FCA Husker Tour: A night of faith, fellowship and fun

Steve Kodad/McCook Daily Gazette University of Nebraska football players Ray Helu, Jr. (white cap), Marcel Jones and Rex Burkhead (red cap) chat with local fans and sign autographs at the 2010 Husker FCA Fifth Quarter at the McCook Senior High gym Feb. 5. A large crowd stayed after the McCook-Ogallala boys basketball game to listen to the Husker players talk about their religious faith and how that translates into their experiences on the football field. [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Several University of Nebraska football players offered testimonials on their religious beliefs and how their respective faiths carry over to the gridiron during the 2010 FCA Husker Tour Friday, Feb.5.

The FCA Husker Fifth Quarter was held at the McCook Senior High School gym following the McCook-Ogallala boys basketball game. The event was sponsored by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Husker football players Rex Burkhead, Nick Failla, Eric Hagg, Roy Helu, Jr., and Marcel Jones, and representatives of the Husker FCA chapter spoke to an enthusiastic crowd at Friday's presentation. The players each talked about their religious beliefs and their personal relationships with Jesus Christ, and how relates to their personal lives and their experiences on the football field.

Steve Kodad/McCook Daily Gazette University of Nebraska defensive safety Erig Hagg talks to the crowd at last Friday night's FCA Husker Fifth Quarter at the Senior High gym. [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

NU chaplain Matt Penland, a former Husker player, told the crowd that most kids come to the Lincoln campus on the Burger King Plan -- Have it your way.

"God wants us to have it our way, but he wants us to do it his way," Penland said.

The players also had several games for the young and old audience members to participate in Friday, and the players signed autographs at the conclusion of the program.

Fantastic freshman

Rex Burkhead burst onto the Husker football scene in a big way last fall. The freshman from Plano, Texas made a huge impact in his first year as a Husker running back. NU fans will remember Burkhead's performance running from the 'Wildcat' formation against Arizona in Nebraska's 33-0 Holiday Bowl victory. Burkhead is looking forward to more surprise Wildcat plays in the Husker offense next season.

"It was fun, we'd been practicing that for awhile, but we never brought it out," he said. "So to actually run a little bit and get to a rhythm with it, you kind of feel like the quarterback back there. It was a new experience. It was fun. Hopefully we'll put some passes in in the off-season, mix it up so (opponents) don't think it's a run every time. It should be good."

Faith starts early

The talented sophomore-to-be said he was involved in religion from an early age, but he didn't really understand the true meaning of his relationship with Christ until later.

"I've always grown up in a Christian home," he said. "My parents, we went to church every Sunday. I really didn't understand what it meant to accept Christ into your life. I was confirmed in the seventh grade, but I still really didn't get a grasp of it. Going into the tenth grade I went to a little church retreat down in Florida, Panama City. There I kind of got an understanding of what it meant to be -- God died for the foregiveness of our sins and eternal life. That's when I accepted Him and I've really just been on a journey since. There's ups and downs all the time, but I'm still learning each and every day."

In a personal interview after Friday's autograph session, the 5-11, 200-pound running back said his religious faith helps him succeed on the football battlefield.

"I'm not the biggest guy out on the field. You've got to have a little something else in you helps you get the job done," Burkhead said. "With me, that's Christ. We always talk about Him being the most fearless guy out on the field, so I kind of try and take that mindset. I can't have that 100-percent fearlessness like He did, because none of us is perfect like He was, but I just try to be that way."

After Burkhead suffered through an early-season injury, he came on strong and became a key factor in the Husker offense late last fall. Rex said he didn't expect to play so much in his first season in Lincoln.

"I really didn't expect it. I didn't know if I was going to redshirt or even vie for some playing time, or play special teams or what," Burkhead said. "My main thought coming in was to just help out the team in whatever way I could. Just to get the opportunity to play was great, for the coaching staff to have faith in me to get on the field, I just thank them."

Sea of Red

Burkhead experienced plenty of faithful, loud crowds in football-crazy Texas during his prep career. But nothing like the first time he entered Memorial Stadium and witnessed first-hand the famous NU Sea of Red.

"It was something else, running out on the red carpet, touching the horseshoe (above the locker room door) -- I get chills even thinking about it," he said. "To actually experience it was a dream come true, walking out there slapping hands with the fans right there, running out there seeing the Sea of Red, it's an unbelievable feeling, it's indescribable, really."

Like everyone else associated with Nebraska football, Burkhead thought the Huskers had beaten Texas in the Big 12 Championship Game when Colt McCoy's last-second pass went out of bounds and the clock had ran out.

"I thought the game was over," he said. "Right when I saw the ref kind of wave his hands that the game was over, I thought, 'Man, this is unreal!' Then I saw them waving for everyone to get off the field, 'Oh my gosh!' But that's how the game's played. They won, we can't take it back, it is what it is. It was a tough feeling, but hopefully we'll get back at them this year, get a chance to get back at them."

Burkhead will like battle with Roy Helu, Jr., for the starting running back spot in spring drills. Rex said he and Helu and great friends, and he welcomes the competition.

"When I was injured he was always keeping me positive," Burkhead said. "Then he was going through so many injuries, I was trying to keep him positive as well.

"College football, or the NFL, now you have to have multiple backs. It's competitive back there, and each and every day we compete with each other. At the same time, we're best of friends. So that makes coming to practice every day just that much more enjoyable, to know you have a guy by your side that cares as much about the game as you, or wants to win as bad as you."

Success equals hard work

Hopes are high in Huskerland for more success in the coming years, and Burkhead will surely be a key player in Nebraska's continued rise in the college football ranks. But he knows that any success his team enjoys in the coming seasons will be predicated on the hard work he and his teammates put in during the off-season.

"It looks like we have a great future, but you've got to work hard in the off-season and keep up the hard work throughout practices (in-season)," he said. "It's tough to get in that run for the national championship every year. Our first main goal is to win the Big 12 North, then the Big 12 (Championship Game), then whatever comes after that, so be it. We definitely have goals on our minds and we're striving each and every day to get them done."

The Huskers are currently working in winter conditioning, with the start of spring football practices upcoming in late March. After the conclusion of the spring semester, Burkhead said he will get a few days to return home to Texas before coming back to Lincoln to resume summer team workouts in preparation for the 2010 fall campaign.