Analyst: Ankle injury was reason why former Auburn football QB wasn’t Heisman finalist

Ducks Wire’s Zachary Neel believes former Auburn football quarterback Bo Nix would’ve had a seat at the Lincoln Center on the Upper West Side of Manhattan for the Heisman ceremony had he not injured his ankle late in the season.

With Nix having more completed passes than Heisman finalists Max Duggan and C.J. Stroud and more touchdown passes than Stetson Bennett, it’s possible that bigger rushing numbers via better health could’ve led to wins against Oregon State and Washington — and in turn, put Oregon in a position to win the Pac-12 and go to the College Football Playoff. That would’ve inevitably landed Nix in NYC, and possibly put him in the lead for the Heisman trophy.

Neel acknowledged that in a piece analyzing where Nix could improve his draft stock during the 2023 season:

"“…if it weren’t for an ankle injury that hobbled him for the final three games of the season, Nix likely would have ended up in New York City at the start of December as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy award, while the Ducks had a good chance at making it to the Pac-12 Championship game with a potential shot at getting into the College Football Playoff.”"

One analyst expects Hugh Freeze to have Auburn football QB Robby Ashford in contention for the 2023 Heisman

Nix will no longer have the best fitting offensive coordinator of his career, Kenny Dillingham, during the 2023 season. Dillingham is off to Arizona State, leaving Nix without the man that helped him deliver arguably his best two seasons on the Plains with Auburn football and in Eugene leading the Ducks. In this day and age, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Nix get a sixth year of eligibility for the 2024 season — and furthermore, wouldn’t be the most far out happening in that case for Nix to end up in Tempe.

As for this upcoming season, though, Nix should be considered a preseason favorite for the 2023 Heisman. Someone who’d give you an obscene payout if he did win is Robby Ashford, who The War Rapport’s Mike Gittens believes could be a Heisman finalist if first-year Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze gets the best out of him.

It’d take massive improvements for Ashford to get to that level, but he’ll have a vastly improved offensive line and multiple new weapons in the RB room (Brian Battie) and in the passing game (Rivaldo Fairweather, Nick Mardner).