Who was Louis Nix?
Yes, a former Under Armour All-American, the fulcrum of Notre Dame’s dominant 2012 defense, a three-year starter at defensive tackle.
An outsized personality intent on bringing joy to others, be it publicly as “Irish Chocolate” or privately when he saw a friend trying to stop the bleeding of a broken nose.
And a Florida native who committed to a school in northwestern Indiana when it did not even have a football coach, he was so intent on challenging and bettering himself.
But he was much more than that. To understand the depth of Nix, found dead over the weekend at 29, the only person to turn to is the man himself.
Background: Some dorms at Notre Dame collect clothing to donate to the Salvation Army each Christmas. The cardboard collection boxes are usually placed next to the dorm’s mailboxes. During Lou’s years in Alumni Hall, a few pairs of sweats size XXL or XXXL or XXXXL would end up in the box. Everyone immediately knew who donated them, but that was not all Lou gave, something that no one knew until he felt forced to speak up, bare some of his background, to encourage others to “Do the right thing.”
The following is an email quoted in its entirety, from Nix to his dorm his sophomore year, an email that still circulates among some of his dormmates as a reminder to “Do the right thing.” The only edit applied to this email is a few paragraph breaks.
From: Louis Nix
To: DAWGMAIL LISTSERV
Date: Mon, Dec. 12, 2011, at 7:11 PM
Subject: Missing Shoes
Hey Dawgs,
I have been feeling really disappointed these last couple days to the point where I’m compelled to send an email to all of you. A few days ago I was trying to get into the Christmas spirit and went through a lot of my belongings to see what I could donate.
Growing up I never had a lot…I know a lot of you have never had that experience before. I wanted to donate my things to make someone’s Christmas a little better who barely has anything. It is so difficult living like that, I know first-hand.
Among some of the things I donated were 5 pairs of my Jordans. I walked past the donation box today and none of my shoes are there anymore…but all the rest of the donated belongings are still there. Only my shoes were missing.
I worked hard to earn money for those shoes; they are among some of my most prized possessions. That was why it was a difficult decision for me to decide to donate them…but I don’t wear them as much anymore, and I told myself I was doing a really great thing for someone in need.
To walk past a few days later and see my shoes are gone is a horrible feeling. It is a slap in my face and the values that this University stands for. I really hope that whoever took my donated shoes can find it in their heart to bring them back–this really means a lot to me.
Merry Christmas, guys. Do the right thing.
Louis Nix III
No one seems to remember if the shoes were returned, but half a dozen different guys from that dorm remember donating to the box because of Lou’s email. With or without his Jordans, he had made “someone’s Christmas a little better who barely has anything.”
When you reread Lou’s email nearly a decade later — even outside the mournful shadow of this last week — the vulnerability and openness, the sincerity and urgency, the writing all jump out.
A private person revealed an uncomfortable personal truth and gave up some of his tangible proof that he was moving forward in order to encourage his peers to step up and “Do the right thing.”
That’s who Louis Nix was.
Mother of Louis A Nix III speaks out after his death: pic.twitter.com/UT8KZ59lmI
— Stephanie Bennett (@StephanieANJax) March 1, 2021
REMEMBERING LOUIS NIX:
— Former Notre Dame defensive tackle Louis Nix, 29, found dead
— The Lou I knew: Notre Dame and the world lost joy and laughter
INSIDE THE IRISH:
— Notre Dame’s defense too good for Marcus Freeman to change too much
— Four-star Texas RB Jadarian Price commits to Notre Dame
— 30 Years of Notre Dame on NBC: In Review
30 Years of Notre Dame on NBC:
— Ian Book’s last-minute scamper ‘silences’ critics, sparks 16-game winning streak
— Jeff Samardzija’s iconic stagger to the end zone against UCLA
— No. 1 Nebraska’s “Sea of Red” in 2000
— The Snow Bowl
The EA Sports College Football game is unlikely to exist even in 2022, so this is positioning for what is already inevitable as time ticks by.
First NIL.
Then group licensing.
And then, only then, a college football video game.— Douglas Farmer (@D_Farmer) February 22, 2021
OUTSIDE READING:
— On Tyler Buchner’s lack of high school snaps
— Top 10 tight ends for 2021 NFL draft
— 2021 NFL draft QB rankings
— Ranking college football’s top 60 quarterbacks of the 2000s
— Tracking COVID-19 at Notre Dame
— When the party moves off campus: A new set of COVID challenges for Notre Dame
It's funny how random things stick with you. Against Pitt in 2012, Lou was sick during the week and didn't start. Emergency player. Except that game became an emergency and he came in the 2nd half. After Golson ties it, Manti goes straight to Lou. "We need you big guy." pic.twitter.com/Jiof4S7YVc
— Greg Flammang (@greg2126) February 28, 2021
