#2 More Than A Number For Notre Dame QB Commit Teddy Jarrard
To some players a uniform number is just a number.
To others, it means a little something special.
To Teddy Jarrard, it means a helluva lot more.
Teddy wears the #2 to honor his late cousin, Walker Phillips, who wore the number.
“I wear it for a reason,” Teddy says. “That's how I look at it. I'm just lucky to be able to play the game that I love.
“He didn't get to live out his dream of playing football. I thought I might as well wear it for him, let him know that I got his back.”
Walker tragically passed in a house fire back in 2022 at the age of 10.
“It just came out of nowhere,” says Teddy, who had just turned 14. “It blindsided everybody. It happened so fast, nobody could have predicted anything. We never got to say goodbye or anything like that. It sucked.”
At the time, Teddy and his family lived relatively close to Walker’s family, but it was on the other side of Atlanta.
“We grew up together,” Teddy says. “We were probably the closest in my family. We lived the closest together. Everybody else kind of lived farther away, so we were always spending time with them.
“Everybody in our family's close though, so everybody would always hang out at gatherings and spend a lot of time together. Walker was always an energetic and happy kid.”
The entire family is athletic.
Walker’s father, Cory, played quarterback at the University of Georgia and his mother, Courtney, was a gymnast for the Bulldogs.
His sister and brother are super athletic, too - Aiden in volleyball and Cannon at Golf. Walker was great at all sports and he was a leader and a competitor.
Walker and Teddy played a ton of backyard football and Wiffle Ball together at the family get-togethers.
“He was a very athletic kid,” says Teddy. “He was always quick and more athletic than everybody. He was the quarterback. He just loved sports.”
The tragedy shook the entire family.
“It was out of nowhere,” Teddy recalls. “It kind of hit us all like, 'What just happened?' It was a shock that nobody could have imagined.”
But it didn’t break the family.
“Obviously you may want to blame things or whatever, but that's not what I did,” Teddy says. “That's not what our family did. We stayed strong. Watching his parents and the way they've handled it has just been amazing.
“They handled it as strongly as anybody could handle it. Obviously, losing a son is not easy at all. It wasn't easy for anybody, but they have changed the whole course of the church and everything through their son, so they've handled it super strong.”
And their family was there for them as well.
Not long afterward, the Jarrard family moved even closer, allowing Teddy and his brothers - Colt and Gunner - to be there for Walker’s siblings - Aiden and Cannon - while also allowing Georgia Jarrard, Teddy’s mother, to support her youngest brother, Cory.
“We're closer as a family now because of it,” Teddy says. “Everybody moved closer together. It brought us together overall. It's a tragedy that he passed away, but he has purpose here and everybody got closer because of him. He's really changing lives too.”
The school, athletic and faith communities rallied around the family to ensure Walker’s memory would last forever.
“His story has changed so many lives in the church and around this area, especially in Cartersville,” says Teddy. “If you talk about him in Cartersville, Georgia, everybody knows who he is. He loved living there.
“We have a saying, Live Like Walker, just be energetic and enjoy life. He always had a smile and was always happy to be there. He loved people and people loved him. He doesn't know it, but he's impacted so many lives.”
Cory and Courtney are doing everything they can to give back in Walker’s honor.
They rebuilt a house on the land and are donating it for Crosspoint City Church to use.
They created multiple Live Like Walker scholarship funds to help area athletes, North Cobb Christian School students, Cartersville Youth Programs and University of Georgia athletes.
Walker’s parents are major supporters of Live2540, which serves underprivileged children in Africa. They’ve since opened the Walker Phillips Critical Care Malnutrition Ward at the Jesus Loves Me Children’s Center, a free healthcare facility in Liberia that is literally saving lives on a daily basis. Walker would wear their LOVE shirts all the time so being involved there is a great reminder of him.
Cory and Courtney have made it their life’s mission to help as many people as possible make it to Heaven, where they are certain they will see Walker again.
They’re touched Teddy does his part to keep Walker’s memory alive.
“We are humbled that Teddy continues to honor Walker,” Courtney says. “We are so proud of him!!!”
During the ceremony announcing his commitment to Notre Dame last month, Teddy made sure to acknowledge his uncle and aunt.
“Thank you to my uncle Cory and my aunt Courtney for showing me what it means to lean into God and your faith when you hit the lowest, hard time of your life,” Teddy said. “That example has stuck with me and always will.”
Losing his cousin had a big impact on the entire family, including Teddy.
“It's crazy how life can happen like that, in the blink of an eye,” he says of what he learned. “I think it kind of set me back and made me realize how lucky I have it. And I also thought God allows everything for a purpose.
“Just being able to watch what has happened because of Walker's death has been great to see too, the impact he's made. It's been kind of amazing just watching God's work. I think that's another big thing that I've been able to look at; taking the good out of the bad.
“I never really had a doubt in my faith. I've always been strong. I believe that everything happens for a purpose. Even if we don't like it sometimes, and it's hard, there's always good that's going to come out of it.”
Teddy wore other numbers on his jerseys growing up, but for no reasons other than they were QB numbers. When he got the chance to grab #2, first at North Cobb Christian and now at North Cobb High School, he jumped at the opportunity.
“It's an honor to wear it,” Teddy says. “Just knowing that it has a meaning behind it. A lot of people just look at it as a number, but it gives me a little bit more of a reason to wear it.
“Obviously you've got a lot of things going through your mind as a quarterback, getting ready for the game and all that stuff, but I try to remind myself every time I go on the field how fortunate and how blessed I am to be able to play the game. Because of what happened to Walker I have that perspective.”
If you look closely at Teddy’s wrist tape during games, you’ll probably see the letters LLW.
“Live Like Walker. Just to remind me. I think it's special. It's a special opportunity.
“He deserves some credit.”
