When Jerry Mixon was in junior high, he went through a "chubby phase" and nearly gave up football.
His cousin Joe Mixon, star running back at Oklahoma who made the Super Bowl with Cincinnati, encouraged him to stick with it.
Jerry was 8 when he first watched Joe play, as a five-star recruit at Freedom High School in Oakley, California, the No. 12 prospect in the country. In a playoff game Joe ran for 300 yards and seven TDs. Jerry told Mitch Stephens of MaxPreps, "After that, I decided I really wanted to be a football player."
By the time he reached high school the chubby phase was over. Jerry starred in both basketball and football at Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep in San Francisco, winning a state title in his junior year and making first-team all-state at linebacker as a senior.
On the hardwood he scored 12 points as the Irish beat Serra of San Mateo, Tom Brady's old school, for the CCS open division title.
In football he posted 79 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, four sacks, two forced fumbles and and a blocked field goal in 10 games as a senior.
He scored six different ways on offense, throwing for two touchdowns, running a kickoff back 99 yards, running for five TDs, catching 24 passes for 323 yards a score. The year before he clinched the win in the state championship game by returning an interception 54 yards for a touchdown.
"Cal-Hi Sports" named him Grid-Hoops Athlete of the Year. He said to Ronny Flores of the website, You’ve got to be versatile because the game has been changing,. They might put you on the slot receiver or a running back. The offense will think they have a mismatch (against linebackers), but I think I’m a great linebacker who can be versatile. I’ve got good feet, I can cover. I feel like I’m a good defender against the pass and the run.”
A three-star recruit ranked No. 717 in the country by the 247Sports Composite, Mixon didn't have a big rep like his cousin, but he had athletic ability, intelligence and a work ethic.
On his Instagram page he posted his twin mantras:
"I’m working while they sleep so I can live how they dream."
"The game needed life so I put my heart in it."
With offers from Arizona State and UCLA, he chose the Ducks in August 2022 telling Chad Simmons of On3, “I grew up an Oregon fan, so even before I got up there for the visit a few weeks ago, I had made my mind up. My mom and I talked about Oregon and UCLA a lot. We debated on the schools a little, and I knew Oregon was it for me.”
Some Jerry Mixon cut ups. Development in the linebacker room is obvious. https://t.co/zfhQWfC3s3 pic.twitter.com/pQuk7wpl4D
— QB11 (@Qb11Sd) April 30, 2025
It's a good foundation for a linebacker, competing in different sports, playing running back on offense and being a dynamic high school playmaker, but with the Ducks Mixon's progress has been steady but slow.
He showed promise in his freshman season, generating four quarterback pressures in just 31 defensive snaps, breaking through for a sack against Stanford in a road trip back home. Over two seasons he's played mainly on special teams while honing his body to 6-2, 240, among the biggest and strongest of the Oregon linebackers.
In his third season the versatility and football smarts are beginning to show. Linebacker coach Brian Michalowski told James Crepea of the Oregonian,
“There’s no substitute for the experience that he’s had the last couple of years, being behind the guys that he’s been behind and lot of practice reps.”
“He might be consistently, every camp, the highest rep count linebacker. He had a great spring. He came out in the spring game, had a great spring game. That wasn’t a surprise to me. Going into his third year in the program, it should be Jerry’s time.”
Prepping for tomorrow's recording of TSOW, one big talking point will be the coaches trust in the current group of LBs.
— Ted Leroux (@TedontheDucks) April 28, 2025
Saturday's film shows guys like Brayden Platt, Dylan Williams and Jerry Mixon are ready to step into a bigger role. pic.twitter.com/uPQ44iNoLD
Dan Lanning said after the Spring Game, "Jerry's a guy that's worked extremely hard, done an unbelievable job and continues to improve and when he keeps that in focus he's really a guy who can help us."
When the Ducks take the field against Montana State, Mixon will take first-team reps alongside Bryce Boettcher. He's not the quick-twitch NFL linebacker prospect coaches covet, just a hard-working athlete who's kept at it and developed. It will be fascinating to see how he operates against a run-first Bobcat offense, something to watch closely as fans get their first look at the new Oregon defense.
He wears 54, an old-school linebacker number. The key will be his ability to read and react and stay on assignment at game speed. Linebackers work best in pairs, and they have to be productive, or a defense suffers a lot of chunk plays.