Ducks Digest

Linebacker Jerry Mixon Jr. Breaks Down Oregon Ducks Commitment

The newest Duck in Dan Lanning's 2023 detailed his decision.

Josh Parker

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Jerry Mixon was accompanied by his mother and father at Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep in San Francisco (Calif.) during his live commitment on the 247 Sports YouTube channel Friday afternoon.

Laid out before him were five hats, one to represent each of his finalists: the UCLA Bruins, Missouri Tigers, Arizona State Sun Devils, Arizona Wildcats and Oregon Ducks.

Before getting the exciting news Ducks fans were waiting for, we got to hear Mixon share some appreciation for his high school team coming off a fantastic year.

“We bring the culture back to football this year,” Mixon stated after winning their first state championship last season, “I think we'll be back this year competing for another one.”

READ MORE: Evaluation 2023 Oregon linebacker commit Jerry Mixon

Mixon is glad to have the recruiting process wrapped up ahead of his senior season.

“To narrow it down feels good and also committing before the season, I feel like it's gonna be stress-free,” Mixon said. “I don’t gotta worry about calls late at night, getting my homework done and stuff like that.”

Mixon began to thank his parents beside him for pushing him on and off the field. Also thanking his teammates, saying how they depend on him as he depends on them as well.

Once the spotlight was on Mixon we got to watch a heart-racing hat choice develop as he gave Duck fans a double fake, first grabbing Arizona State’s hat and then UCLA’s, both being denied by Mixon's mother.

Mixon put the final hat on his head and friends and family pulled out the Oregon gear throwing up the “O.” Once the choice was finally made, the Ducks picked up their first linebacker commit for the 2023 class.

Oregon offered the backer in April of this past year, but Mixon made it sound like this was the offer he had been waiting for when asked what made the Ducks his choice.

“I had a great connection with the coaches and the players that they bring in now. I want to compete with the best every day. I feel like we will be competing for a national championship.”

Back in late July, Mixon took an unofficial visit to Eugene, where he said things started to swing the Ducks' way after the visit.

READ MORE: Five-star forward Mookie Cook re-commits to Oregon

“Oregon has been a dream of mine since I was a kid and I feel like they showed me a great time and had a great time with the players.”

Mixon had taken several visits throughout his recruitment, including schools such as Washington, USC, UCLA and Cal. He's drawn plenty of attention from multiple Pac-12 schools, as four of the five finalists were from the conference.

Oregon picks up an athletic backer who is not afraid to compete. Playing both sides of the ball is not the easiest thing to do when playing football. But when Mixon puts up 1,800 all-purpose yards while backing it up with 147 total tackles, 14 sacks and three interceptions, Duck fans have another reason to be excited about this class.

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Josh Parker
JOSH PARKER

Josh Parker is a student at the University of North Florida who will be graduating in the winter of 2022 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Sports Management. He has spent the last six years building vast sports experience as a Division 1 football player at Stetson University, varsity football coach at Nease and Bishop Kenny High Schools. He primarily covers football and recruiting at Ducks Digest.

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