Louis Nix appeared on the Jim Rome Show this morning and as you might have guessed, he didn’t disappoint.
In under 11 minutes, Nix and Rome touched on all the greatest hits, everything from his tough upbringing in Jacksonville, his decision to come to Notre Dame, the disappointment that came from an injury plagued senior season and his broad jumping skills at the NFL Combine.
While you need to be a Jungle Insider to hear the entire interview, here are a few snippets from Big Lou’s appearance.
On living the Irish Chocolate lifestyle:
“The Irish Chocolate lifestyle is just being yourself, being motivated,” Nix told Rome. “Being that guy that everybody loves. Try your best to be a humble, friendly, passionate guy. I try to be the guy that’s the mood for the room, that keeps a smile on everybody’s face. But when it’s time to get serious, I get serious.”
On going viral as he attempted to stick the landing in the broad jump.
“At first, I didn’t know it was happening,” Nix said of his broad jump performance. “I landed and I thought I was fine and then I started going backwards, and then I was like, ‘Wow, I’m falling... Timber.’
“I saw the video. I thought it was funny. I didn’t like the cameraman’s over-exaggeration of my fall. He started making the camera shake like I was an earthquake or something. I didn’t like that.”
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Nix also talked about the disappointment of finishing his career with an injury plagued senior season, one cut short by a knee injury that forced him to sit out Senior Day and end his season early.
“It got frustrating. I wanted to be one of those top defensive tackles. I wanted to be a consensus All-American. I wanted to win a Lombardi and Outland and those types of trophies,” Nix told Rome. “I had my goals set for the future and the seasons and that didn’t happen, but I had to stay motivated, I couldn’t just say I’ve got this injury and I’m done. I needed to get better and get back to where I wanted to be. I have new goals set for myself and I just want to be a better defensive tackle than I was yesterday.”
Of course, Nix joked about feeling and looking sexier than ever, courtesy of a svelte 325-pound frame that he’s now carrying around. Nix credited a lot of kale salads and eating gluten free, though he wasn’t exactly sure what that meant.
(Me neither.)
“I feel sexy. I feel great. It’s a process. You have to eat right. I want to feel better about myself and my body,” Nix said. “I feel like I’ve got a six-pack. It’s kinda covered by my protective stomach, but I’m feeling sexy about myself and I want to keep it going.”
While he left a fifth year on the table, Nix leaves South Bend with a degree and will likely be a first round draft pick come May. It’s a wonderfully validating success story for a kid that chose a Notre Dame even without a head coach.
“At the time, when I did commit without a coach, I was told it was the dumbest decision ever,” Nix said. “But I wasn’t committing to a coach, I was committing to the university. I wanted that challenge in my life. I wanted something different for myself outside of Jacksonville, Florida. I took that risk and I think it came out to be one of the best decisions in my life.”
Special thanks to Dave Whelan and the rest of the XR4TI crew for the audio.