Before Trent Dilfer decided to become a coach, he was a quarterback with the Seattle Seahawks when his son, Trevin, was hospitalized with heart disease at just 5-years old.
After Trevin spent 40 days on life support in a Seattle hospital surrounded by his sisters, mom, and dad as well as extended family, he sadly passed on June 2nd, 2003.
He was just 5-years-old.
It's a situation no parent should have to go through, but children's hospitals around the country are filled with families going through some of the darkest times of their lives, which is why traditions like The Hawkeye Wave and UAB's Children's Harbor game hold a special place for so many people.
In his first year as the head coach at UAB, Dilfer's squad will wear special jerseys this weekend against USF for Children's Harbor, which is an Alabama based organization that provides counseling and respite for thousands of children and families at no cost to the families.
It's a tradition that UAB adopted under former head coach Bill Clark back in 2016, and is set to continue now with a head coach in Dilfer that has a very real connection to the cause.
Instead of the last names of players, UAB players will proudly wear the last names of families of Children's Harbor patients on their alternate green and lime jerseys.
This year, 100 players were paired up with 100 patients, bringing the total number of patients honored to 700 dating back to that initial season.
Speaking on his personal connection, Dilfer broke down at a recent presser sharing his story and how he "would have done anything" to have an organization like Children's Harbor come serve his family during that time of need.
"This is not just wearing a jersey and putting names on the back. This is super, super important to the Dilfer family, because we lived it and we know what these families are going through."
"It is so hard. We are wired to be able to handle our peers, our parents being sick. We are not wired for our kids. I hurt so bad when I see parents and siblings watching their kids go through these issues because I lived it."
"It's opening up a bunch of scar tissue, which is good. I've always felt like the best part of the healing was the mourning. It doesn't go away. You need to be surrounded by people that will listen to you. I guess this is therapeutic for me, but to see these families and what they're going through, I hurt for them so bad. I'm so honored to be the head coach of a game with this type of meaning, so thank you."
Dilfer and UAB will kick off against South Florida at 4p EST on Saturday.
Later on in the interview (at about the 7:10 mark), Dilfer addresses his very animated and passionate tirade aimed at his assistant coaches from last Saturday that went viral, noting that it was a moment he's not proud of that that it was "over-the-top," and he regrets it.