12-28-2016, 02:47 AM
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 hadnât slept in three days; the amount of Xanax heâd 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 Pikeâs 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.
The shame and guilt of throwing away his athletic ability weighed on his conscience. A lingering drug habit had forced his parents, Mark and Sharon Pike, to cut him off financially. He hadn't spoken to them in months.
Itâs better to be dead than alive, Pike thought. He switched the pistol off safety and raised it to his head. His heart raced and his mouth went dry.
âLord, if youâre out there show me. If youâre out there help me. Give me some type of sign. Otherwise this is the end.â
He took a deep breath and shut his eyes. Then his phone rang. He didnât recognize the number but answered it anyway. The voice on the other end needed a score, but Pike hung up. It was then that he decided he didnât want his parents to find him on his patio with his head blown off. Instead, heâd drive his gray Ford F-150 to the backwoods of Murrayâwhere he and a few friends used to shoot gunsâand end his life there. It could take days for anyone to find him so deep in the woods, which is what Pike wanted.
He took more Xanax before getting in his truck. A baggie of cocaine rested in his pocket and he stashed more marijuana behind him. Pike was blacking out from the drugs as he turned onto South 16th Street. As he glanced into his rearview mirror, he saw blue and red lights flashing. He pulled the car over.
âMr. Pike, can you step out of the vehicle?â the police officer asked.
It was Pikeâs fourth arrest since 2012. He would spend six months behind bars, but in that moment, he couldnât remember another time when he felt such relief. Zeke Pike knew he was not ready to die.
*****
Where did it go wrong for Zeke Pike?
Letâs start in a park. Pike was in his second year of seventh grade and most of his friends had moved on to eighth grade or high school. He struggled to fit in with his new classmates. Pike was with a friend when he saw a high school-aged kid he recognized smoking pot in President's Park. Pike tried the drug and instantly loved it. This, he thought, made him cool.
Pike continued to smoke weed and drink alcohol at parties through high school. Occasionally heâd try a pain pill. But it was on the football field where Pike made his name. He had the pedigree; His father Mark played 13 seasons as a defensive end for the Buffalo Bills and went to four Super Bowls. Zeke played defensive end until his junior season and then moved to quarterback, a perfect match from the start.
âA lot of schools that recruited (Zeke) loved that he wasnât trained (at quarterback),â Mark Pike said. âHe kinda had that skill set more naturally.â
Pike passed for 18 touchdowns and rushed for 17 more in his first season as starter. What followed were dozens of offers from college football royalty, and defending national champion Auburn stood out to Pike. Everyone knew the high school All-American quarterback when he visited The Plains.
âI got caught up in being treated like a superstar,â Pike said. âI got caught up in girls. I would go out to eat and sign autographs. I would take pictures with babies. I was just treated like a rock star.â
Finally, Pike found the approval heâd longed for since he was 13. After committing to Auburn his senior year, fans told him he would be the next Cam Newton. Pike enrolled early and made it through his first semester without any trouble off the field. Almost.
On June 6, 2012, Pike spent the night drinking with some friends at the lake before heading with two teammates to the bars in downtown Auburn. The three were stopped by Auburn police around 1 a.m. after a night of drinking. Pike said there were no altercationsâhe admits he was âprobably obnoxiousââbut five minutes later he was handcuffed and booked for public intoxication.
The next morning, Pike was bailed out of jail by a coach while news of his arrest flooded social media. For the first time his life was exposed publicly. After a meeting with Auburn coach Gene Chizik, Pike never returned to Auburn.
âI really wasnât ready for what I got myself into,â Pike said. âI didnât adapt quickly. Everything from school to just the lifestyle. I didnât handle it well.â
*****
Pike sought a fresh start and the University of Louisville offered it. He redshirted during the 2012 season and moved to tight end because future first-round pick Teddy Bridgewater was the starting quarterback. Pike finished with one reception in limited playing time during his freshman season.
It was off the field where Pike found happiness. He fell for Dani Cogswell, a cheerleader who transferred to Louisville from Arizona. She became Pikeâs best friend. âWe were really active,â Pike said. âWe loved working out, going hiking. Really anything outdoors and adventurous.â
There was just one problem: Pike started using Xanax. In the beginning he took enough to catch a buzz before going out with friends. But after a few months Pike was addicted. Instead of one 2 mg Xanax bar heâd take two or three. Itâs not just Pike; Cogswell also struggled with Xanax addiction. The two were together one night in 2013 when Pike drove home after taking Xanax. He blacked out on the way home and a telephone pole divided the car when he woke up. Miraculously, neither were injured.
