By the way. A huge red flag for me as a parent would have been when his girlfriend ODed and killed herself.

 

The UofL cheerleader? I heard he was connected but didn't realize they were dating.

The UofL cheerleader? I heard he was connected but didn't realize they were dating.

 

Yup.

Needs to be off the streets before he harms someone innocent. I Feel sorry for his family, not so much him anymore.

 

I will continue to pray for this young man, however, I'm in World B Frees camp on this issue. Get well, healthy, and sober!

He needs intense counseling period. Clearly he has issues that likely can be traced to his early childhood and then mix in watchinh your girlfriend OD and die takes the cake.

He needs intense counseling period. Clearly he has issues that likely can be traced to his early childhood and then mix in watchinh your girlfriend OD and die takes the cake.

 

Wasn't he just in LA at some treatment center recently? if so, I'd ask for a refund.

Wasn't he just in LA at some treatment center recently? if so, I'd ask for a refund.

 

He must have went to that sham Passages Malibu or whatever.

To echo everyone else, sad news, but not unexpected. Prayers to the family, I cant imagine the pain they are suffering. Had a close relative with similar issues, was sent to jail for 9 months, no one bailed him out....he had a passionate hatred for us for about the first 3 months, then started to figure it out. He has been clean and sober for 4 years now.....says jail saved his life. Hope they administer tough love to give the young man a chance.

Any update on this?

Zeke has turned his life around and is now going around talking to kids at schools. He recently talked to kids at SK. Very happy for him and hope he can make his life better.

Zeke has turned his life around and is now going around talking to kids at schools. He recently talked to kids at SK. Very happy for him and hope he can make his life better.

 

Hopefully some kids listen to his story.

 

Hopefully Zeke stays clean and figures it out. Still a lot of life ahead of him. Glad to see he's not afraid to get out and tell his story to help others.

Is that something he's doing on his own or court ordered community service?

 

Hopefully he can stay on the right track and enjoy a long an fruitful life.

Is that something he's doing on his own or court ordered community service?

 

Hopefully he can stay on the right track and enjoy a long an fruitful life.

 

I believe on his own.

Zeke has turned his life around and is now going around talking to kids at schools. He recently talked to kids at SK. Very happy for him and hope he can make his life better.

His name came up today in conversation. Heard the same thing, that he has his stuff together. Glad to hear it.

Glad to hear this about him, hopefully he stays on the right track.

Looks like Zeke hit rock bottom, and is finally making positive progress!!!

 

Long article but very good read. I did not include all of it below.

 

After years of addiction and tragedy, former star recruit Zeke Pike is finding his way back | FOX Sports

 

Zeke Pike sat on the patio behind his home in Murray, Ky., and tried to work up the courage to kill himself. He held a 9mm pistol in his right hand. He hadn’t slept in three days; the amount of Xanax he’d consumed kept him in a fuzzy haze.

 

Pike was once an All-American quarterback at Dixie Heights High School in Northern Kentucky. For a brief time, he was compared to Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton at Auburn. Murray State was Pike’s last chance at redemption after dismissals from Auburn and Louisville, but an arrest on drug charges seven months before this March 7 morning ended his football career..........

 

 

Where did it go right for Zeke Pike?

 

On a recent Wednesday afternoon in December, Pike sat in the conference room of his father’s gym and explained Number8 Ministries. He founded the ministry in October, just a month after he left prison. The name represents new beginnings.

 

“New beginnings are possible,” Pike said. “New beginnings can be created any day. You just have to choose to start a new beginning.”

 

Pike’s new beginning came in the Marion County Detention Center. He took the time to repair his relationship with God while incarcerated. He grew up in church and his grandfather, Harold, has been a baptist minister for 50 years. In prison, Pike, the youngest of 40 men in his block, wrote detailed sermons about his life and held bible studies for other prisoners.

 

“I was able to help a lot of people in there,” Pike said. “It was humbling. To be able to get away from the world for those six and a half months while I was in Marion was much needed.”

 

But when those six and a half months were over, Pike needed something that would keep him on the right track in his new life.

 

“That’s kinda how my ministry came about,” Pike said. “‘What am I going to do for the rest of my life that can help me remain accountable but give back to others and help others not have to suffer or go through the same things that I’ve gone through or make the same decisions that I’ve made?”

 

Pike has shared his story with 12 Kentucky high schools to this point. He’s scheduled to travel to more schools in Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama in January. Pike’s message focuses on addiction, redemption and motivation. Cameron Racke, a quarterback at Simon Kenton High School in Northern Kentucky, heard Pike’s message earlier this fall.

 

“What stuck with me the most was just seeing him grow,” Racke said. “I was a little kid (in the area) and really looked up to him. He played quarterback just like me so it was pretty awesome to have him talk to our team. He told us ‘Don’t be like everyone else, just be yourself.’”

 

Pike has come to grips with how his football career ended. He wishes he understood the opportunities he was given, but said he was too young and immature to take advantage of them. Pike hasn’t totally ruled out playing again. He’s looked into options at the Division II level or perhaps trying for an NFL tryout, but if not he’s content in ministry.

 

“He’s found a purpose,” Mark Pike said. “Are you making a difference? That’s what it’s really all about. I think he gets that now. He gets that this was a hard road. But I feel that he clearly knows there’s a purpose for his life that’s bigger and better than anything football could have given him.”

 

Mark and Zeke recently closed on a house and plan to turn it into a sober living home where six to eight men will live. The name of the home, Zeke said with a smile, will be Dani’s House.

 

Derek Terry is SI's campus correspondent for the University of Kentucky. Follow him on Twitter.

 

Finally some good news about this young man who was blessed with all the potential in the world. Glad to hear and hoping that Zeke continues down this path. Congrats to he and his family!