2022 ROSTER
QB: Bo Nix, Sr.; Ty Thompson, RFr.; Jay Butterfield, RFr.; Jake Van Dyne, So.; Marcus Sanders, Fr.
Starter: It could be easy, given how the 2022 season played out for Bo Nix, to forget the narrative around him when the Auburn transfer joined the Ducks a year ago. He was an accomplished veteran of the SEC, but injuries had marked his career with the Tigers, and the program been good but not exceptional with Nix behind center. It made sense that Oregon, in the wake of Anthony Brown’s graduation, wanted to add a quarterback with experience to the mix for 2022. But few could have predicted the heights Nix and the Ducks would go on to experience in the recently completed season.
As an individual, Nix led the Pac-12 and set a UO record by completing 71.9 percent of his passes – 295-of-409, for 3,593 yards with 29 touchdowns against seven interceptions. He also led the Pac-12 by averaging 8.24 yards per play of total offense when he ran or threw the ball, and he accounted for 44 total touchdowns – including 14 via rush, one shy of Marcus Mariota’s UO record for a quarterback. And all of that despite the fact Nix’s rushing ability was severely hampered by a late-game injury suffered against Washington in mid-November; prior to that game the Ducks were in the thick of the College Football Playoff race and Nix was generating buzz as a Heisman Trophy candidate.
Two of the biggest decisions Dan Lanning made after he was named head coach of the Ducks were the hiring of Kenny Dillingham as offensive coordinator, and the addition of Nix to the roster via the transfer portal. Each seemed at the time like a decision that carried with it some significant risk. Each, in hindsight, looks like a slam dunk. During Oregon’s eight-game win streak that began after the season-opening loss to Georgia and ended due to the injury against UW, Nix was nothing short of brilliant. And his ability to gut out a win over Utah as a pocket passer, and later cap the season with a dramatic game-winning drive to beat North Carolina in the Holiday Bowl, made it a campaign to remember. There will always be a “what if” to conversations about the 2022 season, but Nix also answered a whole lot of questions in his first year with the Ducks.
Reserves: Among the ways Nix endeared himself as a leader with his new teammates after arriving at Oregon was by not assuming he’d be given any opportunities. Yes, he had dramatically…
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