Tez Johnson didn’t have to look very far to get a scouting report on what to expect in Mobile at this week’s Reese’s Senior Bowl.

Johnson needed only talk to Bo Nix, his adopted big brother and former teammate both with the Ducks and at Pinson Valley High School. Nix starred in last year’s Senior Bowl, and recently finished up a stellar rookie year as quarterback of the Denver Broncos.

“He said it’s going to be a fun process,” Johnson said of his conversations with Nix. “Just know it’s time-consuming, but you’re going to get through it. Put your best foot forward. It’s a job interview for every last one of you guys, but really you don’t have too many chances with it.

“You’ve only really got one chance with this type of experience. So being able to just go out there and show them why you’re the best and why they selected you is pretty much (how) you have to go and show that with everything you do.”

Johnson and Nix won a state championship together at Pinson Valley in 2018, when Tez was a junior and Bo was a senior (their dad, Patrick Nix, was the Indians’ head coach). Bo Nix headed off to Auburn the following fall, with Johnson signing with Troy a year later.

It was likely Johnson’s diminutive size (he checked in at 5-9 and 156 at Monday’s Senior Bowl weigh-in) that limited his college opportunities coming out of high school. Still, he was highly productive in two seasons at Troy, catching 141 passes for 1,809 yards and eight touchdowns and helping the Trojans to the Sun Belt Conference title in 2022.

“I think the Troy part for me was being able to know that I can play college football,” Johnson said. “I didn’t really think I could play at first when I got to college. I fell into those narratives of ‘you’re too small’ or ‘you can’t play at this level,’ but actually getting a shot and playing and just building confidence and knowing how the game is played and how to maneuver the game and see how the game was changing at the time, I think it helped me a lot to where I could just go anywhere and just play and be myself.”

Nix left Auburn for Oregon in 2022, and announced after that season he was returning to the Ducks for one more year in college. That gave Johnson the incentive he needed to enter the transfer portal and re-join his big brother on the field.

The two posted stellar numbers together during that 2023 season, with Nix winning Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year honors and finishing third in the Heisman Trophy balloting. Johnson caught 82 passes for 1,182 yards and 10 touchdowns as a junior.

“I was always an Oregon fan, a really big fan, so the decision was easy,” Johnson said. “I didn’t know Bo was coming back the first time until they came out with the video (indicating) that he’s back. I just knew we was going to link up again and we’re going to shock the world again and just show why we’re the best duo in the nation, really.”

Johnson continued to excel after Nix left, with Oklahoma transfer Dillon Gabriel taking over behind center with the Ducks. Gabriel was also a Heisman finalist in 2024, while Johnson totaled 83 receptions for 898 yards and 10 TDs in 12 games.

The two are teammates again this week in Mobile, joining forces on the National team for Saturday’s Senior Bowl. Gabriel said Johnson has left no doubt that he can play the game at its highest level.

“He’s electric,” Gabriel said. “He’s a guy who’s continued to make plays in crucial moments. But also just the leader he is, I think the world of him for obvious reasons. People being able to see his story unfold and what he’s been through, I think that just speaks to how special he is as a person, but also as a player. When he gets on that field, he definitely makes plays.”

Johnson’s “story” has been well-chronicled over the years, including on Jan. 1 in a touching video feature by ESPN’s Marty Smith that aired prior to the Rose Bowl. The feature recapped how Johnson was taken in by the Nix family in 2017, when he was 15 years old.

Johnson’s father died by suicide when he was an infant, and he had a troubled home life growing up before his mother, Shamika, sent him to stay with the Nix family on what was first expected to be a temporary basis. Though never legally adopted by Patrick and Krista Nix, he has remained a part of the family ever since.

“It gave me some part of structure in life,” said Johnson, who added that both the Nixes and his biological family members will be at Saturday’s Senior Bowl to cheer him on. “They helped me be able to make decisions for myself and (knowing) right and wrong. I grew up very, very quick. Seeing how Bo was getting recruited in high school and how he went about his day and how he performed on the field and how it all helped him.

“I wanted to do the same thing, but obviously I was a receiver so it was a little bit different, but I was catching the passes from him, so it also made it a little easier. It changed for the better and I thank God for just putting him in my life. They welcomed me in with open arms. You don’t find too many families out there that would do that to a kid they don’t even know from a can of paint. I love them to death. That’s my family.”

Johnson’s college career ended in disappointing fashion, as the top-ranked and previously unbeaten Ducks lost to eventual national champion Ohio State 41-21 in the Rose Bowl after beating the Buckeyes 32-31 during the regular season. Since then, he’s been training for the Senior Bowl in the lead up to April’s NFL draft.

A player of Johnson’s stature has a much better chance at success in the league now than in the past, as rule changes have legislated many types of punishing hits out of the game. Just in recent years, players such as Tank Dell of the Houston Texans (one of the stars of 2023 Senior Bowl week) and Tutu Atwell of the Los Angeles Rams have shown that undersized receivers can not only survive, but thrive in the NFL.

“Everyone knows it’s become more of a space game, and these guys are protected more,” Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy said. “You can run free over the middle without fear of (hard-hitting NFL safeties of the 1980s and 90s) Ronnie Lott or David Fulcher or Bennie Blades knocking your head off. Sorry for the dated references for the younger people in the room.

“… We all saw what Tank Dell did down here a couple years ago. I’m not saying Tez is Tank. I think Tank’s a pretty unique player, but it’s a more of a space game. Size isn’t as big an issue. Fifteen years ago, guys Tank’s size and like Tutu Atwell and Tez, they would have really been more heavily scrutinized. It’s just a more wide-open game.”

Senior Bowl practices take place Tuesday-Thursday from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. at Hancock Whitney Stadium. Practices are free and open to the public.

Kickoff for the 2025 Senior Bowl is at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, with television coverage on NFL Network. A limited number of tickets for the game remain available, and can be purchased at seniorbowl.com/tickets.

Senior Bowl 2025 game week schedule

Tuesday, Jan. 28

Senior Bowl practices (open to public)

National team, Hancock Whitney Stadium, 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

American team, Hancock Whitney Stadium, noon-2 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 29

Senior Bowl practices (open to public)

National team, Hancock Whitney Stadium, 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

American team, Hancock Whitney Stadium, noon-2 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 30

Senior Bowl practices (open to public)

National team, Hancock Whitney Stadium, 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

American team, Hancock Whitney Stadium, noon-2 p.m.

USA Health Doc Rock, Soul Kitchen, 6:30 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 31

Saints Cheer Krewe clinic, Jaguar Training Center, noon-3 p.m.

— open to high school-aged cheerleaders and dancers

— cost, $75

Friday Night Street Party (Downtown Mobile)

— Player parade, 6 p.m.

— Free concert featuring Eli Young Band & Sammy Kershaw, Cathedral Square, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 1

Senior Bowl Fan Fest (free), South Lawn of Hancock Whitney Stadium, 10:30 a.m.

Legacy Tailgate HBCU Experience (free), South end of Jaguar Training Center, 10:30 a.m.

Path to the Draft players walk, outside Hancock Whitney Stadium, 11 a.m.

Senior Bowl game, Hancock Whitney Stadium, 1:30 p.m.

— performances by Jaguar Marching Band & Saints Cheer Krewe