"It was just a regular Saturday morning practice (in the Spring of 2010)," recalled Tarleton State head coach Cary Fowler. "I remember going through individuals and then running through a few plays at the end of practice.

"That entire practice," he added. "Shaver dominated."

Zach Shaver never played a single snap for the Tarleton Texan football team in a regular season game, but the 18-year old defensive tackle will forever be linked to the university in the form of his number…. 96.

The Kid

Shaver came to Tarleton, along with his childhood friend Cole Vitolo in the fall of 2009 after the duo dominated in the trenches for Rider High School in Wichita Falls.

"Zach and I met in the first grade, but we never really started hanging out together until the fourth grade," said Vitolo. "I remember inviting him out to play football with me because he had only ever played basketball, and the rest is history.

"He was probably one of the funniest people I've ever met in my life," he continued. "He had a way of having a good time no matter how stressful the situation would be. He was really funny and really level-headed all the time."

Shaver and Vitolo grew up in Wichita Falls, with Vitolo living next door to an up-and-coming football coach named Cary Fowler.

Fowler was an assistant for Midwestern State at the time.

"He'd always come over to play with Cole (Vitolo), who was my next door neighbor, ever since he was a little kid," said Fowler. "I've known him a long time."

When Vitolo and Shaver finished their respective Rider careers, the decision of where to play college football became the main point of their lives.

"I knew I wanted to get out of Wichita Falls," said Vitolo. "We came down to Tarleton for our visits and my parents left early so I rode back home with Zach.

"We stopped at a Dairy Queen in Jacksboro, and this sounds really cheesy, but I told Zach, 'I think I want to be a Texan,'" he added. "He said 'I think I want to be a Texan, too.'"

The decision was made and Shaver and Vitolo continued their football careers in Stephenville.

The Spring

After redshirting as a freshman, Shaver entered his first spring football training as a legitimate contender for a spot on a defensive line vacated by seniors and injuries.

"In 2009, Zach actually had a chance to play for us," said Fowler. "We had to make a decision who to play right away, and I made the decision not to play Zach because I knew how good he would be in the long run.

"In the spring (of 2010), he completely changed his body," Fowler continued. "He came into spring and was lifting. He was huge and had very little body fat, but then he got mono. He actually was sick for a week or two and then he came back and started getting back into shape."

Shaver was dominant during the spring, making plays that left the coaching staff in awe of his potential.

"Zach wasn't fighting, he was the starter," said Fowler, who was serving as the interim head coach at that time. "He was head and shoulders better than any other defensive tackle we had at that time. The coaches and I agreed he could potentially be the best defensive tackle to ever play here. There wasn't a battle, he was the best defensive lineman we had."

Then tragedy struck.

During the "normal Saturday morning practice," Shaver collapsed during team drills.

"He was on the ground and I was telling him to get up, you're just tired," recalled Vitolo. "But then they asked us to back up and I started freaking out. I didn't even know what I was freaking out about because I knew he would be okay."

"I didn't see it, and I'm sure Cole didn't either, but I looked down the field and Zach was on his knees and fighting to get to his feet," said Fowler. "Me and Kurt Turner (the offensive line coach at the time) were the first two there and we finally got him over. I was there holding his hand and we knew something was bad wrong.

"He just held my hand and when he got ready to go away, he let go," he continued. "That was the most helpless feeling I've ever had because I knew I couldn't help him."

Shaver was CareFlighted off the field, wearing the Number 96 on his chest, and taken to Fort Worth.

"I went in and showered and the whole time I'm thinking, he'll be okay. I thought it was just a really bad concussion," said Vitolo. "I called my girlfriend at the time and told her I was going to the hospital, but we were still - in my mind - planning on going back to Wichita Falls that night.

"After a day of waiting, we got a call from the hospital and they told us it was our final goodbye to Zach," he said. "I hate to say this, but we were balling. We have a love for 80's rock, and our little group was just sitting there crying and singing the song, 'Josie's on vacation far away.'"

"When you see kids go through that and you have to make that phone call to (Shaver's mother) Jennifer…I will always feel responsible for that," said Fowler. "I know there's a plan God has, but that's tough. You never know when your last day or your last play is going to happen."

