This is an opinion column.

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Give credit to Bo Nix for really making us think and reflect on some things this week.

During a recent interview, Auburn’s former quarterback said that people in the South maybe get a little too carried away with college football. Is that a bad thing? Sometimes, for sure. Just ask the trees at Toomer’s Corner.

Most times?

I’m willing to appreciate Nix’s perspective on this, but for someone who just started a comic strip about Miss Terry and Nick Saban because I can never write enough about college football, it’s possible that I might disagree on this one.

Nix had to go out to Oregon to realize that college football is just a game, according to an interview with Ryen Russillo. While I’d argue that maybe the Pac-12 would still be alive if people cared more about college football out yonder, here’s the principal idea of Nix’s complaint.

“It’s almost like an unhealthy obsession in the South,” Nix said. “I was that way growing up — life and death football. It’s a little bit more laid back in a way [in Oregon] … I think that’s the difference, quite frankly, what’s put into college football in the South. And out here, football’s just a game and we find joy in it.”

College football is not the same in the Pacific Northwest as it is in the Deep South. Let’s just get that out the way first. It’s better in the South. If it were the same, then Kalen DeBoer would have stayed at Washington after taking his team to the national championship game instead of leaving the Huskies at the height of their success and using that moment to get the job at Alabama.

If it were the same, the Pac-12 would still be whole.

I know what everyone is thinking. Did Nix go out to the Left Coast and suddenly become woke, or is he just soft? Y’all know I’m kidding about that, but it certainly seems like Nix needed to get out of the South to see how the Southern culture of college football is unique. Does college football create a toxic environment for all players, though? That’s a stretch.

For Nix, it apparently did, however, and Auburn’s fans should respect and learn from his opinion. It might help Auburn’s football team in the future.

The pressure of being Auburn’s quarterback wasn’t the problem for Nix. He performed well under pressure from Day One. After all, he out-dueled former Oregon quarterback and current Los Angeles Chargers star Justin Herbert in his very first collegiate game. Nix then got the best of an incredible Alabama team in his first Iron Bowl.

What Nix couldn’t handle was the criticism from fans. That really got to him. Nix grew up an Auburn fan. He lived for the Tigers. His father was a former Auburn quarterback and Nix committed to coach Gus Malzahn when he was a sophomore in high school. Fans (but mostly Malzahn’s successor) took Nix for granted and so he left.

Let’s set the record straight, though.

Because of poor recruiting by Malzahn and Bryan Harsin, Nix didn’t have an adequate offensive line to fully feature his many skills as a quarterback. That’s 100 percent true. Could Nix have been better, though? I don’t think he would deny it. Nix was excellent in spots, and sometimes even transcendent, but against great defensive lines Nix struggled. He never came close to beating Georgia for a reason, and then he couldn’t get it done against Washington when it mattered most.

Nix never received enough credit while at Auburn. He was a great college quarterback. It’s a shame he had to leave the Tigers for everyone to see that, but maybe there’s something to learn from his exodus out of the South — especially for Auburn.

Nix was a trailblazer in this new era of college football. People forget that Nix signed the first-ever NIL deal in college football history. No one will ever forget that Nix left Auburn after getting a raw deal from fans and Harsin. Nix discovered some things along the path to Pac-12 country, and hopefully Auburn is better for it. We’ll see this season.

Here’s the hard lesson: Be nice to the players or they could leave (and probably should).

Here’s the hard truth: When Nix walked away from Auburn, he was better for it.

Here’s the question: Is that because football was easier out west? We’ll find out soon enough.

Nix is preparing for the NFL Draft this spring while his old college team is preparing for its second A-Day game under coach Hugh Freeze. Nix’s old team hasn’t really recovered from his departure. Maybe this is the season Auburn begins a return to form. If things are rocky, though, let’s hope fans remember what drove Nix away from the school he loved.

Nix still loves Auburn, but he will be representing his new college team, the Oregon Ducks, on draft day.

Here’s to hoping Nix goes in the first round and has a lengthy and successful career as a pro. He’ll find out eventually that the South’s obsession with football prepared him well for when the criticism is truly unhealthy.

SOUND OFF

Joe enjoys feedback from readers and features the best emails in his mailbag. Got a question about the NFL Draft, spring practice or March Madness? Want to get something off your chest? Send Joe a question about what’s on your mind. Let your voice be heard. Ask him anything.

Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of the most controversial sports book ever written, “We Want Bama”.