"Irish Chocolate" Dead At 29
Former Notre Dame and NFL defensive tackle Louis Nix III has been found dead after being reported missing.
Louis Nix III was never a huge name in the NFL but, if you are a Notre Dame fan like myself, you know all about the 330 pound nose tackle that rocked number one. In his career as a member of the Irish, Nix recorded 122 tackles, 14 for loss, and 2.5 sacks.
The first time I actually saw Nix play was at the 2013 Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium when the Irish defeated Rutgers 29-16. Around this time was when I was really getting into watching college football and seeing a monster like Nix wear number one was baffling to me. For some reason, seeing defensive linemen wear a single digit is my favorite aspect of college football.
Nix wearing number one wasn’t the only reason I was a fan of him and why he was a fan favorite, it was because he was also a play maker. Irish Chocolate was an anchor in the run game and made it very difficult for teams to run up the gut on Notre Dame.
In 2014, Nix was drafted by the Houston Texans in the third round but, never panned out due to injuries. He bounced around the league with the Giants, Redskins, and Jaguars before being released for the final time in 2017.
On December 8, 2020, Nix was shot during an armed robbery at a Jacksonville gas station where he was putting air in his tires. He survived the gun shot and went live on social media in the ambulance to reassure friends and family that he was good. Just a few months later, on February 24, 2021, Nix was reported missing when his car was found in a pond near his apartment in Jacksonville. He was found dead three days later.
Hearing about his death hurt me because this was one of the first college athletes I really became a fan of. He sparked my love for college football.