Joe Haden: No Ordinary Joe
Tuesday, October 30, 2007 | Football
By Jaime Handy, UF Sports Information
There are people in this world that have natural-born talents that propel them to do great and inspiring things. Some have an uncanny knack to conquer math equations or navigate science experiments, while others have the capability to perform sweet sounds on-stage with their voice or an instrument. For University of Florida freshman cornerback Joe Haden, it's his ability to execute under the bright lights of a football stadium.
Haden has been one of the brightest stars on a Florida defense that lost nine starters from a year ago. Although he didn't come to Gainesville to play cornerback, the Fort Washington, Md., native has made a smooth transition.
Haden graduated a semester early from Friendly High School to join the Gators for spring workouts in January. He was a quarterback that was recruited to Florida as a wide receiver, but jumped at the chance to play cornerback, because the Gators needed his speed and athleticism at a position that offered the opportunity for immediate playing time.
"He was a quarterback in high school, so it was a new position for him," UF cornerbacks coach Chuck Heater said. "It was a pretty big adjustment. He could have been at home, getting ready for his senior prom, but instead he was out there playing corner."
Haden got the chance to showcase his abilities to college recruiters at the Elite Combine in East Rutherford, N.J. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.34 seconds, while also posting a vertical jump of 37 inches, a 10'4" broad jump and pressed 185 pounds 40 times on the bench.
Coming out of high school as one of the top athletes in the state, Haden set a Maryland public school record with 7,371 career passing yards and tied the mark with 80 touchdown passes. During his senior season, he threw for 2,783 yards and 38 touchdowns while also rushing for 899 yards and 13 scores that year.
Haden had a chance to play receiver for the first quarter of a game as a senior, making five catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns. He later moved back to quarterback for the remainder of the game, throwing for 117 yards and three scores and also ran for a touchdown. He also chipped in defensively in that contest with an interception while playing safety.
Now, Haden is using his previous experience at those positions to move along the learning curve of adjusting to the speed of the game at the collegiate level.
"It helps that I was a quarterback and a receiver because I have a lot of reads to do when I'm out there," Haden said. "Because I was a receiver, all the little things I knew when I was playing on offense come back to help me out now. I think I'm getting a lot better at what I do."
On Sept. 1, Haden became the first true freshman ever to start as a cornerback in a season-opener against Western Kentucky. Since that contest, he has gradually gotten better and more comfortable at his new position.
"Every single day I'm gaining confidence," Haden said. "After you've done this for awhile, you start getting confident enough -- almost like you start knowing what's going to happen before it happens. You start feeling like you can anticipate things."
Appearing in every game for the Gators this season, Haden currently ranks fifth on the squad with 32 tackles and is the team leader in pass deflections with five. He nabbed his first career interception at top-ranked LSU, sliding in front of a slant route on the Tigers' first offensive possession and scooped up one of Florida's three fumble recoveries on the year at home against Auburn.
Alongside fellow freshman free safety Major Wright, the pair has been able to paint a pretty and exciting picture for Gator fans to envision in the defensive secondary of the future. Both rank in the top-five on the team in tackles and have shown that they are capable of stepping up and making game-changing plays.
"Having Major back there is important because we talk a lot," Haden said. "When you've got Major Wright back there and you see how hard he hits, you play with a lot of confidence because you know he'll cover for you."
When you add that duo, along with sophomores Brandon Spikes, Jermaine Cunningham, Markihe Anderson and Dustin Doe, to the Gators' defense, you will be hard-pressed to find a chink in the Gators' defensive armor for the next couple of years. Haden is proud to be a part of UF's defensive corps and is happy with his decision to play on the other side of the ball from what he was used to in high school.
"I love what I'm doing," Haden said. "I really thought I would miss offense a lot more than I have. But I love being on the field and playing. That's what is best of all.”
-UF-
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