After spending time with his family, Vitolo returned to Stephenville to continue his Tarleton football career without his best friend Shaver.

"A lot of people expected me to quit after that, but I always knew I was going to play for Tarleton. Quitting the team never crossed my mind," he said.

The Game

That fall was Fowler's first season as head coach, and he had a plan to honor the fallen Shaver.

"We had just won the LSC Championship in 2009 and I knew I wanted to give the first championship ring to Zach's family," he said. "I wanted to do it the first game of the season, but Zach's father had foot surgery and couldn't make it so we planned it for the fourth game."

Fowler's head coaching career, however, did not start out so well.

Not only did the Texans drop their first four games of the season, but injuries were wreaking havoc as well.

Vitolo suffered minor injuries while the team lost first-string quarterback Nick Stephens for three weeks, back-up QB Aaron Doyle for the season and several other key players.

After a three-game road trip, the Texans returned home with intentions to honor the Shaver family against Angelo State on Oct. 2.

"There was a different air in the room that day," said Vitolo. "To be honest, it's kind of a blur. I remember staring into my locker and thinking this game is bigger than us. There are people here who need this."

Vitolo, along with Zach's sister Emily, led the charge onto the field prior to Tarleton's game with the Rams. Then the game was under way.

Tarleton trailed by 14 points late in the fourth quarter, but with time winding down the Texans found some magic.

"Before the game started, his dad brought in this '96' and I coach every game with this gold '96' that I keep in my pocket, and I think I about rubbed through it that night," said Fowler. "We were down 14 points late and it was Zach. It was like he took over the game. We backed them up, forced a fumble, recovered it on the two, and events started happening that made you say 'wow.'"

Vitolo recovered the fumble and the Texans scored on the ensuing play. After a pair of defensive stops, Tarleton tied and took the lead on a Stephens touchdown pass and a Blake Weist field goal that made it 37-34 with less than two minutes to go.

"We had the ball (in the closing seconds) and they called timeout on fourth down to try to get the ball back," said Fowler. "Nick (Stephens) comes to the sideline and I knew I didn't want to kick it. Nick said, 'Coach, we got this.' I asked if he was going to throw it deep and he said, 'No coach, I'm going to throw it to the heavens.'

"He backed up and he threw it straight up as high as he could and when the ball came down, the game was over," he said. "You knew Zach was up there smiling and probably laughing at us."

That was Fowler's first career head coaching victory.

"It didn't even hit me until I got into the locker room," said Vitolo. "Up until then, we hadn't played very well, but that night we were like a whole different team. I went and sat at my locker and I cried. It was a really different feeling."

The Number

Following the 2010 spring, Fowler dedicated jersey number 96 to be awarded to the player who best represents Tarleton State football both on and off the field.

"You have to think, what can you do that's forever? You can retire a number and people forget what the number meant. Because this kid was wearing a Tarleton uniform when he got injured, I wanted this kid's history untouched," said Fowler. "That's why we touch his helmet on the way out to the field and that's why his locker is still untouched from the day he passed away."

No. 96 is more than a number to the Texans. It's a memory, an attitude and a reminder to play every play like it's their last.

"It became a symbol of him because everybody knew Zach and everybody loved Zach," said Vitolo. "It became a symbol because of the way he played - always in the backfield, always excited on the field. It came with an attitude. It's like Batman's Bat-Symbol. No. 96 was Zach."

When the Texans march into Tarleton Memorial Stadium on Sept. 8 against Midwestern State, Vitolo will be wearing the number of his fallen friend.

"It's the greatest honor I've ever earned," said Vitolo. "I don't feel I could ever come close to representing it, but to put on his number is going to be the greatest honor I could ever achieve."

"It couldn't happen to a better kid or a kid more committed to Tarleton State University than Cole Vitolo," said Fowler. "He's not going to break any records, but there are a lot of teams that would love to have Cole. To see him run out there wearing that number will be a very moving moment for me, for him and for his parents.

"I want to honor Zach Shaver at Tarleton State and for everyone to always remember," added Fowler. "That even when he couldn't - for this university - he was fighting to get to his feet."