Nix talks about link with fellow Duck Herbert before first NFL battle

The last three multi-year starting quarterbacks at Oregon have been first-round picks and have gone on to start 145 NFL games—and two of them will square off for the first of likely many times at the pro level. However, unlike most gunslingers from the same school, Bo Nix and Justin Herbert already played each other back in college.

The game was Nix’s college debut at Auburn, throwing for 177 yards with two touchdowns and two picks while adding another 42 yards on the ground as he pushed the Tigers to a surprise 27-21 at AT&T Stadium against the Herbert-led Ducks, who wound up winning the Rose Bowl that season. In that game against Nix, Herbert threw for 242 yards and a touchdown. It’s hard to say which of the two Ducks had a better college career, as each was fantastic but the consensus coming out of college was that Herbert could be a star whereas Nix was regarded a little lower.

“My freshman year in 2019, we played him. It was a great head-to-head battle,” Nix said on Tuesday. “They had a really good football team. I still remember them being one of the best defenses that I played. Justin had a great game himself. It came down to the wire, and it was just a really good college football game that day.”

Between then and now it’s been pretty much all love between Justin and Bo.

“I played with his little brother, Pat (Herbert.) He (Justin) would be back every once in a while. He came to a game or two, and I was just able to be around him, talk and just kind of get to know him,” Nis said. “It’s not a super close (relationship) because we didn’t have a whole lot of time, but I do appreciate him coming before me. He played for a while at Oregon, went through some tough times, and battled through it. He won a Pac-12 Championship and a Rose Bowl. So he’s one of those guys you look up to playing at Oregon, and now he’s been in the league for several years. I’ve been watching him and he’s been doing great things. So it’ll be fun watching him live and fun seeing him again.”

The Chargers are coming off a bye but Herbert is still listed on the injury report with an ankle issue. He was limited in practice on Wednesday and is expected to play. At 2-2, it’s an early chance for the Chargers to stake a claim to second-best in the AFC West behind Kansas City. Denver can also separate themselves from the pack too—though the oddsmakers have Los Angeles favored in the contest.

“They do a good job keeping everything in front of them,” Nix said of the Chargers defense. “They don’t give up explosives. They’ve kept everybody to low-scoring. I feel like they do a good job tackling and, like I said just, keeping everything in front of them. They don’t make a whole lot of mistakes. They don’t bust coverage, or be out of alignment or gaps. They do a good job on defense.”

And if you’re trying to figure out who the third of the three Oregon quarterbacks was, that would be Marcus Mariota who is now a backup in Washington.

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