EUGENE – Oregon Ducks linebacker Jerry Mixon Jr. became restless during the 2020 pandemic.
High school sports in San Francisco were on hiatus, leaving Mixon searching for ways to feed his competitive personality.
“I was just bored at home,” Mixon said.
Mixon’s search led him to a nearby bowling alley. Mixon, already familiar with the sport, began spending hours honing his skills. He watched tutorial videos. He practiced. He learned. He improved to such an extent that he achieved a high score of 267.
“I became pretty good,” said Mixon, who now owns two personalized bowling balls.
Enough to ponder if he could one day become a professional bowler. Maybe he will start his own celebrity invitational, similar to NBA star Chris Paul.
But for now, Mixon, who hails from a football family, is applying the same dedication he used to hone his bowling skills to mastering playing linebacker.
That commitment led to him elevating his understanding of Oregon’s defense to match his physical gifts.
The result is a starting position on the No. 6 Ducks, two interceptions and a Big Ten conference honor just four games into the 2025 season.
“When he combined the instincts with the training and the body, it meshed perfectly,” his father, Jerry Mixon Sr. said.
Mr. Versatility
Mixon was born into a football family. Jerry Mixon Sr. was an H-Back at Eastern Michigan. His brother, John Mixon, played at Troy State (Ala.). John Mixon’s son is Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon.
Jerry Mixon Jr.’s goal is to join his cousin in the NFL. The two spend time reviewing Oregon game film with Joe giving Jerry pointers, including to always be physical and attack rather than play anxiously.
“He just shows me that I can be (in the NFL), for sure,” Jerry Mixon Jr. said.
Mixon’s father said his nephew sharing his NFL-level knowledge with his son has been a tremendous help.
“That’s priceless to have that experience giving back to help you mentally,” Mixon Sr. said.
Mixon played at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory in San Francisco, where his coach, Antoine Evans, used him at nearly every position on the field.
“I played everything except O-line,” Mixon said.
That’s no exaggeration.
If Evans had to stop the run, he kept Mixon at inside linebacker. Need pressure on the quarterback? Move Mixon to defensive end. Need a dangerous receiver covered? Move Mixon to defensive back. Need a big reception? Mixon played receiver and tight end. Had to have some tough yards? Hand the ball to Mixon.
Mixon’s senior statistics told the tale. He had 79 tackles (13 for loss with four sacks), caught 24 catches for 323 yards and a touchdown, rushed for 321 yards and five touchdowns and threw two touchdown passes. He also returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown.
For Mixon, the experience was like being a kid playing positionless football with his friends.
“It was fun,” he said.
His favorite position was quarterback.
“I had the arm,” Mixon said. “I could throw it deep a little bit.”
Overall, Mixon is most at home playing linebacker.
“I don’t like getting tackled, for real,” he said.
Two of Mixon’s many attributes impressed Evans the most.
First, his unselfishness. Not only was Mixon willing to do whatever it took to help the team, he did so while injured.
Early in his senior season, Mixon suffered a shoulder injury. But that didn’t stop him.
“He already had the Oregon commit,” Evans said. “He could have sat out. But he cared about his teammates and sacrificed for his team and played the whole season.”
Despite being the team’s best player, Mixon remained humble.
“He never made himself out to be better than anybody in the room or bigger than the team,” Evan said.
Second was Mixon’s dedication to studying the game.
He had a knack for diagnosing offensive schemes and putting himself in position to make plays.
At times, Mixon would occasionally line up out of position, prompting coaches and teammates to call him out. But Mixon insisted he was lined up correctly based on the play he believed was coming.
“He was right all of the time,” Evans said. “He studies. He is a football junkie.”
The most impactful play Mixon made going rogue came in the 2021 Class 4A championship game.
Sacred Heart held a fourth-quarter lead over a driving Northview Vikings team.
Mixon, playing linebacker, recognized that Northview would once again run a wheel route to its running back down the right side of the field. At the snap, Mixon sprinted toward the sideline.. The Northview quarterback misread the coverage and threw the ball directly to Mixon.
