Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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had swung in his favor. "I would have got Louis Nix to play for 67 plays, at minimum, every game," he said. "He's just a great personality and the guys got a kick out of it. I thought it was a great way to finish up the spring." One reporter asked Nix if Temple, Notre Dame's opponent in the 2013 season opener, should be worried about the possibility of another cameo on offense. "That's something all teams need to be scared of, everybody, including you," Nix deadpanned. Patience Pays Off Some folks scratched their heads when it was announced defensive tackle Tyler Stockton was granted a fifth year of eligibility. The 6-0, 284-pounder appeared in just six games as a sophomore in 2010 with only one career tackle to his credit. Other than starring in the weekly "Trick Shot Monday" video series — a locker room contest testing players' abilities at bouncing a ping pong ball off various inanimate objects into a paper cup — Stockton's claim to fame was being named Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year in 2012. He registered six tackles and two sacks in the spring game, however, and his leadership has been acknowledged throughout the spring. "We have to establish our brotherhood again and we had to pick up," senior nose guard Louis Nix III said. "Guys like Tyler Stockton, you don't hear his name much but he's the guy, he's the heartbeat of our D‑line," Nix said. "You hear a lot about me making Tyler Stockton, a fifth-year senior defensive tackle who was the Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year in 2012, registered six tackles and two sacks in the spring game. PHOTO by bill panzica plays. But he's the one that keeps us together, we hang out a lot, he's the guy that we look up to a lot, because he has a lot of stress off the field. He's trying to get his MBA. He shows us how much he works off the field, and he did all he could to get us here and he got it, and he's worked all spring and he's actually been doing a great job. "Today he had two sacks and I think that was a good push. I think we'll be better if we just keep doing what we do and just keep playing Notre Dame football. If we don't, we won't be as good as last year."