Kenny Dillingham explained the exact moment everything clicked for Bo Nix -- and it came during the 2022 season in Oregon after the quarterback transferred from an Auburn football program in flux going from the Gus Malzahn and Bryan Harsin eras.
"Yeah, I mean, I think I said this, but it was just the other day, but it was just when it clicked that he didn't have to be like, the moment was when one—he made a joke in our meeting room, and Bo is the most—show up 20 minutes early, have the notepad out, ask great questions, locked in, wanting to learn," Dillingham told Phillip Lindsay and Zach Bye on 104.3The FAN (h/t Mile High Huddle). "And I try to explain through time, he learned that he can love it. He can have fun with this, too. You know, you can enjoy it. And the first time he cracked a joke in my meeting room and really loosened up, I said, 'OK, this dude—if this dude finds this balance of life and his passion for this thing, and he truly falls in love with it and enjoys this stuff, this could be special.' And the first time he cracked a joke in my meeting room, I was like, 'Ok, it's on. I think we've cracked the Bo Nix code.' And I think he's going to be a star."
It's not surprising to hear Dillingham, who was Nix's first offensive coordinator at the collegiate level on the Plains in 2019, explain that things clicked in Eugene; especially considering Nix's admission that he was miserable playing for Harsin.
In fact, it provides context to a pre-NFL draft quote that upset Tiger fans greatly.
Bo Nix hinted at why he left the Auburn football program
It seems that Harsin wasn't the only reason why Nix didn't enjoy his time in the SEC. As he said in April, Nix wasn't in agreement with how seriously people in the south take college football -- and wasn't comfortable with the pressure put on 18-22-year-olds.
Things may have never clicked at Auburn given that Tiger fans are perhaps more intense about their teams than anyone else in the conference. And possibly the country.