Louis Anthony Nix III (July 31, 1991 – February 27, 2021) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

in the

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(NFL). He played

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for the

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. Nix was selected by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

in the third round of the

2014 NFL draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

Early life

A native of

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, Nix attended William M. Raines High School, where he played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and competed in

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

. In

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, he was an All-State

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

. He recorded 50

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and 10 sacks as senior in 2009, and was named an all-First Coast pick as defensive lineman by the ''

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'' 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

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. Regarded as a four-star recruit by

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, Nix was ranked as the No. 7

of his class. He accepted a scholarship offer from Notre Dame over offers from Miami (FL),

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

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

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and

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

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. 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

Pre-draft

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

Houston Texans

Nix was selected by the

in the third round (83rd overall) of the

. 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 A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

. 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 The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. 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 In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

. 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

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.

Death

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

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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 Deaths by drowning in Florida Formerly missing American people Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen 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