Following Ben Eisenhart: Parents travel to home and away games to see Husker senior, Culbertson alum

Their commitment to following Ben already has taken Rusty and Annette from coast to coast, with trips to Winston Salem, N.C. and Los Angeles, Cal. among their travels.

The Eisenharts have also made six trips to Texas, four to Kansas, three to Missouri, two to Iowa, Colorado and Oklahoma, as well as one trip each to Pennsylvania, California and North Carolina.

Ben Eisenhart

"We're not alone." Rusty said. ""There are about a dozen other families from Nebraska who are faithful followers of the Huskers and their sons. Annette and I have made some good friends on the many trips we have made with other players' parents."

In Ben's years at the university, the Eisenharts have become acquainted with a number of Husker players.

This past summer, Sean Hill, Corey McKeon, Andy Sand and Todd Peterson were visitors in Culbertson during the Fourth of July celebration.

During Ben's Husker career, he has made a name for himself on special teams, seeing duty on both kickoffs and punts.

Ben was a walk-on during the final year of Frank Solich's time at Nebraska. He red-shirted that first year, then began getting playing time during Bill Callahan's first year: 2004.

Because of his dedicated play, Ben was awarded a scholarship in advance of his junior year. He led the Huskers' special teams in tackles in 2006 with 13 stops.

He saw playing time in the defensive backfield in the Wake Forest game, stepping in when Tierre Green was injured.

Ben received national television exposure in that game on a near interception late in the game.

The interception was overturned, with officials ruling that the ball touched the ground before being picked off by Eisenhart.

Ben is 5-foot-11 and weighs 200 pounds. He has 4.5 speed in the 40.

He played high school football at Culbertson High School, where he earned all-state honors his junior and senior years.

He was also a track standout, winning the Nebraska all-class gold medal in the long jump in 2002 and 2003.

Ben is a history major at UNL. He will graduate in December.