Big Red Diaries: Ben Eisenhart
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By the Lincoln Journal Star
Ben Eisenhart is a fifth-year senior from Culbertson. The former walk-on earned a scholarship before the 2006 season and has been a starter on special teams since his sophomore season. At Culbertson, Eisenhart played eight-man football and was a two-time all-state player. He rushed for 2,336 yards his senior season and finished his high school career with 22 interceptions.
Eisenhart saw the most action of his Nebraska career Saturday against Wake Forest, when he replaced injured safety Tierre Green early in the third quarter. He played every down for the Blackshirts thereafter, tying a career high with four tackles. Eisenhart thought he’d clinched Nebraska’s 20-17 victory with an interception off a tipped ball in the final minute; however, replay officials overturned the play.
The Journal Star’s Brian Rosenthal visited with Eisenhart on Tuesday. The conversation began with Eisenhart’s thoughts on his near-interception.
“I had the game recorded on my TV when I got home, so I watched it when I got home. I went to the play immediately. I still can’t see how … I don’t know how it ever hit the ground, but we won, and that’s all that matters. There’s a shadow in the one part where maybe you could tell whether it hit the ground.”
“I love special teams. I think that’s the most fun, when you get a full run and get to run into somebody. It’s a big game-changing play on field position and stuff, and I’ve always enjoyed it. I’ve been a starter on special teams since I was a sophomore. That’s always been my way of getting in the game.”
“The biggest game I’ve ever been to here was the ’01 OU-Nebraska game. But I can remember so many games, when Colorado and K-State were always ranked in those mid-, late ’90s. We always beat ’em here. Those were big games.”
“Coach (Bill) Busch is a very hyper guy. He loves football and he knows a lot about it, so he’s really upbeat. Special-teams meeting, he’s talking real fast, firing off the wall. He’s just that type of guys. He loves football, and he knows a lot about special teams. He’s one of those guys who loves Nebraska. He grew up here.”
“I know both strong and free safety. Against Wake, I played free, but I can play strong, too. In our base defense, there’s really not a big difference, but in other certain coverages and stuff, one you may be manning up on somebody. With strong, you’re usually covering down on somebody on different stuff, and free safety you’re either in the middle of the field or just kind of more of a zone player.”
“Football has always mattered to me. My dad is a huge football fan. My grandpa played freshman ball here, and then he got drafted to World War II. It’s always been important to us. We’ve always had fun and been somewhat successful at it.”
“I was a running back and linebacker in high school, and I played both the kicker and punter and punt returner. I liked playing linebacker the most. Running back was fun, scoring touchdowns and everything was great, but I like hitting people. That’s the funnest out of all the things I do. That’s why I liked linebacker the most.”
“You know, I was a pretty good kicker when I was younger, because in Culbertson you don’t have a lot of people to play with. I had a ball, and I had the city park right across the street from my house, and I would punt back and forth. I’d punt to one side, and then I would punt back, I’d kick back and forth. There for a while I was pretty good, but when I got older and in high school and stuff, I started carrying more of the load running and playing linebacker and stuff, so I kind of got tired, and my kicking and punting went down. But when I was younger, that’s when I was the best.”
“It was always my dream to come here, and if they asked me to walk on, I was going to come here. They did that and I took the opportunity. But I had scholarship offers from UNO, UNK, Wayne State, Chadron, like all of the Division IIs. If I wasn’t coming to Nebraska, I probably would’ve gone to the University of Nebraska-Kearney. They acted the most interested. They said I could play basically whatever I wanted to play. They were good people. But I didn’t want to go through my life wondering if I could’ve played here or not, so that’s why I picked it.”
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