After BCS loss, Notre Dame’s Louis Nix came to Sioux Falls
Connor Schaefbauer has never appreciated his sister more than he does these days.
The former O’Gorman multi-sport standout has gained some advantages since his sister, Kiah, a junior at Notre Dame, started dating Fighting Irish nose guard Louis Nix.
The 6-foot-3, 340-pound Nix is an NFL prospect who anchored Notre Dame’s highly ranked defense on the way to this year’s BCS title game against Alabama.
“He’s a great guy, and it just so happens that our family is made up of diehard Notre Dame fans,” says Connor, who is attending the University of Minnesota on a baseball scholarship. “I guess you could say it worked out pretty well.”
Along with his parents and younger brother, Chandler, Connor attended Monday’s national championship game in Miami, sitting in the front row in the end zone as Nix and the Irish suffered a humbling 42-14 defeat.
“The stadium was mostly Notre Dame fans, and they stuck it out pretty well,” says Connor, whose family also attended numerous games during the season. “We were in a section with a lot of (Notre Dame) parents, and you could feel their spirit drop a bit as the game wore on.”
But Nix recovered in time to accompany Kiah – a former softball standout and Argus Leader Academic All-Star – back to Sioux Falls for a few days before classes in South Bend resume next week.
On Thursday, he made a splash at O’Gorman by showing up in the school gym as Chandler, a freshman basketball player, showed up for practice.
“The kids loved it,” said Connor. “They all knew who he was, because there are a lot of Notre Dame fans there. They thought it was pretty cool.”
Asked if Nix shot some hoops with the Knights, Schaefbauer said: “He shot a little bit, but he was pretty sore from the big game.”
