VIDEO – 5-Year-Old Zach Dacy Sacks NIU QB Jordan Lynch

Sep 28, 2013; West Lafayette, IN, USA; Northern Illinois Huskies quarterback Jordan Lynch (6) runs for a touchdown against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross Ade Stadium. Northern Illinois won 55-24. Mandatory Credit: Pat Lovell-USA TODAY Sports

Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch is one of the most prolific, dual-threat playmakers in college football, but earlier this season he met his match in 5-year-old Zach Dacy.

At a Northern Illinois practice, young Zach sacked Lynch.

Zach is currently battling leukemia. According to his father’s YouTube page, Zach, a “big fan of Clay Matthews,” got the opportunity to emulate the Green Bay Packers star linebacker thanks to NIU head coach Rod Carey.

Steve Nitz of HuskieWire.com chronicled Zach’s day at NIU practice, in a must-read feature.

"“He’s going through a lot right now, I think that’s the least we could do,” Lynch said. “We made his day and he gave me a pretty good shot.”The players lifted Zach up after his sack.“They lifted me up real high,” he said."

Northern Illinois’ overture to the Dacy family is a reminder of the positive impact athletes can have on others, particularly children–and vice versa.

Jack Hoffman captivated the college football-watching nation in April, when he ran for a touchdown in the Nebraska Cornhuskers spring game. Jack, a brain cancer patient, won an ESPY and met President Barack Obama. He was an inspiration to the Huskers, as well as millions of fans.

Jack’s cancer is in now in remission, his family tweeted.

Hopefully, Zach Dacy’s sack of Jordan Lynch is the first of many for the linebacker-in-training. Perhaps sometime next decade, Zach and Jack will be lined up on opposite ends of a college football field.