fit for coach Sean Payton’s offense, Nix is ready to compete for the starting job for a franchise that has been yearning for success since Peyton Manning retired.

“I think experience is one of the best teachers, really in anything. The more you do something, the better you should get at it. Whatever happens, I know that I’m around a great support staff; I’m around great coaches who have been doing this at a high level for a very long time,” Nix said. “I’m going to be able to take it all in, learn as much as I possibly can, grow as much as I possibly can, so I can give that to my teammates, and I can give that to this organization.”

Growing up as QB

Pressure is nothing new for Nix. By the time he reached eighth grade, he was a star waiting for a uniform. He made the varsity team. After his sophomore year, he followed his father to Pinson Valley High School and became the top dual-threat quarterback in the nation. He won back-to-back state titles and was named Alabama Gatorade Player of the Year.

There was no question where he would go. At Auburn, he was embraced, viewed as the Tigers’ version of Tim Tebow. He rallied Auburn to a victory over Oregon in his first game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. That might have been his most memorable game for Auburn, certainly his most memorable season.

Over the next three years, Nix posted 39 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He was inconsistent. He was benched. He was hurt. He graduated. And then, in a decision that tested his mental strength, he left. To Eugene, Ore., roughly 2,600 miles away from Auburn — a 40-hour drive that took four days to navigate.

“It’s not about when adversity comes, because it is coming. It’s how you handle it. I was very proud of how he responded. He had a chance to toughen up and mature at Auburn, and when he went to Oregon he was a little bit more mature, more experienced, maybe not as naive as when he first walked into Auburn of how the real world is,” said Patrick, who was joined at Friday’s presser by his wife and Bo’s mother Krista. “He was able to grow a lot, and that was rewarding to see how much he learned from his experience and not be bitter about it.”

Nix was ready for a fresh start. It was time to learn how to become comfortable being uncomfortable. When he went to Auburn, his older sister was already a student there. His family home was a few hours away.

Oregon offered an opportunity to blossom in a new environment. He got married around the same time to Izzy, a former Auburn cheerleader. The easiest thing would have been to stay in the South. Not only was Oregon a different planet, but the Ducks had a five-star recruit on the depth chart, leaving no guarantee Nix would even start.

“I just wanted a chance to play for a championship and compete, and that’s what Oregon presented me with,” Nix said. “The transition was actually very smooth. (Oregon) Coach (Dan) Lanning and (former) Oregon offensive coordinator (Kenny) Dillingham gave me the opportunity, and the players welcomed me with open arms. I was able to have two great years with great teammates, great coaches. We learned a lot, and that got us to where we are today.”

Validating coach’s trust

Even in a new place, Nix found comfort in an old face.

Dillingham coached Nix as a freshman at Auburn, his best in the SEC. Reconnecting changed the trajectory of Nix’s career. Dillingham appreciated Nix’s tools but needed to create a path to production. Dillingham’s work with Nix is why he has earned the quarterback whisperer moniker — he also helped revive Jordan Travis’ career at Florida State.

At Auburn, Nix was maddening, often trying to do too much, leading to ill-advised mistakes and turnovers.

On the surface, it screamed he needed guardrails. Dillingham did the opposite, giving Nix more responsibility. He had the freedom to change plays at the line of scrimmage, morphing into a coach in the huddle. Empowering Nix led him to take ownership of the offense. It became his baby, and he treated it with respect and reverence.

“You want to see an example of that? Turn on the USC game,” said CBS NFL and college football analyst Ryan Harris.

Nix completed 23 passes for 412 yards and four touchdowns. It was not an aberration. His entire 2023 season looks like a video game — 45 touchdowns, three interceptions. He was more accurate than a DNA test, completing an NCAA record 77.4% of his passes.

“When he moved to Oregon, he really mastered pass protections. When he practiced pass protections, they really trained on it, and it became second nature to him,” Dillingham, now the head coach at Arizona State, told The Post. “He became so comfortable. He was just in complete control of the game.”

“Are you kidding me?”

When the Broncos traveled to Eugene for a private workout on March 18, their first for any of the quarterbacks, Nix was more impressive than his film. He was bigger than Payton imagined. Had more arm strength.

Not long after Payton left the session, he uttered the phrase, “Are you kidding me?”

The Broncos ranked Nix on their quarterback board higher than J.J. McCarthy and Michael Penix Jr., per a source with knowledge of the team’s decision-making process. When five went before him, the Broncos could not risk moving back. They took the safe route, selecting Nix at No. 12, hoping he will someday soon be better than the previous 13 starters since Manning.

It’s unfair to compare Nix to Drew Brees, a future Hall of Famer, who won a Super Bowl with Payton in New Orleans. But he boasts similar characteristics that pulled Payton in his direction — negating sacks, ball protection, excellence on third down, leadership when it matters most.

“When you watch him, it’s pretty calming,” Payton said. “He’s very efficient, and it’s not just because of the (underneath throws). You see a ton of NFL throws in their offense. His accuracy, he set an NCAA record. I think the one thing over the years, if you study it closely, guys that get sacked a lot in college tend to get sacked a lot in the NFL. Sometimes, that might be processing. Oftentimes, we’ll look at the offensive line, the ball comes out and it comes out sometimes in funny body positions. He has a quick stroke.”

Payton has no record of developing a rookie quarterback as a head coach — he worked with Quincy Carter and Tony Romo as an assistant in Dallas. And he is known for pushing buttons, for establishing high expectations for the position. Nix must develop a thick skin.

“He’ll be able to take it. The kid’s been through it all. The kid loves to be coached. He loves to learn. He’s obsessed with the game,” Dillingham said. “As long as he’s learning, as long as he’s being (taught), he’ll embrace it. I think it’s a perfect fit. … I truly think it’s a perfect fit for those two guys.”

Dillingham took a special interest in developing Nix the player, while caring for the person. It unlocked his potential.

“His arm strength, his intelligence, he just kept getting better and better,” said former Broncos Pro Bowl safety and Oregon star T.J. Ward. “I watched him at Auburn. And obviously, I watched his games at Oregon. He looked like a completely different guy. He looked like an NFL quarterback.”

From backyard to Broncos

Beyond the pictures, handshakes, and smiles, there was a glimpse Friday of why this just might work.

Dave Logan, 850 KOA’s longtime Broncos gameday voice, put Nix on the spot, asking him to call one of his favorite plays. Nix did not hesitate, setting it up at the goal line like he had a helmet on.

“Zero, triple right tight, Z short, burn Nola, Y pop, Z Fargo,” blurted Nix, who had a different play-caller in each of his five college seasons. “It was play-action. Slip Y into the flat. Fake reverse with Z off the motion. It was one of our touchdowns in the Fiesta Bowl.”

As Logan replayed the scene, he nodded his head. This type of intelligence hints at what Nix might do at the next level.

“You have to have so many different attributes to be successful in the NFL and at the toughest position to play. Eventually, if you are going to become a good player, the moment can’t be too big for you,” Logan said. “He’s got a chance early on for this situation not to be too big.”

It brings us back to the present. Patrick Nix is watching, walking, reflecting.

He knows there is no singular path for success. Sometimes dreams that begin in the backyard require a sharp turn left to be realized.

“Bo is extremely competitive. He’s very dedicated and disciplined, and he wants to be the best version of himself,” Patrick said. “To be somewhere like Denver, I was a John Elway fan growing up. I absolutely loved him. So for Bo to be following in his footsteps by being in Denver, and just knowing the city, knowing the organization, knowing the fan base, you couldn’t have picked a better place. As a dad and his former coach, it’s really incredible.”

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