In his mother’s words, Bo Nix was raised to be an Auburn fan from the moment “he came out of the womb.” But he told ESPN’s Marty Smith recently that transferring to Oregon was “the best decision I could have ever made.”

ESPN’s College GameDay aired a feature Saturday on Nix, who played quarterback for three seasons at Auburn before transferring to Oregon prior to the 2022 season. Nix is among the favorites for the Heisman Trophy this season, having led the Ducks to a 9-1 record and having passed for 3,135 yards and 29 touchdowns with just two interceptions.

In the feature, Nix and his parents — Krista and Patrick, also a former Auburn quarterback — talk about the pressure on him to be a star during his time with the Tigers. Nix threw the game-winning touchdown pass in his college debut vs. (ironically) Oregon in 2019, but suffered with inconsistency before his third and final season at Auburn ended with a broken ankle and a 6-7 record for the Tigers.

“Sometimes it’s hard to get back to those highs (of the Oregon win) and it’s hard to meet those expectations all the time,” said Nix, Mr. Football in the state of Alabama at Pinson Valley High School in 2018. “… I had to do this or I had to do that for the whole, entire university and do it for all the fans. I just wanted to do it all and I tried to be Superman at times.

“… It wasn’t always easy to hear the fans boo you off the field. Those losses were hard and nobody wanted it more than myself. And I think that’s what kind of hurt.”

So Nix transferred to Oregon because, in his mother’s words, “he needed to put Bo first and not Auburn first.”

He’s certainly thrived with the Ducks, who finished 10-3 in 2022 and have an outside shot at a berth in the College Football Playoff this season. Nix is able to play more relaxed at Oregon, he said.

“Thank goodness that Oregon was there, because it’s been the best decision I could have ever made,” Nix said. “There’s definitely a sense of freedom, the weight and the pressure is kind of off my shoulders. Now, I can just go out there and have fun and cut it loose.”

Here’s the full video:

Nix and the Ducks are at Arizona State at 3 p.m. Saturday in a game that will air live on Fox.