Louis Anthony Nix III (July 31, 1991 – February 27, 2021) was an American professional football defensive tackle in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played college football for the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

. Nix was selected by the Houston Texans in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft.

High school career

A native of

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, Nix attended

William M. Raines High School William Marion Raines Senior High School is a historically black high school in Jacksonville, Florida. The school is located off Moncrief Road in Jacksonville, Florida's northside at the corner Raines Avenue in northwest Jacksonville. Raines serv ...

, where he played football,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and competed in

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

. In

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

, he was an All-State defensive lineman. He recorded 50 tackles and 10 sacks as senior in 2009, and was named an all-First Coast pick as defensive lineman by the ''

Florida Times-Union ''The Florida Times-Union'' is a daily newspaper in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Widely known as the oldest newspaper in the state, it began publication as the ''Florida Union'' in 1864. Its current incarnation started in 1883, when th ...

'' of Jacksonville. He tallied 19 combined sacks as a sophomore and junior in 2007 and 2008 helped Raines High School to 7–4 record and appearance in Florida state playoffs as sophomore in 2007. He also played basketball at William Raines. He was selected to play in the 2010 Under Armour All-America Game in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

. Regarded as a four-star recruit by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

, Nix was ranked as the No. 7 defensive tackle of his class. He accepted a scholarship offer from Notre Dame over offers from

Miami (FL) Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at the ...

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

College career

After not playing as a freshman in 2010, Nix started 11 games as a sophomore in 2011, recording 45 tackles. In 2012, Nix started 11 out of 13 games, recording 50 tackles, including seven and a half for a loss, and two sacks. On December 17, 2012, Nix announced that he would resume his college tenure for his senior season. In 2013, Nix started the first 7 games of the season, before sitting out games against the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

and

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

as he was dealing with knee tendonitis. He returned the following week in a game against

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. On November 21, 2013, after having arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee, it was announced that he would miss the remainder of the season plus the bowl game. He finished his senior season with 27 tackles, including two for loss.

Professional career

On December 6, 2013, Nix signed with agents Todd France and Brian Ayrault.

Houston Texans

Nix was drafted by the Houston Texans in the third round (83rd overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft. On May 16, 2014, he was signed to a $2.85-million contract by the Texans, including a signing bonus of $575,252. Nix underwent a second knee surgery during the off-season and missed workouts as well as most of training camp. His rookie season prematurely ended after he underwent a third knee surgery on September 24, 2014. He was unable to play any games during his time with Houston. Nix was released by the Texans on September 4, 2015.

New York Giants

On September 6, 2015, Nix was claimed off waivers by the New York Giants. On September 8, 2015, he failed his physical and was waived. On September 9, 2015, Nix was re-signed by the Giants. He was waived again on November 7, 2015. On November 10, 2015, he was re-signed to the Giants' practice squad. On January 6, 2016, Nix signed a reserve/future contract with the Giants. On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Giants.

Washington Redskins

The

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

signed Nix to their practice squad on September 5, 2016. On September 19, 2016, he was released from the practice squad.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Nix was signed to the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

practice squad on October 25, 2016. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Jaguars on January 4, 2017. On May 15, 2017, he was released by the Jaguars.

Personal life

Nix called himself "Irish Chocolate." On December 8, 2020, Nix was shot during an armed robbery at a Jacksonville gas station while he was putting air in his car tires. He survived the incident. Nix was reported missing on February 24, 2021. His car was found in a pond near his apartment in Jacksonville, and he was subsequently found dead on February 27, three days after being reported missing. The cause of death subsequently ruled to be drowning by the medical examiner. Alcohol was found in his system.

References

External links

* *
Notre Dame Fighting Irish bioNotre Dame's big advantage: Notre Dame's Louis Nix is larger than lifeNix brings larger-than-life personality to Irish: Nose guard/YouTube star finally finding his comfort zone in South Bend
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nix, Louis 1991 births 2020s missing person cases 2021 deaths American football defensive tackles American shooting survivors Deaths by drowning in the United States Formerly missing people Houston Texans players Jacksonville Jaguars players Missing person cases in Florida New York Giants players Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Players of American football from Jacksonville, Florida Under Armour All-American football players Washington Redskins players William M. Raines High School alumni