When you think Wildcats in the NFL, you probably think Mike Kafka and Corey Wootton. Sure, they're the most notable names Northwestern has sent to the pros during the Pat Fitzgerald era, but that list excludes one recent NFL pickup: Zeke Markshausen.
Back in 2009, Markshausen was making noise as a surprise walk-on-turned-star for the ‘Cats. Going into his senior season, he had notched just one career catch; by the end of the year, he’d recorded 91 more. In April 2010, with the football season over and time to do things like this, the wide receiver said he was looking for design jobs. (Oh, yeah – during his spectacular on-field run, Markshausen was also a fifth-year senior pursuing a master’s degree in Engineering and Design Innovation. He’d already earned an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering.)
Just about two years later, however, Markshausen is looking for housing in Kansas City. About a month ago, the Kansas City Chiefs signed him to a contract.
This is the second time Markshausen has signed a contract with the Chiefs. Previously, when he was a rookie, he was invited to the Chicago Bears rookie minicamp, where he went unsigned – though he did catch the eye of other teams. After being flown out for tryouts with both the New England Patriots and the New York Giants, the Bears called Markshausen back and offered him a two-year contract. “I drove down there literally that night to sign a contract,” Markshausen recalls. “That was really a dream come true.”
Soon after signing with the Bears, though, Markshausen injured his knee during camp. The rehabilitation process required him to leave the team, and he spent the winter of 2010 recovering in the northern suburbs of Chicago. “I was really on the brink of trying to figure out if [professional football] was going to work, since I hadn’t heard very much interest the whole time,” Markshausen says.
But then the Chiefs called for the first time and invited Markshausen to their preseason camp. He performed well, but fell just short of making the roster. “I made it to the last cut,” Markshausen says, “but they brought me in and just said, ‘Right now, we don’t have a spot for you. You’re just two guys away on our numbers sheet.’” At the time, the Chiefs assured Markshausen they were interested. A couple of months later, they signed him to a practice squad contract, but he was again released.
Now he's back with Kansas City. And still, after the roller coaster ride, Markshausen has no qualms about signing with this team. “I think it’s a good sign that I’ve had so much back-and-forth with the team,” he says. “It shows that they have interest.”
Morever, Markshausen says it allowed him to see the true nature of the team he was signing with. “For the Chiefs, at least, it showed that they’re honoring some of the words they spoke to me … it shows they’re willing to invest in me and they believe in me.”
Of course, Markshausen’s career at Northwestern wasn’t exactly a smooth ride either. He transferred to the ‘Cats after one year at Wisconsin-Platteville, and when he first arrived in Evanston he barely saw the field. He didn’t catch his first pass until his junior year, but then exploded his senior year. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I think it was perfect how it worked out,” he says. “Everybody that goes through a situation like that would say, ‘It would have been great to have maybe another year, or have this happen earlier,’ but I look at it and I say, ‘Alright, something was going on. I needed to learn whatever I needed to learn to get to that point.’”
Markshausen says that he remembers multiple times during his final year when he had to stop and pinch himself. “I was blown away by it,” he says.
That’s not to say that Markshausen was blindsided by his success. In fact, his constant perseverance and determination to achieve his goal actually prepared him more for the day it finally came true. “When it did come, I was surprised, for sure, but I wasn’t overwhelmed. That’s what I had dreamt about, that’s what I had planned on happening,” he says.
To stay grounded through the ups and downs of his career, Markshausen has relied on two things: his faith, and the people he surrounds himself with. He credits his faith with “giving me strength when I’ve been weak,” and said that those close to him – “positive, strong, intelligent people” – provide him with a supportive environment.
As for that Northwestern degree? So far, Markshausen says not even his parents badger him about it, even in light of his roller coaster NFL career. “Never have they asked me if I’m going to use that Northwestern degree,” he says, but he does credit his engineering education with providing him some key skills, like time management. “All of a sudden I have this crazy occupation of being a professional football player as my job … and [I’m] able to manage my time well and prepare well,” he says.
While he values the diploma he earned in Evanston, Markshausen’s not quite sure he ever wants to be a full-fledged engineer. “I had a couple of internships and I wasn’t too thrilled with them. Let’s just say it didn’t excite me a lot,” he says. He did say that he loves the design side of engineering, which is why he sought his master’s degree in design engineering.
“I like to deal with people, I like products, I like innovation,” he says. “I think after football is done, I would love to go and work for a company like Google or Nike and work in some innovative fields like that.” Markshausen also says that he’s interested in starting his own company one day.
Right now, though, the newly-signed Chief is just enjoying his time playing football. “I look at this as just a really short time in my life, where I get to do something that I’ve always dreamt about."