Louis Nix III’s heartbroken mother paid tribute to the former Notre Dame star and Giants defensive lineman who was found dead Saturday at the age of 29.
Stephanie Wingfield remembered the Jacksonville, Florida resident as incredibly nice and always willing to help a friend.
“If his head wasn’t attached to his body, he’d give it to you,” she told Action News in Jacksonville on Sunday. People wanted signatures. He was never too busy, always signed. Always taken the time to talk to people. “
Nix was reported missing on Wednesday and his car was found in a pond in Jacksonville three days later.
Before they could get anything out of it, ‘I’m sorry’, I just started screaming, ‘No, no, no, no, no, no! Wingfield recalled that the police had notified her of the news.
A police investigation is underway, Wingfield said.
“God took him after he got him,” Wingfield said. “I don’t understand, but at least he left here with God in his life.”
It is not yet known if Nix’s death was related to an incident in December when he was hospitalized for 10 days after being shot while filling the tires of his car at a gas station near Jacksonville airport .
Nix played in four games for the Giants in 2015. He was called up by the Houston Texans in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft and also spent time with Washington and the Jaguars, after a standout career at Notre Dame.
“There was a lively man who walked through these corridors … We lost someone way too soon,” Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly told reporters on Monday“We are devastated.”