photo by: Andrew Mather Photography via AP

UCM Mules quarterback Zach Zebrowski throws during an MIAA college football game in Warrensburg, Mo., on Oct. 21, 2023. Central Missouri quarterback Zebrowski, who passed for 5,157 yards, and five players from the Colorado School of Mines were selected to The Associated Press Division II All-America team announced Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023.

For Kansas’ ebullient assistant coach Jim Zebrowski, “every day is good,” as he put it.

But Friday was “kind of a special day,” he admitted, just as he sat down for a pre-Guaranteed Rate Bowl media availability.

Just hours earlier, his son Zach had been announced as the winner of the Harlon Hill Trophy, presented to the most valuable player in NCAA Division II football.

“It’s so awesome, he’s having a blast and you realize there’s a really good talent at all different levels of college football,” said Zebrowski, the Jayhawks’ co-offensive coordinator. “And watching him do that was just amazing, and more or less because of what he’s been through, and never crying, never moaning or groaning, just keep on trucking. And that’s what made me most proud.”

Zach Zebrowski threw 11 passes and one touchdown in four seasons at Division I Southern Illinois, playing behind a longtime starting quarterback in Nic Baker. After graduating and seeking a new opportunity at Central Missouri, Zebrowski threw quite a few more in 2023.

He went 417-for-602 for 5,157 yards and 61 touchdowns — the most ever by a Division II quarterback — with just five interceptions.

“I knew he could play,” his father said. “We all knew he could play. Everybody did. Sometimes you need a chance.”

The Mules had been 4-7 a year earlier but finished 11-2 with a 35-34 loss in the second round of the playoffs. Even with the division’s highest honor under his belt, Zebrowski still has one year of collegiate eligibility remaining.

“It just all worked,” Jim Zebrowski said. “Watching him elevate the team, he always elevates his teammates … It’s not the records and all the stuff he did. It’s how he plays.”

Zach and his mother, Heather, were in Warrensburg, Missouri, at the UCM facility to watch the award announcement. Jim said Zach insisted he stay in Lawrence, an hour and 45 minutes away, because he had KU practice. (The official trophy ceremony is in Little Rock, Arkansas, on Jan. 12.)

The moment was commemorated in Lawrence, though, nearly as much as in Warrensburg.

“The thing that was craziest was, you tell how tight we are as a KU football family when (head coach Lance Leipold) and (video director) Jimmy Le get that situated, put it on the big screen out there, the award announcement,” Zebrowski said. “Tons of kids came over, and we’re all family. They care about us as coaches and our families and we care about them.”

Leipold had a particular sentimental connection to the moment, having known the Zebrowski kids for a long time. Jim first worked for Leipold as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Wisconsin-Whitewater from 2007 and 2009.

“Zach and Lauren, his sister, the Zebrowskis used to spend Thanksgiving with Kelly and I and the kids his first three years, together at Whitewater,” Leipold said. “You kind of see your kids grow up like that, see what he’s gone through. Jim’s always a highly upbeat guy … and to see him get emotional today, you could tell he was really proud.”

Added Zebrowski: “I cry. I’m a crier, in that kind of stuff.”

He said he was grateful to work for a coach who cares about his family, but also noted that Leipold’s impact goes beyond one isolated gesture.

“A lot of what Zach has done is because of Jerry Kill (Zebrowski’s former boss at Northern Illinois and Minnesota) and Lance Leipold, and being around those kinds of people,” Zebrowski said.

“It’s a cool message to send to the world that it’s not always going to happen right away,” Zach said in a video posted on UCM’s social media, “but if you stick with it, usually good things happen.”

photo by: Andrew Mather Photography via AP

UCM Mules quarterback Zach Zebrowski runs during an MIAA college football game in Warrensburg, Mo., on Oct. 21, 2023. Central Missouri quarterback Zebrowski, who passed for 5,157 yards, and five players from the Colorado School of Mines were selected to The Associated Press Division II All-America team announced Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023.

photo by: AP Photo/Matt Marton

Southern Illinois head football coach Nick Hill, center, celebrates with quarterback Zach Zebrowski (12), during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Northwestern Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022, in Evanston, Ill.

Quarterbacks coach Jim Zebrowski talks with media members on Tuesday, May 18, 2021 at the Anderson Family Football Complex.