Husker_Power
Starter
Published Thursday | August 23, 2007
BY RICH KAIPUST
LINK
LINCOLN — The view from Section 38 always seemed special to Ben Eisenhart.
Not because the family season tickets were great seats. The north end zone of Memorial Stadium isn't quite the 50-yard line or some modernized skybox.
It was more that Eisenhart could see things from there that others could not. Like himself in a Husker football uniform.
"It was my dream forever to play at Nebraska," he said.
Things had come full circle, then, when Eisenhart stood on the turf recently and pointed to the old seats. As NU fan day started and kids hurried in wearing red jerseys, the fifth-year senior from Culbertson could tell them all about dreams they should never ignore.
"I always tell them it's about a little ability and a lot of determination," he said.
Eisenhart is far from the first feel-good story of a small-town Nebraskan stepping into big-time football. His is just fresh, and filled with timeliness, because his role is hard to overlook for next season.
The 5-foot-11, 200-pounder again will appear on a number of special teams, where he's accumulated the majority of his 26 career tackles. But he's also stayed in contention for playing time at safety, where he's practiced off and on with both the No. 1 and No. 2 units along with scholarship players such as Tierre Green, Larry Asante, Bryan Wilson and Rickey Thenarse.
"He does everything," NU assistant coach Bill Busch said. "We love Ben Eisenhart on this staff because he's what Nebraska football is all about."
That last comment likely means more to Eisenhart than anything else anybody could say.
The former Class D-2 all-stater was a freshman walk-on during the head coaching change from Frank Solich to Bill Callahan. So he was lodged in the middle of the controversy regarding the future of walk-ons in the program.
"It wasn't one of those deals where they bring you into the office and say you're cut," Eisenhart said. "But they put us through a pretty intense two-week deal. I remember some 4:30 (a.m.) running. It wasn't like football stuff, more running and conditioning. It was my worst two weeks on the team.
"It was new coaches, and you didn't know anybody. We're like, 'Man, are we going to do this all the time?' But they wanted to see what they had."
Eisenhart figured he could stick because he would test out well. He was a record-setting tailback in high school and twice an all-class gold medalist in the long jump, beating Green by an inch his junior year at the state track meet.
But about 40 players decided to quit.
"It got rid of the guys who were just on the team to be on the team," Eisenhart said. "Coach said, 'I can't have 180 guys.' It was just one of those deals — you either belong or you don't belong."
Surviving only meant a spot on the roster. Eisenhart wanted more, and practiced that way. He wasn't afraid to hit somebody a little harder in practice, even if he wasn't sure whether it would raise an eyebrow or draw a glare from the coaching staff.
It was only last week that Eisenhart clobbered Marlon Lucky in practice, depositing the I-back in a temporary state of unconsciousness. Tongue-in-cheek, Callahan called Eisenhart "the Assassin" and told him to stay away from his I-backs.
"Ben's a collision player, no doubt about that," Busch said. "Ben's a guy who's always going to be around the ball. When we grade out film, he's involved in plays. He's at the point of attack.
"He's one of those guys: It's Nebraska first, body second."
Coming out of Culbertson — about 10 miles west of McCook — Eisenhart could have forgotten about all those Saturdays in Section 38 and picked the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Chadron State or the University of Nebraska at Kearney. UNK told him he could play wherever he wanted to play.
But there was no second-guessing his decision when Callahan brought Eisenhart in front of the team in August 2006 and said he would finish his NU career on scholarship. Until freshman Jared Crick of Cozad arrived, he was the only scholarship Husker from west of Grand Island.
"I'm sure when we got here that Ben had no idea what was going to happen," said Busch, part of the rebuilt staff hired in January 2004. "He just worked. He did all the right things."
There's still room for stories such as his, Eisenhart said. Among current walk-ons, Eisenhart, Todd Peterson and Dan Erickson are Nebraskans who have been elevated to scholarship status.
"Ben's a player, regardless of how you slice it," Green said. "In another situation, he may be playing a lot more. I admire those guys, especially a guy like that who's stuck it out all five years and is still contributing."
