Kabongo Makes Impact On and Off the Field

By Shamus McKnight
Lincoln -- At 6-6, 315 pounds, Patrick Kabongo is a pretty impressive figure. At first glance, he can be quite imposing, especially when he lets out one of his menacing roars on the football field after a Husker defensive stop. Underneath that fierce warrior exterior lies a completely different character.

Nebraska's Associate Director of Life Skills and Student Services Keith Zimmer summed it up eloquently when describing the senior nose tackle from Montreal, Quebec.

"He's a gentle giant," Zimmer said, a title that the gregarious Kabongo embraces.

"When I play football, I'm a different person," Kabongo said. "When you are not practicing or playing, you have to be yourself. That is who I am. A lot of times people see tall and big people as intimidating, but you have to make them feel like you are OK."

As the person who oversees the work that Husker student-athletes do in the community, Zimmer has seen the lengths that Kabongo has gone to make a positive impact. Zimmer ranks him among an elite list that includes the late Brook Berringer, Dan Alexander and Troy Hassebroek.

"Patrick has been one of the most enthusiastic volunteers we have ever had," said Zimmer, who has coordinated student-athlete community involvement for the past 17 years. "He is a sensitive and genuine individual who wants to make a difference in the lives of not only young people, but also his teammates."

Kabongo, who is actively involved in groups on campus such as the Student-Athlete Advisory Board and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, volunteers his time to various projects, including the I've Got Heart Week, the Western Nebraska Tour of Excellence and the Husker Team Spirit Hospital Visits. Last summer, he was one of the first volunteers to sign up for the Husker Nation Tour, giving him an opportunity to speak to fans around the western part of the state.

"It was great to go and meet new people, and every town I went to the people were nice," Kabongo said. "I think they appreciated it because they always come to Lincoln and see us play, but this gave us a chance to go out and meet them. We are all part of Nebraska."

Kabongo takes his role on campus as seriously as he does preparing for game days.

"I want to encourage other athletes to speak, because they don't realize the impact they can have on people," he said. "They may go somewhere and think ?I didn't do a good job,' but the impact on the kids is great because they are willing to listen and hear what you have to say because you are an athlete."

A two-year member of the Brook Berringer Citizenship team, Kabongo was selected a Big 12 Community Champion last season. In 2001, he was just the sixth Husker ever chosen to the American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team ? an elite group of 11 players among all 117 programs in Division I-A.

Kabongo also saw his hard work on the field pay off in 2002. He enjoyed a breakthrough campaign with 62 stops and had a career-high 15-tackle performance against Iowa State, the highest tackle total by any Husker in a single game in last season. It helped him earn a starting spot in seven of NU's final nine games.

His performance turned heads not only with NU coaches, but also with the Ottawa Renegades. They chose Kabongo in the third round of the 2003 CFL Draft even though he would not be eligible to play until the summer of 2004 at the earliest.

He continued his progression of hard work during the offseason as a finalist for Nebraska's Lifter of the Year award in 2003. He has increased his score in the Performance Index by more than 500 points since 1999. Kabongo's work has helped him on the field where he has four tackles, while helping NU rank fifth nationally in total defense through two games.

One of the new changes on the Husker defense this fall involved moving Kabongo from defensive tackle to nose guard, where he works on shedding double teams and controlling the line of scrimmage. Kabongo has proven to be a quick study, something that shouldn't be a surprise, as he finished his degree in criminal justice in less than three years and is currently working on a second degree in family and consumer sciences.

"Finishing school was important to me," Kabongo said. "I may or may not play football next year somewhere else, but school is always going to be there. I am always going to have that degree. When I speak to kids, I tell them it's fun to play football, but not everyone can do that. But everyone can go to school and learn."