Last season, Eastern Illinois University football wide receiver Micah Rucker led the Ohio Valley Conference in touchdowns. Now, Rucker is leading a personal crusade for a critical cause.

Rucker recently established a campus-based organization, Respect for Youth, to help spread the word about the dangers of drinking and driving. He founded the organization after his girlfriend, Rebecca Fissehatsion Yacob, was killed in a January 28 accident with a drunken driver.

“We're trying to do whatever we can to stop another family from having to go through what we did,” he said. “I want to be able to help kids and spread the word of what happens when people drink and drive.”

Respect for Youth is open to all students and currently contains about 50 members. The entire Eastern Illinois football team and 80 other students wore RFY T-shirts on the first day of school and will continue to do so on game days. In addition, a keynote speaker drew about 900 people, including Panther student-athletes who were required to attend. The group plans to sponsor a RFY Day at an upcoming football game in which kids would attend free.

While Rucker and others are working to ensure the group's long-term success at Eastern Illinois, he also plans to expand the endeavor into a foundation that will host large events to raise money and awareness for charitable organizations.

“Rebecca always preached to me to help, give back and do whatever I can,” said Rucker. “Everything I'm doing is something she would have been doing if she was alive.”

Rucker also helped establish Eastern Illinois' chapter of UMADD, a campus-based organization related to Mothers Against Drunk Driving that focuses on preventing underage drinking, high-risk drinking and impaired driving.

This season Rucker is once again being a force both on and off the playing field as he hopes to lead the Panthers to a third straight OVC football title while also spreading the word about drunk driving. 

EIU head football coach Bob Spoo probably stated it best when describing Rucker saying, "Micah has taken on this challenge head on.  He has shown he is a man both on and off the field, a player who who others can emulate.  Micah has also shown to people that there are other things in life other than football.  If we had a team of players who had his character and drive - we would be one heck of a football team.

For more information on UMADD Click Here