Bo Nix and his wife, Izzy, had their first child, a daughter named Riley, this past week. Nix penned an intensely emotional letter to his baby girl. In it, he spoke at length about his last campaign on the Plains, the 2021 Auburn Tigers season he went 6-4, and ultimately transferred to the Oregon Ducks right after.
In particular, Nix focused on the lowest points from that contentious year: being benched against the Georgia State Panthers in a game T.J. Finley helped win at Jordan-Hare Stadium, the first win in Baton Rouge against the LSU Tigers in 22 years, which saw him once again benched for Finley before being the hero in Death Valley, and the blown 28-3 lead against the Mississippi State Bulldogs that became a nine-point loss, a game Nix injured his ankle and saw his season cut short in.
“At some point, you’ll probably hear that I was benched and broken at Auburn,” Nix wrote in the Players' Tribune. “That I fell just short at Oregon. And that I was the last quarterback taken in the first round. I’ve been doubted. I’ve been dismissed. And I have my fair share of critics.
“Those things don’t feel good. Early on, they tore me up. I immediately wanted to prove everyone wrong. I wanted to please everybody. Every comment felt personal. Every doubt felt like disrespect. I developed a chip on my shoulder. But I’ve learned that the chip can’t become your identity. It breaks too easily. It’s too fragile. My relationship with Jesus Christ, however, is not. He is my identity. I learned exactly what this means during my career at Auburn.
“It happened in Jordan-Hare Stadium, a place so important to me when I was growing up. I had always dreamed of being on that field, leading Auburn to a national championship. But what actually ended up happening was no dream. I was laying on the field with a broken ankle, and we were about to lose to Mississippi State after blowing a 28-3 lead. It was a mess -- as low as I’ve ever felt in my football career. Earlier that year, after being benched and humiliated against Georgia State (and before an epic comeback win at LSU), your mom — who was my girlfriend at the time — knew I was struggling. She sent me two songs, still my favorite two songs today: ‘Reason to Praise’ and ‘I Belong to Jesus’ by Bethel Music.
“Those songs changed my life. Jesus Christ had changed my life. I had finally learned and understood my identity was not in the game of football."
Auburn was the most important stop in Bo Nix's career
Nix is undoubtedly a Tiger for life. He spent three years with the team, had a winning record all three years -- since Finley lost the final three games to make Auburn a 6-7 team in 2021 -- and met his wife, an AU cheerleader, while repping the orange and blue.
Clearly, by going into detail about his time with the Tigers in the first love letter he ever wrote to his daughter, Auburn will always be the most important stop on his journey. As Nix made clear, he found his faith in Lee County, Alabama, and it changed his perspective on life.
His football career has only gone up from there. Even without championship glory, being at Auburn can change someone's life in the most glorious of ways.
Nix left Auburn, but Auburn never left Nix. He left with a spirit that is not afraid, and that has changed his life for the better.
Oregon got him where he needed to go in the NFL, but the Pinson kid is an Auburn man for life.
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