Former Duck Tez Johnson's dream is to play in the NFL, but there's one scenario that would make it truly a storybook ending
Former Oregon Ducks wide receiver Tez Johnson is well known to Ducks fans. Over the last two seasons, he's been a go-to target for both Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel, breaking the Oregon single-season receptions record in 2023 with 86. Despite his smaller stature, he's a gritty competitor that plays with electricity and juice. His time […]
Former Oregon Ducks wide receiver Tez Johnson is well known to Ducks fans. Over the last two seasons, he's been a go-to target for both Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel, breaking the Oregon single-season receptions record in 2023 with 86.
Despite his smaller stature, he's a gritty competitor that plays with electricity and juice. His time down in Mobile preparing for the Senior Bowl saw him stand out as one of the best wide receivers in attendance, potentially boosting his draft stock in the process.
For Johnson, making it to the NFL will be a dream come true, but there's a potential scenario that would really put icing on the cake.
"Playing alongside my brother again would be another dream come true – to play in the NFL with your brother? That's pretty amazing," Johnson said. "If any of these 32 team draft me, they will have one of the best receivers in the draft."
When Johnson was in high school, his mom gave her blessing for him to move in with his high school football coach. She felt she was out of options. That family of the high school football coach included a quarterback by the name of Bo Nix.
In an article by Bill Oram at The Oregonian from 2023, Tez's mother Shamika was quoted as saying "My child has been able to live out a dream and a life I wasn't able to provide to him. If I would have kept him here with me, I don't think he would have graduated high school, let alone go to college.
Growing up in a rough part of Birmingham, Alabama, the actions of Johnson's mother quite literally could have saved his life. Johnson described where he grew up, a place others refer to as the ghetto, as being the trenches.
"Like, O-linemen and D-linemen are in the trenches? That's what I call where I came from. My mom was the one that always didn't want us to see the bad stuff happening in the neighborhood as far as gangs or shootings and killing," Johnson said.
After working out on a high school practice field with Nix, it was the young quarterback who went to his dad, the high school coach, and told him that Johnson had a chance to be special. After a meeting with Shamika and the school administration, the idea for Johnson to stay with them was formed.
Johnson was an Oregon fan from an early age. The first night that he went over for dinner at the Nix household, he was wearing his favorite Oregon sweatshirt. He went to stay at the house, and he never left. He was comfortable for the first time in his life, cared for, safe, well-fed. They gave him a new lease on life and an opportunity to chase the deep-seeded dreams of playing for the Ducks that he formed as a young kid.
Though the Nix family never adopted him, they treated him as one of their own. The relationship with Bo, forming off the field, continued to develop on the field. As a senior, Johnson caught 10 touchdown passes from Bo.
After Nix transferred from Auburn to Oregon, he was the one that made bringing in Johnson a priority. Speaking with head coach Dan Lanning, Nix was adamant about Johnson's ability to contribute to the team. After doing their homework of the young wide receiver from his time at Troy, they agreed.
Lanning and wide receiver coach Junior Adams decided to put the plan in motion. Adams called to offer Johnson a scholarship to Oregon while Johnson was at the Nix household in December of 2022. He instantly agreed, put the phone down and said "I'm a Duck." Nix gifted him an Oregon shirt as the family celebrated.
The rest is history. It's one of the greatest stories of personal triumph and dedication I can recall hearing, and one that highlights how special the connection is between Johnson and his "brother" Bo Nix.
Now a year after tearing up the NFL as a rookie, Nix and the Denver Broncos certainly need more help at wide receiver. A shifty route-running slot wide receiver would fit their team needs incredibly well. If they can find a way to land Johnson, the brothers could be reunited in the NFL, making their dreams a reality.
Follow along all year for more Oregon Ducks coverage on A to Z Sports. You can find me on Bluesky @jonhelmkamp.bsky.social, as well as follow our main page @AtoZSports.bsky.social for all the latest news.
