Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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tion. Nix's value as an anchor in the middle was ironically most evident when the Irish fell behind Pitt 20-6 in the second half of the ninth game. Having spent a couple of days in the infirmary with an illness that left him somewhat doubtful to suit up, Nix wasn't able to start. The Panthers, led by running back Ray Graham's 172 yards rushing, took advantage of his absence. Once he forced himself into action in the second half, the momentum changed, and the Irish rallied to victory in the third overtime. "All the other stuff that goes on during the week, the chatter … let Louis be Louis," Kelly said. "His teammates know that on Saturday he's a ferocious competitor." "Whatever he does is working," Notre Dame defensive line coach Mike Elston said of Nix's personality. "They love him, and they also know what he's going to be on game day." 'I Needed A Change' motivation tactic with Jones. "It's just tough love. I love my guys. Me, I'm not the guy on the sideline that says, [imitating a meek voice while politely clapping his hands], 'Let's go team, we can …' I say, 'Suck it up …' "That's the type of guy I am. I'm not the nice one. I'm the one that says a lot of negative stuff just to get in somebody's head and make him say, 'I don't suck.' "I'll say, 'You suck, [linebacker Jarret] Grace!' — and he comes out and proves me wrong. That's what I like, and he does the same to me. Well, actually he says, 'Come on, brother!' He's that [positive] kind of guy. I think it works on both ends." Grace admits he plays football with an unbridled joy and attempts to convey nothing but positives to his teammates. Thus, Nix's persona provides the complement. "You need a balance," Grace said. "You can't always just have someone pushing positive reinforcement. Sometimes you need somebody to get under your skin a little bit, that gets to your core a little bit. He does it for everyone, he does it to me, and it really helps. "You would like to see him sometimes say some nice things, but he says what needs to be said, and he's not afraid of doing that. That's one thing guys respect a lot about him." That and the fact that he backs up his talk. No one can be a leader without providing indisputable evidence of his own produc- Nix brings a similar kind of fire at nose guard that College Football Hall of Fame inductee Chris Zorich did as a sophomore for the 1988 national champs. Growing up impoverished on the south side of Chicago, Zorich brought an infusion of a rage and fire to a program that was often accused of being "soft." His personality created a needed trickle-down effect. Likewise, while growing up in Jacksonville, Fla., Nix lived in a three-bedroom home with his mother Stephanie Wingfield, who worked in a hospital cafeteria, and with many of his 11 younger siblings and half-siblings. His high school, Raines, was "99 percent black," according to Nix, and attending an instate school — he had originally committed to Miami — seemed inevitable. Remarkably, not only did he end way up in the North with Notre Dame, but he committed at a time between head coaches, with Charlie Weis just fired and Kelly not yet hired. He was amazed when several Notre Dame assistants, who didn't know if they would even have jobs, still recommended the school to him for reasons beyond just football. "I talked to Coach [Tony] Alford the same day [of Weis' firing], and he said he might not be working at Notre Dame, but he feels like that'd be a good place for me," Nix recalled. Shortly afterward, he stunned the recruiting world by committing to a program way out of his comfort zone and with no head coach. "I needed a change from where I was," Nix explained. "It wasn't milk and honey growing up; it was a lot of struggle. This was a place I knew would help me out. It would build me as a person, build me as a player, and overall just build my life and help my family out. "I came here because of that, and people Follow Your Nose (Guard) If a single most important ingredient for a base 3-4 defense can be targeted, it's the man in the epicenter of impact, the nose guard. Notre Dame has had its share of recent standouts there with current San Francisco 49ers player Ian Williams (2007-10) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Derek Landri (2003-06). Yet no one has fit the classic massive, fireplug profile like current senior Louis Nix III with his 347-pound, or thereabouts, frame, after checking in at 326 last fall. "Who knows?" replied Nix this spring of what his weight really is. "People ask for my weight, I just throw some random numbers out there. Realistically, I would love to play at 280, but I'll take 340 any day." The Notre Dame defense will be putting a lot on his shoulders this season the way it did in 2012 when Nix was the anchor in the middle of the nation's No. 1 scoring defense during the regular season. That group was a fortress against the run, limiting the opposition to 92.4 yards per game on the ground. Nix was to the Fighting Irish defense what 360-pound Terrence "Mount Cody" Cody was to Alabama's 2009 national champs. Others racked up the big numbers while Cody had a modest 28 tackles, but he was the linchpin along the line of scrimmage that made everyone else more effective. What is somewhat surprising is that for the second year in a row, Nix led the Notre Dame defensive line in tackles with 50. A year earlier his 45 also paced the line. Nix could become only the third Notre Dame player over the last 25 years to lead the linemen in tackles three years in a row. The others were College Football Hall of Fame member Chris Zorich (1988-90), another nose guard, and current New York Giants mainstay and regular Pro Bowl performer Justin Tuck (2002‑04). The nose guard is usually the facilitator or assist man for others, the one designated to tie up blockers so the linebackers can run relatively freely to make plays. Dominance at the point of attack can't necessarily be measured with individual data. Nevertheless, that doesn't prevent Nix from making his own share of plays. "If he's not making the play, he's helping the play," Notre Dame fifth-year senior offensive tackle and AllAmerican candidate Zack Martin said. "He's just an impact player that can make a difference in a game. "We see it every day in practice — you can't block him with one person. When he gets going, you can't stop him. You put two people on him, it's going to free up a linebacker." "Without him, there are a lot of runs that wouldn't be stopped," junior defensive end Stephon Tuitt said. "He's the best nose guard in the country," said Notre Dame defensive line coach Mike Elston. "He changed a lot of games, just was very disruptive, and I've very proud of that progress for him." — Lou Somogyi helped me to change: the students, the fans, the alumni. You meet a lot of people who say, 'I came from where you came from, and if you just keep pushing you'll be successful.' That's what I've been doing and it's been true Blue & Gold Illustrated 2013 Football Preview ✦ 81 78-82.Louis Nix III.indd 81 6/25/13 2:11 PM