Keith Zinger is proof that trials and tribulations in one’s life can come with both a purpose and a reward.

The former Atlanta Falcons tight end was part of two championship teams with LSU — 2003 and 2007 — playing college football against a handful of future NFL stars before becoming one himself.

He said one of his most memorable college experiences happened when the Tigers faced Tim Tebow’s Florida Gators in a now-infamous 2007 game. LSU, an eight-point favorite, entered undefeated. Florida had suffered only a last-second loss to Auburn the week before.

“That game kind of embodied that whole mindset for that team that year,” he said. “We had five for five on fourth downs during the game and there was never any doubt on each one — we knew we were going for them, no question,” Zinger recalled. “We didn’t even talk about it we just went for it five times.

“The last time we had fourth and short in the red zone and we could have kicked a field goal to tie it but we wanted to win and we put it all on the line, ran it up the middle. We all knew we were going to make it and weren’t going to be denied. We knew we were going to make it happen no matter what.”

The Tigers won 28-24.

“That’s just a credit to all those guys I played with and the mindset that we developed,” he said.

It would be one of many more nail-bitters to come for Zinger.

“That year, five or six games ended up being like that, down to the wire,” he said. “It was a fun year.”

Zinger experienced even more highlights as part of the NFL.

“To me, the highlights are the guys that I’ve played with,” he said. “It’s guys I grew up watching, seeing on TV and guys you know will be going into the Hall of Fame. I got to play with Tony Gonzalez and ran right beside him. It’s surreal when you’re in a moment like that.”

He’s also played on the field against Tom Brady.

“I got to watch him march down the field and beat us,” Zinger said with a laugh. “It’s bittersweet, but it’s really cool.”

Zinger said lining up across from such superstars can be unsettling.

“I’d be there thinking, ‘I can’t believe I have to block this guy,’ ” he said. “Those moments are what have stuck with me.”

Zinger said the NFL is a full-time job in which players put in 12-hour days every day.

“That usually consists of a morning workout, meetings, might grab a bite for lunch, then more meetings, come back and watch film and more meetings after that,” he said.

Zinger said once one reaches the NFL, workouts become more of a mental break for players.

“By that point, you know how to work your body so it becomes more about how quickly you can pick things up and apply them on the field,” he said. “Everybody has the physical part down, what sets you apart is the mental part.”

Zinger credits his faith with carrying him through the tougher times of his career.

“Faith is huge for me,” he said.

Zinger, who played for Leesville High School before joining the LSU Tigers in 2003, was named an All-SEC tight end his freshman year before a medical fiasco nearly took it all away.

“My sophomore year, I was a starter splitting time with the receiving tight end and the blockers then my junior year I had my break-out year and I was primed to have a really good senior year,” he said. “I was going to be the guy who got all the passes as a tight end and then about halfway through training camp I started having some irritable bowel syndrome symptoms. I took some over-the-counter meds and waited to see how it would turn out and about a week or so later it wasn’t getting any better.”

He said he was continually losing weight and couldn’t keep anything down but Smoothie King shakes.

“In the meantime, I’m still practicing in the heat,” he said. “Normally I would lose 12 pounds during practice because of water weight and I’d replace that with a smoothie. This time, it wouldn’t come back on. I lost 40 pounds in two weeks — 260 to 219.”

Zinger said he ultimately made it through training camp and three quarters of his first game before his body gave out.

“I don’t know how I played that game; it was God pulling me through,” he said. “I played through halftime, came inside and had three IVs, played another quarter, but then I had to come in early before the game was even over. I went to the locker room, and got in the shower and I just sat there. I didn’t have the energy to move. I knew something had to give.”

The team doctor admitted him to the hospital, where he went on a liquid diet and underwent every test imaginable.

“It took a while to figure it out, figure out what my treatment was going to be,” he said. “I remember laying there not being able to eat or play football so I stayed in bed and watched The Food Network and football on TV. A lot of things were in doubt at that point; they weren’t sure if I had cancer, they thought I might need surgery to remove my colon and I’m just laying there helpless. If I didn’t have my faith, that could have been a breaking point for me and I could have given up and said, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ ”

He said he never doubted there was a reason why he went through that time.

“My wife was with me and the whole time and she was worried, too, but we never had any doubt there was a reason why we were going through that,” he said.

Ultimately, he was diagnosed with severe ulcerative colitis and would become part of a clinical treatment for the now-approved Humira medication.

“I was able to come back and play three more games that year, but I wasn’t at 100 percent,” he said. “It’s hard to gain back 40 pounds while you’re practicing for a season.”

He said he was given a medical redshirt for the season, which allowed him to get his strength back, get mentally back to where he needed to be and play for a second senior year.

“My second senior year was pretty good, I’d say,” he said. “We ended up winning a second championship and I ended up getting the opportunity to be a seventh-round draft pick for Atlanta. It all worked out and without my faith I wouldn’t have made it out.”

Zinger said often people are admired for their accomplishments but it’s their struggles that make them relatable.

“At the time, you don’t know why you go through these things but it gave me the opportunity to be here today to speak and even if it’s to touch one or two lives it was worth it to go through that. Hopefully, someone out there can relate to what I went through and how I was able to come out of it on the other side. As a Christ-follower, we need to take those opportunities to use them for His glory.”

Zinger said after he left the Falcons, their family moved back to Southwest Louisiana, establishing roots in Lake Charles for nearly a decade.

“Then Hurricane Laura uprooted us again and we’ve spent about two years in Alexandria,” he said. “We had to take a sabbatical during the hurricanes and COVID pandemic but we’re heading back here in the next couple of months because Lake Charles has really become home for us.”