âAfter I saw the car I just wanted to come and see that you were really alive,â The officer told them. âNeither one of you should be after seeing that car.â
Pike was charged with DUI and suspended from the team for the rest of the 2013 season. His name resurfaced in the media, and this time Pike read the headlines.
âI really am a screw up,â Pike said. âI really am a waste of talent. I really am blowing out. I started to believe those things.â
Pike was suspended at Louisville when coach Charlie Strong left for Texas, and he was not retained by incoming coach Bobby Petrino. Without football there was nothing to keep him from falling deeper into addiction. Xanax soothed the sting of scathing media criticism. Soon, Pike would frequently blackout, often unable to speak or function properly. His parents finally offered an ultimatum.
âYou either go to treatment or you donât come home and weâll be done with you,â Mark Pike told his son.
Pike left for Sober College in California in March 2014 and after five months, was clean for the first time in eight years. Pike did so well in California that he could go home for around a week in July. âWe had a great time,â Mark Pike said. âHe was just Zeke again.â They spent the week golfing, bowling and riding roller coasters at nearby Kings Island. Cogswell spent most of the week with him. She was with the family two days before Pike was to travel back to California.
Cogswell planned to drive to Louisville to get clothes and go back to Pikeâs house, but she decided to stay in Louisville that night and return the next day. Pike agreed to call her at 9:30 the next morning.
âI woke up at 9:33 and called her but she didnât answer,â Pike said. âDani always answered the phone even if she was sleeping. She would hear her phone and wake up, so I called her again and she didnât answer. Then I called her again and she still didnât answer.â
Concerned friends texted Pike to see if he knew of Cogswellâs whereabouts. One friend said police were outside of her home.
âI told my dad that we needed to go to Louisville because something inside me said something wasnât right,â Pike said.
His gut was correct. A police officer at the Louisville Police Department called Pike and informed him that Cogswell died from an accidental overdose. Heroin, amphetamines, marijuana and Xanax were in her body when she died according to toxicology reports, but heroin was the cause of her death. Cogswellâs death on July 28, 2014 occurs when Pike was slowly putting his life back together.
âThat kind of was like âMan, my life is going great, why is this happening to me?ââ Pike said. The pain was too much for Pike. He turned to marijuana for comfort, ending five months of sobriety.
http://www.si.com/college-football/2016/...-cardinals
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 Pikeâs 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.
The shame and guilt of throwing away his athletic ability weighed on his conscience. A lingering drug habit had forced his parents, Mark and Sharon Pike, to cut him off financially. He hadn't spoken to them in months.
Itâs better to be dead than alive, Pike thought. He switched the pistol off safety and raised it to his head. His heart raced and his mouth went dry.
âLord, if youâre out there show me. If youâre out there help me. Give me some type of sign. Otherwise this is the end.â
He took a deep breath and shut his eyes. Then his phone rang. He didnât recognize the number but answered it anyway. The voice on the other end needed a score, but Pike hung up. It was then that he decided he didnât want his parents to find him on his patio with his head blown off. Instead, heâd drive his gray Ford F-150 to the backwoods of Murrayâwhere he and a few friends used to shoot gunsâand end his life there. It could take days for anyone to find him so deep in the woods, which is what Pike wanted.
He took more Xanax before getting in his truck. A baggie of cocaine rested in his pocket and he stashed more marijuana behind him. Pike was blacking out from the drugs as he turned onto South 16th Street. As he glanced into his rearview mirror, he saw blue and red lights flashing. He pulled the car over.
âMr. Pike, can you step out of the vehicle?â the police officer asked.
It was Pikeâs fourth arrest since 2012. He would spend six months behind bars, but in that moment, he couldnât remember another time when he felt such relief. Zeke Pike knew he was not ready to die.
*****
Where did it go wrong for Zeke Pike?
Letâs start in a park. Pike was in his second year of seventh grade and most of his friends had moved on to eighth grade or high school. He struggled to fit in with his new classmates. Pike was with a friend when he saw a high school-aged kid he recognized smoking pot in President's Park. Pike tried the drug and instantly loved it. This, he thought, made him cool.
Pike continued to smoke weed and drink alcohol at parties through high school. Occasionally heâd try a pain pill. But it was on the football field where Pike made his name. He had the pedigree; His father Mark played 13 seasons as a defensive end for the Buffalo Bills and went to four Super Bowls. Zeke played defensive end until his junior season and then moved to quarterback, a perfect match from the start.