BY RICH KAIPUST
LINK
LINCOLN — The view from Section 38 always seemed special to Ben Eisenhart.
Not because the family season tickets were great seats. The north end zone of Memorial Stadium isn't quite the 50-yard line or some modernized skybox.
It was more that Eisenhart could see things from there that others could not. Like himself in a Husker football uniform.
"It was my dream forever to play at Nebraska," he said.
Things had come full circle, then, when Eisenhart stood on the turf recently and pointed to the old seats. As NU fan day started and kids hurried in wearing red jerseys, the fifth-year senior from Culbertson could tell them all about dreams they should never ignore.
"I always tell them it's about a little ability and a lot of determination," he said.
Eisenhart is far from the first feel-good story of a small-town Nebraskan stepping into big-time football. His is just fresh, and filled with timeliness, because his role is hard to overlook for next season.
The 5-foot-11, 200-pounder again will appear on a number of special teams, where he's accumulated the majority of his 26 career tackles. But he's also stayed in contention for playing time at safety, where he's practiced off and on with both the No. 1 and No. 2 units along with scholarship players such as Tierre Green, Larry Asante, Bryan Wilson and Rickey Thenarse.
"He does everything," NU assistant coach Bill Busch said. "We love Ben Eisenhart on this staff because he's what Nebraska football is all about."
That last comment likely means more to Eisenhart than anything else anybody could say.
The former Class D-2 all-stater was a freshman walk-on during the head coaching change from Frank Solich to Bill Callahan. So he was lodged in the middle of the controversy regarding the future of walk-ons in the program.
"It wasn't one of those deals where they bring you into the office and say you're cut," Eisenhart said. "But they put us through a pretty intense two-week deal. I remember some 4:30 (a.m.) running. It wasn't like football stuff, more running and conditioning. It was my worst two weeks on the team.
"It was new coaches, and you didn't know anybody. We're like, 'Man, are we going to do this all the time?' But they wanted to see what they had."
Eisenhart figured he could stick because he would test out well. He was a record-setting tailback in high school and twice an all-class gold medalist in the long jump, beating Green by an inch his junior year at the state track meet.
But about 40 players decided to quit.
"It got rid of the guys who were just on the team to be on the team," Eisenhart said. "Coach said, 'I can't have 180 guys.' It was just one of those deals — you either belong or you don't belong."
Surviving only meant a spot on the roster. Eisenhart wanted more, and practiced that way. He wasn't afraid to hit somebody a little harder in practice, even if he wasn't sure whether it would raise an eyebrow or draw a glare from the coaching staff.
It was only last week that Eisenhart clobbered Marlon Lucky in practice, depositing the I-back in a temporary state of unconsciousness. Tongue-in-cheek, Callahan called Eisenhart "the Assassin" and told him to stay away from his I-backs.
"Ben's a collision player, no doubt about that," Busch said. "Ben's a guy who's always going to be around the ball. When we grade out film, he's involved in plays. He's at the point of attack.
"He's one of those guys: It's Nebraska first, body second."
Coming out of Culbertson — about 10 miles west of McCook — Eisenhart could have forgotten about all those Saturdays in Section 38 and picked the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Chadron State or the University of Nebraska at Kearney. UNK told him he could play wherever he wanted to play.
But there was no second-guessing his decision when Callahan brought Eisenhart in front of the team in August 2006 and said he would finish his NU career on scholarship. Until freshman Jared Crick of Cozad arrived, he was the only scholarship Husker from west of Grand Island.
"I'm sure when we got here that Ben had no idea what was going to happen," said Busch, part of the rebuilt staff hired in January 2004. "He just worked. He did all the right things."
There's still room for stories such as his, Eisenhart said. Among current walk-ons, Eisenhart, Todd Peterson and Dan Erickson are Nebraskans who have been elevated to scholarship status.
"Ben's a player, regardless of how you slice it," Green said. "In another situation, he may be playing a lot more. I admire those guys, especially a guy like that who's stuck it out all five years and is still contributing."
