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Bo Nix’s brother, Caleb, played his second game of the 2024 season for the Clemson Tigers on Saturday in a matchup with Appalachian State. He received some unfortunate news after the fact.
The safety’s year has come to an official end after learning he’d torn his ACL. That injury reportedly occurred on the very first play of the contest.
Despite the setback, Nix played the entire game. He wasn’t heading to the sidelines!
Dabo Swinney says backup DB Caleb Nix — a walk-on and the younger bro of Broncos QB Bo Nix — tore his ACL on the first play of the App State but played the whole game with the injury. They didn’t figure out until this morning Nix was hurt. He just felt a little off mid game
-Chapel Fowler / X: @chapelfowler
Nix said he felt some discomfort in his knee after that first play, but it wasn’t enough to bring him off the field. He played through the pain, mostly in a special teams capacity.
While he wouldn’t record any official stats, he certainly made an impact on head coach Dabo Swinney.
“He played the whole game with a torn ACL, on all the special teams – I’m talking covering kicks, the whole deal,” Swinney said after learning of the injury. “He just kept playing and didn’t really say anything to anybody. He thought he just hyperextended his knee…
“Caleb’s a starter on all of our special teams and a backup safety. You just hate it for [him]… [he’s] put so much into it.”
The news is unfortunate, but it doesn’t take away from what Caleb Nix has accomplished.
Obviously, we’ve all heard of his Heisman candidate brother, Bo, who’s now with the Denver Broncos in the NFL. The younger Nix started his career as a walk-on quarterback at Clemson in 2022 despite boasting offers from the likes of Louisiana-Monroe and Troy.
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As a high school senior, he threw for nearly 2,900 yards and piled up 38 touchdown passes. He added 12 more scores on the ground to show off his versatility.
Nix made the switch to defense upon signing with the Tigers and has since seen action in 10 games.
Hopefully, we’ll see him make a speedy recovery to get back on the field in 2025.