âA lot of schools that recruited (Zeke) loved that he wasnât trained (at quarterback),â Mark Pike said. âHe kinda had that skill set more naturally.â
Pike passed for 18 touchdowns and rushed for 17 more in his first season as starter. What followed were dozens of offers from college football royalty, and defending national champion Auburn stood out to Pike. Everyone knew the high school All-American quarterback when he visited The Plains.
âI got caught up in being treated like a superstar,â Pike said. âI got caught up in girls. I would go out to eat and sign autographs. I would take pictures with babies. I was just treated like a rock star.â
Finally, Pike found the approval heâd longed for since he was 13. After committing to Auburn his senior year, fans told him he would be the next Cam Newton. Pike enrolled early and made it through his first semester without any trouble off the field. Almost.
On June 6, 2012, Pike spent the night drinking with some friends at the lake before heading with two teammates to the bars in downtown Auburn. The three were stopped by Auburn police around 1 a.m. after a night of drinking. Pike said there were no altercationsâhe admits he was âprobably obnoxiousââbut five minutes later he was handcuffed and booked for public intoxication.
The next morning, Pike was bailed out of jail by a coach while news of his arrest flooded social media. For the first time his life was exposed publicly. After a meeting with Auburn coach Gene Chizik, Pike never returned to Auburn.
âI really wasnât ready for what I got myself into,â Pike said. âI didnât adapt quickly. Everything from school to just the lifestyle. I didnât handle it well.â
*****
Pike sought a fresh start and the University of Louisville offered it. He redshirted during the 2012 season and moved to tight end because future first-round pick Teddy Bridgewater was the starting quarterback. Pike finished with one reception in limited playing time during his freshman season.
It was off the field where Pike found happiness. He fell for Dani Cogswell, a cheerleader who transferred to Louisville from Arizona. She became Pikeâs best friend. âWe were really active,â Pike said. âWe loved working out, going hiking. Really anything outdoors and adventurous.â
There was just one problem: Pike started using Xanax. In the beginning he took enough to catch a buzz before going out with friends. But after a few months Pike was addicted. Instead of one 2 mg Xanax bar heâd take two or three. Itâs not just Pike; Cogswell also struggled with Xanax addiction. The two were together one night in 2013 when Pike drove home after taking Xanax. He blacked out on the way home and a telephone pole divided the car when he woke up. Miraculously, neither were injured.
âAfter I saw the car I just wanted to come and see that you were really alive,â The officer told them. âNeither one of you should be after seeing that car.â
Pike was charged with DUI and suspended from the team for the rest of the 2013 season. His name resurfaced in the media, and this time Pike read the headlines.
âI really am a screw up,â Pike said. âI really am a waste of talent. I really am blowing out. I started to believe those things.â
Pike was suspended at Louisville when coach Charlie Strong left for Texas, and he was not retained by incoming coach Bobby Petrino. Without football there was nothing to keep him from falling deeper into addiction. Xanax soothed the sting of scathing media criticism. Soon, Pike would frequently blackout, often unable to speak or function properly. His parents finally offered an ultimatum.
âYou either go to treatment or you donât come home and weâll be done with you,â Mark Pike told his son.
Pike left for Sober College in California in March 2014 and after five months, was clean for the first time in eight years. Pike did so well in California that he could go home for around a week in July. âWe had a great time,â Mark Pike said. âHe was just Zeke again.â They spent the week golfing, bowling and riding roller coasters at nearby Kings Island. Cogswell spent most of the week with him. She was with the family two days before Pike was to travel back to California.
Cogswell planned to drive to Louisville to get clothes and go back to Pikeâs house, but she decided to stay in Louisville that night and return the next day. Pike agreed to call her at 9:30 the next morning.
âI woke up at 9:33 and called her but she didnât answer,â Pike said. âDani always answered the phone even if she was sleeping. She would hear her phone and wake up, so I called her again and she didnât answer. Then I called her again and she still didnât answer.â
Concerned friends texted Pike to see if he knew of Cogswellâs whereabouts. One friend said police were outside of her home.
âI told my dad that we needed to go to Louisville because something inside me said something wasnât right,â Pike said.
His gut was correct. A police officer at the Louisville Police Department called Pike and informed him that Cogswell died from an accidental overdose. Heroin, amphetamines, marijuana and Xanax were in her body when she died according to toxicology reports, but heroin was the cause of her death. Cogswellâs death on July 28, 2014 occurs when Pike was slowly putting his life back together.
âThat kind of was like âMan, my life is going great, why is this happening to me?ââ Pike said. The pain was too much for Pike. He turned to marijuana for comfort, ending five months of sobriety.
http://www.si.com/college-football/2016/...-cardinals