Former Iowa safety Tyler Sash, pictured above in 2013 with the Giants, was found dead at 27. (USATSI)

Iowa's helmets will be missing the Tigerhawk on one side this weekend as the school honors the life and career of Tyler Sash by the replacing the logo with the number nine for Saturday's rivalry game against Iowa State. 

Nine was the number worn by Tyler Sash at Iowa, where he was a standout safety with 13 career interceptions and set a school record for interception return yards. Sash was found dead at the age of 27 in his hometown of Oskaloosa, Iowa. 

"You can imagine, yesterday was a tough day for everybody," Kirk Ferentz said Wednesday, via the Des Moines Register. "For a guy like [defensive coordinator Phil Parker] who sat in the same room as Tyler for four years, there's a real bond that develops and a real closenes. And as a head coach, you miss that, frankly. That's the first thing that hit me in 1990 when I became a head coach."

Sash decided to forgo his senior season and was drafted by the New York Giants in 2011, just in time to earn a Super Bowl ring with the team.