May 6, 2025 changed everything.

The night Will Hardrick passed away is a night no one associated with Austin Peay football can or will forget. The pain won't recede. His teammates and coaches, to say nothing of the Hardrick family, will bear psychological scars forever.

"I will never forget the phone call," said Austin Peay head football coach Jeff Faris. "I'm not usually short on words, but I remember being on the phone with his family and I just… I couldn't say a word. And finally, I realize we have to tell the team. And at this point, the guys are done with finals; they were scattered, so we have a team meeting, and it's really just… I don't know what I said. I know I stumbled over my words.

"And I have to help these guys, I have to help myself. And we started having these team meetings, as much to help me as anything else, because the strength of our players is what helped me more than anything."

Faris leaned on his peers in the coaching community for advice, not just on how to move forward as a coach and a program, but how best to honor Will's memory.

And thus, the zero jersey was born.

"It might have come from Georgia, but I made hundreds of phone calls during that time, so I can't be certain," Faris said. "But to me, it was an unbelievable idea, just to have a very visible way to reward someone for doing the right things, for being like Will every day. And so, each week, we make the decision based on who is most embodying Will's spirit, work ethic, and energy, who will wear his number zero on Saturday. It's the biggest honor in our program. We call the guy in as an individual to let him know and announce it in our first team meeting after we get back each week, win or lose. Whether we're coming off a loss or a win, when we announce who is wearing the number zero that week, the team goes nuts. We take tremendous pride in honoring Will through our thoughts, words, and actions. This is my favorite tradition."

And the young men who put on that uniform have taken up the mantle of carrying on Will's legacy.

"There's a great sense of motivation that comes with wearing number zero," said quarterback Chris Parson, who wore it for the Abilene Christian game and has since gotten it framed and hung up at home. "It's something we don't take lightly as a program, and everyone who puts on that number understands what it means. You're representing the type of player and person Will was, a guy who never took a play off, was locked in on his job, was a great teammate, and great leader. He picked up the guys around him. He was encouraging. So, when you put on that jersey, you're honoring something way bigger than yourself."

The players Will grew close to during his time in Clarksville acutely feel how important carrying on his legacy is.

"It's a blessing," said Ellis Ellis Jr., who was No. 0 against Georgia. "Losing a loved one is hard for the guys who have been around. It's hard sometimes, knowing he's not here, and wearing that jersey on Saturdays, supporting him, allowing his talents to shine through you… it's hard for me, because we were in the cornerback room together and grew really close. On the one hand, it's like dang, I get to wear the zero, and that's big. But it's hard, because it reminds us that he's not here."

For Parson, who also was teammates with Hardrick at Mississippi State, wearing the number became something to strive for. Honoring his fallen teammate became a goal, a way to help carry on a legacy for Hardrick and his family.

"It's truly an honor to pay respects to Will and his family," he said. "He was a great teammate, a great person. I was hoping and praying I'd have the opportunity at some point this season. I wanted to honor Will in the best way I could."

It also puts into perspective that, while Saturdays and playing football are great and commendable things, there are bigger things at work off the field.

"It gives you perspective, but it also shows you just what it means to have that jersey on," said defensive lineman Davion Hood, who had the honor of wearing the number zero during the Morehead State game. "Will was just the joy of the team. He made a mark on our lives and showed us that we have to live life fully and take nothing for granted."

"Football is a powerful vehicle, but it's not life or death," echoed Faris. "It's a vehicle we have to grow together and learn life lessons and become better people because we were part of the Austin Peay football program. Whatever it is, become a lawyer, run a restaurant, become a husband, a father… because you were part of this program and pushed yourself and sacrificed, you're better at it. Will embodied all of that."

Football can be, to borrow a phrase, the most-important, least-important thing. The players and coaches remember their fallen teammate each week. They leaned on one another in their grief. Each week, they rally around one of their own, selected for embodying the best of Will Hardrick and what he stood for. They run out of the tunnel with Hardrick's number among them, a reminder of loss and hope and pain and the spirit of one beloved by all. He was everything right about being a Governor, a football player, a young man with everything in front of him.

#WeWILL