When you talk to his teammates, the moment isn’t too big for Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix. As Week 1 of the NFL regular season approaches, Nix’s teammates have his back and right tackle Mike McGlinchey is impressed with what he’s seen from the rookie signal caller so far.
Denver Broncos OT Mike McGlinchey praises Bo Nix’s maturity, leadership
One thing about Nix coming out of college into the NFL at the quarterback position that you never had to question, was his leadership. That’s something Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning and every one of his teammates let the world know that Nix excelled in that department.
When watching him at practice, you can easily see it when he commands the huddle, how he talks with receivers and running backs after a play on how he’s seeing something from the defense, or where they can take advantage of a potential mismatch. For McGlinchey, he’s also noted these things from Nix since he first entered the building in May.
“From OTAs when he first got here in May to where he’s at now, he’s a different football player,” McGlinchey said. “It’s a great sense of who he is as a pro and who he is as a competitor to learn that fast and put himself in a position to lead our football team. Everybody is excited for him to do that. There have been so many examples of him showing composure and his collection in the huddle. His ability to stay calm no matter the situation out there. He was the same on the practice field as he was in the two games that we’ve lined up so far. That speaks to his composure as much as anything. The moment isn’t too big for him. He’s ready for it, and he’s ready to go attack it.”
Nix has support from McGlinchey and his teammates despite the immense pressure he’ll undertake as the team’s quarterback.
“It’s not overreacting or underreacting to anything, no matter what the results are as they come and as they go,” McGlinchey said. “I think it’s just maintaining a level of composure for the rest of the 52 of us besides Bo to help him out and do his job. We understand the position that he’s in. We understand that there’s a lot of pressure on his shoulders and everybody wants him to succeed greatly here. It doesn’t mean that he has to press and do something special every single day. He just has to do his job. I think we’ve been very fortunate that our team is built very well, especially on the offensive side of the ball. We have a lot of veterans that can help him, especially up front in my group and the rest of the team as well. I think it’s just taking things as they come. No overreactions and no dramatic changes of the course. Things like that just cause more problems. You have to be able to see things with a clear set of eyes and separate yourself from the story that’s going on. Trust yourself, trust your gut and trust what you’re seeing. It’s our job to help him do that.”
Up and downs are going to be inevitable as a rookie, especially in this game, but for the first time in a long time — the Denver Broncos’ vision is in alignment with the growth of the team and the quarterback, with support from team CEO and Owner Greg Penner.
“I’ve been really impressed with his poise and maturity,” Penner said. “There’s something about starting so many games in college that obviously develops that. I think he’s got some incredible traits. It was great to see how he played in the first two preseason games. I had a chance to call him after Sean announced that he would be the starting quarterback. I had a great conversation with him then. All rookies are going to go through some ups and downs in their first season, and I told him we’re going to support him. I’m excited to see what he can do on the field and the rest of this roster.”