So one might be surprised to find out that what the Jackson, Ky., native really enjoys is games like the Hilltoppers’ season opener this year, played in front of 90,000-plus screaming fans at Georgia.
“I really like playing in front of people,” he says. “But, you can’t do that all of the time. Going into the woods is really relaxing, and spending time with family and friends is nice.”
For Haddix, finding the time to relax has been hard to come by. There’s a good reason for that, though — since he came to the Hill in 2003, he has started all 38 of WKU’s contests.
That he would become the Toppers’ starter as a freshman wasn’t etched in stone, since he arrived on campus to find himself in the middle of a nine-man battle for the position vacated by Jason Michael. Michael graduated after leading WKU to the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA national championship.
“I didn’t know that when I signed. The coaches told me that there would probably be three or four guys competing for the job,” Haddix recalls. “I found out it was nine when I came to campus. On the first day of preseason camp I was the second quarterback to go in, so I knew coach [Willie] Taggart was going to give me an opportunity to earn the starting job.”
Eventually the Hilltopper staff began moving some of the candidates to other positions, leaving the trio of Haddix, Alex Dukes and Blake Ladson fighting for the job. From that point, Haddix can pinpoint the minute that he felt he earned the starting nod. “We had a red zone scrimmage one day and I threw two touchdowns,” he says. “I haven’t looked back since then.”
Haddix would go on to be named the Gateway Football Conference Freshman of the Year after throwing for 1,875 yards and 13 touchdowns. He increased that total to 1,976 yards through the air in earning second-team all-league accolades a year later, and was again recognized as an honorable mention all-conference selection as a junior following a season in which he passed for 1,892 yards and a career-best 15 scores.
He has also reached the end zone rushing 19 times, as he stands sixth in NCAA Division I-AA football among active players with 57 total touchdowns accounted for.
“I think I earned respect early on because I had to beat out eight people to win the job,” he says. “We had some good seniors on the offensive line and good receivers, so they took care of me and sheltered me — all I really had to do was not mess up.”
WKU head coach David Elson believes that certain character traits helped Haddix gain early acceptance from his teammates. “I think Justin has been very consistent. We’ve always known that he is a competitor and that he’s tough — in this game, those are two things that always garner respect right off the bat. Some guys display those qualities on days that they feel good, but Justin is tough and competitive seven days a week, 365 days a year. That’s what’s earned him the most respect.”
Now, in his final season of collegiate football, Haddix is chasing the Gateway and national championships instead of wildlife. Although he has already led WKU to a 24-14 (63.2%) record and two playoff berths, Haddix has higher aspirations for the Toppers this fall.
How high? “A Gateway Conference championship and a national championship. Ever since I’ve been here I’ve wanted to win — we’ve won some games, but I want to win championships. That’s what it’s all about.”
Regardless of what happens this season, Haddix will be the Toppers’ most prolific passer since Jeff Cesarone played on the Hill from 1984-87. He already holds the school’s career records entering tonight’s contest against Chattanooga with a 55.1 completion percentage and a 134.97 quarterback efficiency rating, and he also ranks second all-time on the Hill with 6,012 yards passing and 38 touchdowns thrown. Haddix also needs 57 more yards of total offense to become the third player in WKU history to record 7,000 in a career.
Where he has developed during the course of his career is in his management of the game. Whereas at first he was expected to minimize his mistakes and let other individuals decide the outcome of contests, now he knows that he is a key to the Hilltoppers’ success.
“I still have to let the game come to me, but when the game’s on the line I have to make plays for us to score touchdowns,” says Haddix. “That might mean getting out of the pocket and finding a receiver on the run, or getting the ball to running backs out of the backfield. It’s little things like staying calm and not trying to force the issue downfield. I need to get the ball in other guys hands and let them make plays.”
As the only player on the 2006 WKU roster to start every game during Elson’s first three years running the program, Haddix has grown close to the Hilltopper head coach. Even though Elson has always been a defensive coach.
“When I first came here it was always, ‘Don’t mess things up,’” he says. “I’ve had some bad games and he’s stuck with me, so I’ve always respected him for that. It’s been a business relationship because he’s a defensive coach, but we’ve been meeting once a week lately to see what we can do to help each other.”
“Over the last year or so, I think we have taken our most significant strides,” adds Elson. “It’s always been competitive because in the spring the offense is going against the defense. We’ve spent more time talking football and watching film. Justin’s a smart player and he understands the game, so he has been able to share some ideas about what he has seen on our defense and also wants to know what I see from a defensive perspective. I think we’ve both benefitted from that.”
Whatever happens in 2006, Haddix hopes to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor. When Michael left the Hill, he was a graduate assistant on the University of Tennessee’s staff. From there he moved to the Oakland Raiders, and is currently an assistant with the New York Jets. Haddix hopes to help the Hilltoppers as a student assistant before earning his degree in December 2007, then would like to enter the coaching profession.
“I had a chance to talk to Jason early in my career, but haven’t been able to keep in touch lately,” he says. “I’d like to get tips from him to see how he caught on, though.”
“I think Justin has a chance to do the same thing,” says Elson. “I said back when he was a freshman that he is like a gym rat in basketball, and he still is today. Justin cannot get enough of watching film, and being around and studying the game — those are the makings of a good coach.
“Justin also has really good people skills, and that is as important as anything.”
Before Haddix moves to the sidelines, though, there are games to be won and championships to be chased as he leads the Hilltoppers one last fall.
