He's the Oregon quarterback's new personal bodyguard, and Bo Nix will always love him

 

In the opening scene of The Blind Side, Sandra Bullock explains why left tackles have the most important job in football.

"As every housewife knows, the first check you write is for the mortgage, but the second is for the insurance. And the left tackle's job is to protect the quarterback from what he can't see coming: to protect his blind side."

For the Ducks this year, keeping Bo Nix healthy is Job One. With him, they are a conference championship and playoff contender. If he misses three or more games with injury, they'll finish in the middle of the pack.

After Oregon's spring game Josh Conerly met the media and he said, "I'm just trying to play my part, keep that guy upright," nodding toward Nix.

Conerly is ideally suited for the job. He's 6-5, 293, wide, strong and agile, unusually athletic for an offensive lineman. At Rainier Beach High School as a freshman he played running back. He played four seasons of varsity basketball for the Vikings. In his freshman year at Oregon he took snaps in all 13 games, even lining up at tight end in short yardage situations, catching a 4-yard touchdown pass against Colorado. 

76 days until kickoff.
Josh Conerly Jr TD (wears #76 when not catching TDs) pic.twitter.com/aHg1uiPcE5

— ☘️LegalizeQuack☘️ (@Legalize_Quack) June 18, 2023

[It's 48 days now.] This spring Offensive line coach A'lique Terry explained JC's unique qualifications for the toughest job in football: “He almost has feet like a safety or outside linebacker,” Terry said. “He's got power of a lineman. So, he's got the tools that are necessary to be another special force."

He added, "The best part about Josh Conerly is that he's a freak athlete, but he's the hardest worker in our room. What does that do for everybody else? If one of the best players in your room is your hardest worker, it becomes contagious.”

As a prospect in 2022 Josh was the #8 overall recruit in the country out of some 200,000 senior high school football players, the number one left tackle and the highest-ranked recruit in Washington state, selected to both the All-American Bowl and the Polynesian Bowl.

He took his time making a decision, committing to Oregon on April 8th, more than two full months after the second signing day.

Dan Lanning and the Oregon coaching staff won a fierce battle for his commitment. Earlier that week Conerly was considered a lock to USC. Before that, there was a lot of pressure for him to play for the home state Huskies in nearby Seattle. Elaborating on his choice, he told Brandon Huffman of 247Sports, “It’s the closest thing to home that’s not home. The relationships I’ve built with them, it’s like no other. It’s genuine everywhere, it feels the most genuine here."

Now he's a fixture on the Duck offensive line, taking over for the departed T.J. Bass at the most crucial job in the game. Watching his prep highlights, it's easy to see why the staff was so eager to get him in an Oregon uniform. Conerly explodes into a block. He can move with astonishing quickness and demolish a tackler at the point of attack.

Having him back there allows Bo Nix to be the creative, resourceful quarterback he showed himself to be last season. The left tackle is a quarterback's freedom and security, his personal protector.