Clarksville, Tenn. – Yes, Jeff Faris knows you have certain expectations of Austin Peay State University football. Championship-level expectations, even.

What do you think he's doing here?

Did you think he rolled into Clarksville wanting something cushy, a place with low ambitions for its football program, for the first head coaching position of his career? That he'd coast on the coattails of a title for a little while as he built the program in his image?

Think again, y'all.

"I had a great life at UCLA," he said. "I know Gerald Harrison well. I knew that the standard here was incredibly high, and I knew it would be a great opportunity. That's why we're here. Our expectation is to raise the standard, have our players fall in love with the process, and be the best at everything we do."

From the moment he touched down in Clarksville back in December, there has been a plan in place to take the next step in this program's evolution. The laying of this foundation has been intentional, and the fruits have been borne throughout this opening phase of the Faris regime.

The next step? Well, it's the next step, as important as the last and just another step on the road to the ultimate goal.

"We had to raise the standard and be even better during spring ball, and I think we did that," Faris said. "Our next challenge is doing great with finals and having the best GPA in the history of Austin Peay football. And I'm excited for our summer work; our guys love Justin Collett, and I think he's the best strength coach in college football."

What might this team wind up looking like, exactly? What might we be in for come fall?

Tough. It's going to look like a program from the head coach on down based on, shaped by, and molded to toughness. The number of times Faris referenced, in his rapid-fire cadence, toughness or physicality makes it clear: if you're going to see the field for this team, toughness is going to be part of your factory settings as a football player.

"We want to be the hardest-playing football team in the country," he said. "We're going to play physical on offense and defense. The players' investment in the program every single day has been incredible; it became easy to play hard because of what the standard is around here. And when they don't play to the echo of the whistle, a player is getting on them before a coach can even say a word. Our physicality and toughness have grown this spring. Our guys have been intentional in proving themselves every single day."

It's not going to be fire-and-brimstone getting the Govs to where they want to go. Faris knows he won't be able to scream and holler the Govs into a great football team. They have to buy in wholly, and a team can only do that if they believe in the men in charge.

And that starts with the guy at the top of the org chart.

"The guys have to know you on and off the field," he said. "They have to know that you love them, and then you can coach them hard, and they'll run through a wall for you. Everywhere I've been, the best relationship-builder on the staff is the best coach. And I think we hired 10 great relationship-builders, and you can see that in how hard our guys play on both sides of the ball."

Watching Saturday's Spring Game, the relationships were on display. The Govs are coached hard, with a single-minded focus on getting better with every rep, play, and day. That's not possible if the players aren't buying into the program and what the coaches are preaching.

"The guys who have bought into what we're doing have worked their tails off," Faris said. "More important than anything schematically, the culture we're creating with this player-led team is doing some really great things that I'm excited about. What I'm impressed with is how far we've come. Turn on tape from Practice 1 and tape from Practice 15, and you'll see we're a different football team. They've worked their tails off, and they sure do love Clarksville and Austin Peay State University. We appreciate the community's support, and we're going to make them proud."

There's a bit of a dichotomy at play here. There's the team that was walking off the field as United Athletic Conference Champions at the end of the 2023 season, and there's the team that walked off the field at the end of spring practice under a new staff, with new faces up and down the roster. That is life as a football program, for all but the bluest of blue bloods, and even they experience their fair share of turnover from year-to-year.

Yes, there is a title to defend. Nobody is going to lose sight of that because we've gotten rather accustomed to celebrating some pretty big wins over the last few years, and that's a lot of fun for everyone, is it not?

There's also something else here too. As the football program has been built over the years into what it's become today, different hands have steered the ship. It's Jeff Faris' turn, and just as his predecessors did, it's on him to decide the next heading for the program, the next mountain to summit. Things are going to be different, and new triumphs are going to be built atop the successes of old. That doesn't make the old bad or obsolete; it just makes it part of the history, a part to celebrate while maintaining ambition and excitement for the future.

Because fear has no place here, at the end of 2024 spring practice, as Faris reflects on his first few months at the helm of the program. There is the process, there is getting better every day, and there is what's to come.