Dan Lanning addresses Bo Nix sliding, balancing being aggressive

As a mobile quarterback, Bo Nix has had to slide plenty of times in his career. But there’s a balance between sliding and being aggressive to get more yards, and Oregon coach Dan Lanning talked about that this week.

This year — his first with the Ducks after starting his career at Auburn — Nix has thrown for 1,526 yards and is already closing in on his career-high rushing yards with 331 through six games. He’s proven to be an effective dual-threat, but that also carries risks from a health standpoint.

Lanning said that’s part of the balancing act when quarterbacks use their legs.

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“It’s tough,” Lanning said. “You want to protect yourself, obviously, but you want first downs and touchdowns. I appreciate the way that he plays the game of football. He plays it with a physical toughness. He also, at times, is going to have to be smart and make sure he protects himself.”

Lanning also spoke highly of Nix’s performance so far this year, and he’s a big reason why Oregon is taking a 5-1 record into the bye week this week. That said, he doesn’t want his QB1 to change his mentality no matter how good things are.

“Bo’s playing well,” Lanning said. “We’re excited that he’s doing that, and it’s what we’ve known he can do. It’s not a big surprise. I think I would challenge everybody, including Bo and myself and everybody on our staff and everybody out there, don’t let your highs get too high and your lows get too low.

“It’s about continued performance, continuing putting that together. We don’t get hung up in the moment. He’s done a good job. I think he’ll continue to do a good job but that’s because he has a really level focus.”