He returned the interception for a touchdown to ice the 48-29 win.
“He just left his responsibility and just ran over there because he knew they were about to run that play again,” Evans said. “He read it all the way.”
Studying at a new level
Mixon arrived at Oregon as a three-star recruit loaded with potential. But despite being a student of the game in high school, learning the Ducks’ complex defense proved difficult.
Consequently, Mixon played sparingly as a freshman and sophomore despite him routinely making big plays in practice.
“It was hard at the beginning, for sure, when I felt like I was supposed to be out there,” Mixon said. “But you got to be patient and your time will come.”
Shifting from playing numerous positions in high school helped the learning process.
“Becoming acclimated to one position was a big change,” Mixon said.
He entered this year’s fall camp seemingly destined to be a backup again. But his knowledge of the defense was finally strong enough to allow his talent and instincts to flourish.
His increased defensive acumen impressed UO coach Dan Lanning.
“He’s been a guy that’s really had high ball production and has really been attacking some of those other areas of his game to say, ‘Okay, this is what we need you to improve,’” Lanning said. “And he’s done that. He’s attacked it. He’s worked really hard.”
His nose for the ball and ability to recognize plays has led to two interceptions over his first three starts.
His returned his first interception 26 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter of Oregon’s 69-3 win over Oklahoma State at Autzen Stadium.
On the play, the furthest inside receiver slightly beat his man inside but Mixon was there in the middle. He watched the quarterback’s eyes move to the second receiver, also somewhat open.
Had Flores immediately thrown the pass, he could have had a completion. Instead, he hesitated, allowing Mixon to move into position for the interception.
“Our offense has that play, as well,” Mixon said. “I picked that off my first two years being here in practice. I just knew what they wanted to do. And then just reading the quarterback, they always want that second option.”
Evans and his coaching staff back in San Francisco saw the play as Mixon doing what Mixon does.
“He probably knew the formation, he probably knew everything that was happening before that pick,” Evans said.
The following week, during Oregon’s 34-14 win at Northwestern, Mixon had five tackles with one for a loss, and an interception, earning him Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.
The interception also came on an ill-advised pass over the middle that Mixon read.
His teammates are the least surprised by Mixon’s exploits.
“Jerry is a baller,” Oregon edge Teitum Tuioti said. “The thing is, he’s been doing this since freshman year … Him being always around the ball, this is what he does. And he does it in practice, he does it in our scrimmages. And when he does it in a game, it should be no surprise for us. We’ve got to get down. We’ve got to go block for that man.”
Bowling future?
At some point, Mixon’s football career will end. Maybe he reaches the NFL in time to lay a tackle on his cousin before he retires.
A Business major, Mixon isn’t precisely sure where his future might take him. But he definitely sees himself involved with bowling for the long haul, competing at a high level.
“If it’s possible, I would do it,” he said.
Mixon Sr. sees the potential.
“When somebody comes into the bowling alley with their own ball and bag, that means they’re serious about their art,” Mixon Sr. said with a laugh. “He’s definitely a good bowler.”
But for now, at least, he is a better linebacker—one whose dedication to his craft has placed him in a position to shine.
“He’s come a long way,” Mixon Sr. said. “I’m just happy to see him out there doing the things that he dreamed of when he was a little kid.”
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No. 6 Oregon (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) at No. 3 Penn State (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
When: Saturday, Sept. 27
Time: 4:30 p.m. PT
Where: Beaver Stadium, University Park, PA
TV channel: NBC/Peacock
Watch: You can watch this game live for free with Fubo (free trial), with DirecTV (free trial) or streaming live on demand with Peacock.
Stream: DirecTV (free trial) or Fubo (promotional offers) or Peacock ($10.99/month) or Sling (college football season pass is just $199). Streaming broadcasts for this game will be available on these streaming services locally in Oregon and Washington, but may not be available outside of the Pacific Northwest, depending on your location.