Former walk-on kicker Will Hastings enjoys return to Arkansas

Former walk-on kicker Will Hastings enjoys return to ArkansasFormer walk-on kicker Will Hastings enjoys return to Arkansas

Oct. 24, 2017

By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com

AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" No player circles dates on the schedule, but Will Hastings would be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to last Saturday's game at Arkansas.

Hastings grew up in Little Rock as a fan of the Razorbacks. He attended numerous Arkansas games, and he might or might not have taken part in the "Calling the Hogs" tradition. His mother, grandfather and older sister have all graduated from Arkansas. And more than 50 percent of his graduating class at Pulaski Academy went to college in Fayetteville.

But when it came time to choose his college, Hastings didn't follow his classmates to Arkansas. He, instead, took a shot and walked on at Auburn.

So needless to say, he was pretty amped about returning to his home state this past weekend.

"It felt really cool being here, being in this stadium," Hastings said after the game. "I walked in and just kind of looked around, and I was ready to play. I was excited."

Hastings caught just one pass for 22 yards in Saturday's game, but it was more important to him that Auburn left town with a 52-20 victory. Plus, two years prior, he didn't even make the trip to Arkansas. As a walk-on kicker who specialized in onside kicks, the coaching staff felt it wasn't necessary to bring him. Ironically, they opted to bring more wide receivers that weekend.

On Saturday night, Hastings started at wide receiver for Auburn.

"I think the role of being the underdog, having to work harder than everybody else ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" it fits him well," said Scott Hastings, Will's father. "It's a role he's always been in, and he thrives in it."

Will can credit his older sister Lindsey, the same one that just graduated from Arkansas this past May, as the reason why he's playing football.

Growing up, he was a soccer player. While in 8th grade, he was the only kid from Arkansas to make it on the regional Olympic development team, and from there, he went on to a national event in Florida.

"If you would've asked me five years ago where [Will] would be right now, I would've told you he'd be playing soccer somewhere," Scott said. "He was on the fast track in soccer."

However, the football coaches at Pulaski Academy saw something in Will. He was a good athlete, and they wanted him to come kick for them. So his sister helped cut a deal with the 8th grade football coach. If he let Will go to soccer practice, then Will would agree to kick for the football team.

As it turns out, Will became much more than a kicker for his high school team. He finished with 2,040 yards receiving as a senior, becoming just the second receiver in state history to gain 2,000 yards in a season. The Bruins, who are known for never punting and always going for onside kicks, won the state championship that season.

"It's a lot of fun playing at [Pulaski Academy]," Will said. "I had 2,000 yards my senior season and 120 catches. Each game, you get at least 15 to 20 catches and about 200 yards. It's just fun to play there. The atmosphere is like Auburn. The schools remind me so much of each other. It's small. Everyone's friendly. Everyone knows you."

Though the stats were eye-popping, Will was still deemed too small to play at the Division I level. He received a couple Division II offers from in-state schools, but that was it.

He could've easily taken one of those offers or followed his friends to Arkansas where he could've tried to walk on. But three days before signing day, he called Auburn ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" who had shown interest in him ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" and he was offered a preferred walk-on spot as a kicker with an emphasis on onside kicks. He accepted the offer.

"I just took the shot, and I was thankful my parents were financially stable to do that," Will said. "Without them, I wouldn't be here."

Fast forward to September 2016. The kicking thing didn't work out. Will attempted two onside kicks the year before as a freshman and both failed. The coaches opted to move him to wide receiver the July before his sophomore season, and he was about to debut at his new position against Clemson, the eventual national champions.

"I remember I ran out there, and I was like 'Wow, this is it,'" Will said. "'This is what it's come down to. I've been working hard for all this.' I ran out there and caught three or four passes, and from that day on, it's just been a dream. I've been very thankful for it all."

"When you ask [about that game], I almost get emotional," Scott said. "It was probably the last thing we expected. When he went in the game, I don't know what I was looking at, but his mother punched me in the side. I looked out there and I saw him and I kind of stiffened up.

"I believe he caught three passes and then he drew a pass interference call. It was one of those things that just you come to tears. You can't believe your kid is playing in front of 87,000 people, and you can't believe he's playing against the No. 2 team in the country. It was overwhelming. We never went to sleep [that night]. It was surreal."

That season, Will finished with 11 receptions for 98 yards and a touchdown. It was an incredible story ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" a walk-on kicker turned wide receiver for one of the premier programs in college football ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" but it was only the beginning. This past August, he received a scholarship from the coaching staff.

"I wanted to cry, but I held it in," Will said. "It was just a lot of time, hard work and dedication that a lot of people put into it. It wasn't just me. It was God, number one, and then my family.

"Some friends back home supported me as well because there were times where I was like 'Man, this is hard. I have no one.' I was the only one from Arkansas to come to Auburn. It was a hard time on me, but just a lot of hard work and dedication."

That scholarship has made Will a better player. It gave him the confidence that he might have lacked before, and as a result, he's emerged as one of Jarrett Stidham's most-reliable targets this season. He's currently second on the team with 17 catches, 357 yards receiving and three touchdowns through Auburn's first eight games.

It's still sometimes hard to comprehend for Will's parents, who were both in attendance at the Arkansas game Saturday.

"I've had a hard time dealing with the reality ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" in a good way ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" of how well he's done," Scott said. "It's like somebody that wins the lottery. You just can't imagine something like this ever happening. He's always worked really hard, and he's been a great kid. I just never would've believed it. He's just done so well."

Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf