Zajicek is walking the talk

[Benard]

There's a reason Nebraska receiver Ben Zajicek holds himself to a high standard off the football field, demanding that he take all the proper paths through life.

 

 

Ben Zajicek talks to fifth-graders at Lincoln's Belmont Elementary School. "His sincerity sticks out to me," said Keith Zimmer, NU's assistant athletic director for student life. "He'll spend a little extra time with kids and make them feel special."

 

As one of the Huskers who speak often in the community - whose message to students is to make the right choice and not the popular choice - he believes that's the way it has to be.

 

"I think you need to practice what you preach," he said. "That shows true character in a person."

 

Zajicek has been visiting elementary and high schools throughout his NU football career. The fifth-year senior from Beatrice, Neb., also is an active volunteer in several outreach programs.

 

What he tries to get across each time out is that kids simply need to do the right thing.

 

"There's a lot of peer pressure out there, and that's something that's really powerful," he said. "Dare to be different, which is something that's really hard to do nowadays. I just try to relay a message that it's OK to be that way."

 

Zajicek's football career has been stung by injury problems and now a change in offenses. The receiver has appeared in just one game this season.

 

But he continues to do more than his share away from football, said Keith Zimmer, NU's assistant athletic director for student life.

 

ben