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!

@kinglouie posted this but it deserves its own thread.

 

And thanks @Watusi for pointing it out.

Zeke took a beating online and in the media because of his past. Part of the problem of being a high profile recruit is you live your life under the microscope, and when you make mistakes they are magnified. Life is hard enough at that age, throw in addiction, grief and personal setbacks and I can imagine it can become unbearable.

 

This is good news and I sincerely hope Zeke has his compass pointed north now and he is able to continue to live a successful life and leave his demons behind. It says a lot about his development that he is working to help others, both in prison and now with youngsters. Kudos to him.

Zeke took a beating online and in the media because of his past. Part of the problem of being a high profile recruit is you live your life under the microscope, and when you make mistakes they are magnified. Life is hard enough at that age, throw in addiction, grief and personal setbacks and I can imagine it can become unbearable.

 

This is good news and I sincerely hope Zeke has his compass pointed north now and he is able to continue to live a successful life and leave his demons behind. It says a lot about his development that he is working to help others, both in prison and now with youngsters. Kudos to him.

 

Very well put and I second the motion Watusi.

 

Good luck Zeke.

I wish the best for him. Seems to know that he screwed up. Addiction is a lifetime problem so hopefully his ministry will help give him some purpose and he will keep fighting.

Is there a contact so that he might speak to other teams in The KY...NCKY specifically...or please share mine with him.

@kinglouie posted this but it deserves its own thread.

 

And thanks @Watusi for pointing it out.

 

I posted about him going to schools a few months ago talking to kids.

Definitely a must read. Thanks for posting.

I read the article on Facebook. There would be nothing worse as a parent than to see your child spiral out of control. Praying for Zeke. Praying for his family also. His Dad helped coach at Dixie. Zeke, wishing you nothing but the best in 2017. You can do this!

Great article. Hopefully, everyone who took every chance to roast Zeke and his parents takes the time to read the article. Hopefully he can stay on the right track and continue to contribute positively to society.

Hoping for the best but withholding comment for now.

Hoping for the best but withholding comment for now.

 

Agreed.

Like mentioned earlier it will be a lifelong struggle for Zeke to stay on the right path and fight his demons but he is certainly headed in the right direction. He is a lucky young man to still be alive after contemplating suicide. A lot of young people don't get a second chance and here's hoping he makes the most of his.

Have seen this all over social media today. Also heard a couple months ago he was in the process of "righting" his ship!

 

I have no expectation and will continue to lift this young man up in prayer. Stay the course...:thumb:

He was given so much and squandered it all. I was pretty critical of him for a long time. I hope this is the real deal this time. No one can help addicts better than someone who has been there. Best of luck to him, and I mean that sincerely.