Originally committed to the University of Miami, Nix surprisingly switched his pledge to Notre Dame on Dec. 1, 2009 without a head coach in place for the Irish following the dismissal of Charlie Weis but before the hiring of Brian Kelly.
Projected as a defensive tackle, Nix is a consensus top 10 player nationally at his position. Rivals ranked him No. 7, Scout No. 9 and ESPN No. 6. Overall, he ranked No. 59 nationally according to the Sporting News Top 100 list. The ESPNU 150 lists Nix at No. 64, Rivals at No. 85 and at No. 102 by Scout. SI.com/TAKKLE ranks him No. 108. Nix was unanimously rated as a four-star player by ESPN, Rivals and Scout.
After his senior season, Nix was named to the Florida Super 75 and the Jacksonville Super 24 teams by the Jacksonville Times-Union. He was also tabbed as a SuperPrep All-American. The publication also ranked him as the eighth-best defensive tackle nationally.
He capped his prep career with an appearance in the 2010 Under Armour All-America Game in St. Petersburg, Fla.
By The Numbers: Nix recorded 50 tackles and 10 sacks last fall. As a junior, he tallied 60 tackles and 10 sacks and was named second-team all-First Coast by the Jacksonville Times-Union.
Elston on Nix: “We hit it off right away. He enjoyed the candor I talked to him with. He’s a very infectious young man. He smiles a lot, he’s funny. At first he was a little reserved … I’m not trying to be a 40-year-old friend to him, He realizes I’m going to be his coach, his mentor, but he gets that and he’s just a fun-loving kid who wants to be as good as he can be. I gave him a few things to work on. He has some size … he’s 6-3. I was expecting 6-1. Good size, long arms, big shoulders.”
Bruce Heggie Jr.
DL
6-6, 240
Sorrento, FL (Mount Dora)
Heggie is another prospect that began to receive attention from Notre Dame following the hire of Brian Kelly.
Projected as a defensive end, Heggie flew under the radar throughout much of his recruitment and went unranked by the major recruiting services. Rivals and Scout both rated him as a two-star prospect.
He played both offense and defense last fall at Mount Dora High School. Following his senior season, Heggie was honored as a first-team all-Lake/Sumter Counties selection as an offensive lineman/tight end by the Orlando Sentinel. He also received honorable mention all-area accolades from the Southlake Press following the 2009 season.
In addition, Heggie was named academic all-state while currently ranking No. 10 in his senior class academically with 4.2 grade-point average.
By The Numbers: Heggie caught 16 passes for 160 yards and three touchdowns at tight end in 2009 while totaling four sacks as defensive end after missing the first three games of the season due to injury.
Elston on Heggie Jr.: “At Cincinnati we were going to take three defensive ends and we committed three very early in the recruiting process. We wanted to move to four but didn’t have another scholarship for him, so we have a little history. We did our research and he fit a profile for us. He can be 6-4, 270 in the blink of an eye when he works hard. He can be a defensive end, he can be an offensive tackle, he can be a tight end. He’s going to play multiple positions for us on special teams … I see a guy that could play 15-20 snaps (per game) of football for us in two to three years — and that’s a lot of football. He’s a great student, great character kid, and he works harder than anyone else at that school. You talk to the guidance counselor, the principal, the coach, the players, everybody loves him there. He fits a lot of spots for us.”
Projected as a defensive end, Schwenke ranks as the No. 34 player nationally at his position by Rivals while Scout and ESPN rank him No. 33 and No. 61, respectively. Rivals also ranked him as the fourth-best player from the state of Hawaii and rated him as a three-star prospect. Scout rated him as a four-star player while ESPN gave him three stars.
After Schwenke helped lead Kahuka to the Hawaii state championship game and 12-1 record as senior, he was selected as the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red East defensive player of year for 2009 as Kahuku claimed OIA crown. In addition, Schwenke was named as a first-team Hawaii all-state selection for 2009 as a defensive lineman by the Honolulu Advertiser. He was also named second-team all-state as a senior by the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, and was one of 14 defensive linemen from 11 Western states selected to Western 100 team.
He participated in 2009 Hawaii/Polynesia vs. Mainland Bowl to cap his prep career.
By The Numbers: Schwenke was limited during the regular season with a shoulder injury, but he came back strong in the postseason, including six tackles, four for loss, and two sacks in Kahuku's 24-20 victory over Leilehua to earn 2009 OIA Red Conference title.
Elston on Schwenke: “He was doing some things on film that it’s exciting to get in here. He’s as athletic a defensive end that I had seen in the short period of time I’ve been at Notre Dame. Very athletic, long arms, can do all the jobs we’re going to ask him to do. He’s going to be weak as a freshman. He’s going to have to come in, develop and get stronger.”
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