The College Football Playoff committee released its first-ever and much-anticipated 12-team bracket on Sunday, and to no one’s surprise, Oregon claimed the No. 1 overall seed.
The undefeated Ducks (13-0) have been ranked No. 1 since October, and in the Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday night, they ousted No. 3 Penn State, 45-37, to win the conference title in their first season in the league. The MVP of the top-five showdown was Oregon wide receiver Tez Johnson.
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Johnson enjoyed one of the best games of his career when it mattered most, hauling in 11 passes for a career-high 181 yards, including a crucial 48-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
REC: 11
YDS: 181
TD: 1Relive every catch that led to Tez Johnson becoming the first WR to win @bigten title game MVP 👇#B1GFootball pic.twitter.com/AiNavLkcyZ
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) December 8, 2024
The 22-year-old Johnson began his college career at Troy University in his home state of Alabama, but he transferred to Oregon ahead of the 2023 season and has thrived during his two years in Eugene. Johnson set Oregon’s single-season receptions record with 86 last fall, totaling 10 touchdowns and 1,182 yards as the Ducks went 12-2. He’s followed up that impressive campaign with 78 receptions, 866 yards and 10 touchdowns so far this season. Johnson could threaten to break his career highs with a deep run in the CFP.
For Johnson, however, his MVP performance on Saturday was a career first for a far deeper reason: For the first time ever, his biological family got to watch him play in person for the Ducks.
“I told them, ‘This is the first game y’all coming to, I’m gonna give y’all a show. I promise you that,'” Johnson said in Saturday’s postgame press conference. “… My mom, just seeing the tears in her eyes being able to watch me play on a stage like this. My family has never seen it before. Just being able to get them to the game, words can’t explain. It’s something you dream about, and when that time happens and it’s being able to get checked off your bucket list, you don’t take it for granted.”
Tez Johnson saying that tonight was the first time his biological family got to see an Oregon game in person:
“I told ‘em, ‘This the first game y’all coming to, I’m gonna give y’all a show, I promise you that’… Being able to get them to the game, words can’t explain, bro… You… pic.twitter.com/aPv0z00sz4
— Brenna Greene (@BrennaGreene_) December 8, 2024
Johnson’s upbringing in Birmingham, Alabama, was characterized by pain, violence and struggle. His mother, Shamika, didn’t graduate high school, and his father died by suicide when Tez was an infant. Gunshots and other gang violence were common occurrences in his neighborhood.
Tez’s outlet was football, his favorite team was Oregon, and his dream became to play for the Ducks one day. He got in trouble every now and then, but on the field, “football was my peace,” he told The Oregonian last year.
Shamika had moved herself and her four children across town, and Tez enrolled at Pinson Valley High School and became a wide receiver on the football team. His quarterback on that team was Bo Nix, whose father, Pat, was the head coach. Tez and Bo bonded on the field and off, and as Tez struggled in the classroom and got into multiple fights, the Nix family offered to help. The decision was made in 2018 that Tez would move in with them. Soon enough, a few nights turned into a few years.
“I appreciate them to the fullest,” Shamika told The Oregonian about the Nix family. “Because I feel like if [Tez] wasn’t with them, he probably wouldn’t have gone to Troy or Oregon.”
Tez was never officially adopted, yet he refers to Bo as his brother, and he calls the Nix family his adopted family.
Bo’s and Tez’s bond off the field translated to their play on the field, as the duo led Pinson Valley to a state championship and Bo became a highly prized recruit and committed to the Auburn Tigers. The following season, Tez departed for Troy. But as God would have it, Bo and Tez would reunite thousands of miles away.
Bo transferred to Oregon after the 2021 season, and the following year, Tez jumped to the Ducks as well. Tez’s childhood dream had come true, and not only that, his brother was throwing him the ball. After their first game as Oregon teammates, an 81-7 win against Portland State on Sept. 2, 2023, the two were interviewed on the Pac-12 Network.
“It was a dream come true,” Tez said.
“It’s only a God thing,” Bo added. “He put us here in this moment. … It’s a gift from the Lord. We walk by faith.”
Together, both recorded the best seasons of their college careers and nearly made it to the 2023 CFP. And although Bo’s eligibility was complete after the 2023 season, and he’s now playing on Sundays, Tez stayed and has his team as favorites to win the national championship this January.
Throughout their almost unthinkable, intertwined story, Tez and Bo have not only shared a brotherly relationship and a love for football, but also a bond as children of God that not even death can break.
“Being able to get an opportunity to play at Oregon, God don’t write a better story than that,” Tez said Saturday after Oregon’s championship win. “He orders our steps, and you gotta walk with faith. Faith is everything within this game, because obviously we wouldn’t be playing this game if it weren’t for God.”
Later, Johnson was asked about the two games his missed in November with an injured right shoulder.
“It was tough for me,” he said, “but then again, I felt like I knew exactly what God was doing. My faith in God was so like, ‘Trust the process.'”
Johnson has spoken about his faith in God in other postgame press conferences this season. He’s also been known to post Bible verses to his Instagram account.
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Seeking to walk by faith, Johnson and his Oregon teammates won’t make their appearance in the CFP until Jan. 1 because they received a bye as the No. 1 seed. They will take on either No. 9 Tennessee or No. 8 Ohio State (which they beat, 32-31, on Oct. 12) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. ET.
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