Joe Haden
Encyclopedia
Joseph Walter "Joe" Haden, III (born April 14, 1989) is an American football
cornerback
for the Cleveland Browns
of the National Football League
(NFL). He was drafted by the Browns in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft
. He played college football
at Florida
.
. He attended Friendly High School
in Friendly, Maryland
where he played quarterback
for the Friendly Patriots high school football
team and set the Maryland public school record with 7,371 career passing yards and tied the record for touchdown
passes with 80.
Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com
, Haden was listed as the No. 3 athlete in the nation in the class of 2007. He chose Florida over offers from Pittsburgh
, Ohio State
and Tennessee
.
to attend the University of Florida
in Gainesville, Florida
, where he played for coach Urban Meyer
's Florida Gators football
team from 2007
to 2009
. As a true freshman in 2007, Haden started 12 games at cornerback
, missing one game due to an ankle
sprain. He became the first true freshman to start a game at cornerback for the Gators on opening day, and finished the season with 63 tackles
and an interception. He was recognized as a freshman All-American by the Sporting News and Collegefootballnews.com and was a All-Southeastern Conference
(SEC) freshman selection. As a sophomore in 2008
, Haden started all 14 games, recording 77 tackles, and three interceptions—including an 88-yard interception return for a touchdown (the fourth longest in Gators history). In the Gators' 24–14 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners
in the BCS Championship Game
, he had 10 tackles and three pass break-ups. During his junior year in 2009, he had 57 tackles, four interceptions and three sacks
, and was named a first-team All-SEC selection and a unanimous first-team All-American. He also shared the Gators' most valuable player award with quarterback
Tim Tebow
, and was named the National Defensive Player of the Year by the Sporting News.
After his junior season, Haden decided to forgo his senior season and entered the NFL Draft
.
. At the NFL Combine
, Haden disappointed scouts with a 4.57 sec time in the 40-yard dash, which is slow for an NFL cornerback, but it was later revealed he had a sore back at that time. He ran a 4.43 in Florida's Pro Day
in the 2010 NFL Draft
. He and the Browns agreed to a five-year, $50 million contract on July 31, 2010.
Haden started his rookie season as the Browns nickelback, but took the starting spot from a struggling, and injured Eric Wright in Week 11. Haden became the first Browns player since 1968 to intercept a pass in four straight games. He finished his rookie season with 64 combined tackles, 6 interceptions and one forced fumble.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
cornerback
Cornerback
A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...
for the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL). He was drafted by the Browns in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft
2010 NFL Draft
The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible football players. Unlike previous years, the 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first round on Thursday, April 22, 2010, at 7:30 pm...
. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Florida
Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...
.
Early years
Haden was born in Fort Washington, MarylandFort Washington, Maryland
Fort Washington, Maryland is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland in the suburbs of the capital city of the United States of America, Washington, D.C., south of the downtown district. It is a prosperous community with an African American majority...
. He attended Friendly High School
Friendly High School
Friendly High School is a public high school in unincorporated Friendly, Maryland in Prince George's County, a county in the state of Maryland in the United States of America...
in Friendly, Maryland
Friendly, Maryland
Friendly is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, USA, with an African-American majority population, and a few miles south of Washington, D.C. The population was 10,938 at the 2000 census. Friendly had its own rural post office in the early 20th...
where he played quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
for the Friendly Patriots high school football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
team and set the Maryland public school record with 7,371 career passing yards and tied the record for touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
passes with 80.
Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com
Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting. The network was started in 1996 and currently employs more than 300 personnel.-Schools:The individual collegiate sites can be found...
, Haden was listed as the No. 3 athlete in the nation in the class of 2007. He chose Florida over offers from Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
, Ohio State
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
and Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
.
College career
Haden accepted an athletic scholarshipAthletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport...
to attend the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, where he played for coach Urban Meyer
Urban Meyer
Urban Frank Meyer, III is an American football coach and former player. He is head football coach at Ohio State University, having been hired for the position in November 2011...
's Florida Gators football
Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...
team from 2007
2007 Florida Gators football team
The 2007 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2007 college football season...
to 2009
2009 Florida Gators football team
The 2009 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2009 college football season...
. As a true freshman in 2007, Haden started 12 games at cornerback
Cornerback
A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...
, missing one game due to an ankle
Ankle
The ankle joint is formed where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle, or talocrural joint, is a synovial hinge joint that connects the distal ends of the tibia and fibula in the lower limb with the proximal end of the talus bone in the foot...
sprain. He became the first true freshman to start a game at cornerback for the Gators on opening day, and finished the season with 63 tackles
Tackle (football move)
Most forms of football have a move known as a tackle. The primary purposes of tackling is to disposses an opponent of the ball, to stop the player from gaining ground towards goal or to stop them from carrying out what they intend....
and an interception. He was recognized as a freshman All-American by the Sporting News and Collegefootballnews.com and was a All-Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
(SEC) freshman selection. As a sophomore in 2008
2008 Florida Gators football team
The 2008 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2008 college football season...
, Haden started all 14 games, recording 77 tackles, and three interceptions—including an 88-yard interception return for a touchdown (the fourth longest in Gators history). In the Gators' 24–14 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners
Oklahoma Sooners football
The Oklahoma Sooners football program is a college football team that represents the University of Oklahoma . The team is currently a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
in the BCS Championship Game
2009 BCS National Championship Game
The 2009 BCS National Championship Game, sponsored by FedEx, was an American football game played at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on January 8, 2009. It was the national championship game for the 2008 college football season, and featured the second-ranked Florida Gators against the...
, he had 10 tackles and three pass break-ups. During his junior year in 2009, he had 57 tackles, four interceptions and three sacks
Quarterback sack
In American football and Canadian football, a sack occurs when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before he can throw a forward pass, or when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in the "pocket" and the intent of what he was going to do is unclear...
, and was named a first-team All-SEC selection and a unanimous first-team All-American. He also shared the Gators' most valuable player award with quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Tim Tebow
Tim Tebow
Timothy Richard "Tim" Tebow is an American football player who is currently the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Broncos as the 25th overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft...
, and was named the National Defensive Player of the Year by the Sporting News.
After his junior season, Haden decided to forgo his senior season and entered the NFL Draft
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
.
Pre-draft
Haden was considered one of the best prospects available for the 2010 NFL Draft2010 NFL Draft
The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible football players. Unlike previous years, the 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first round on Thursday, April 22, 2010, at 7:30 pm...
. At the NFL Combine
NFL Combine
The National Invitational Camp or NFL Scouting Combine, as it is more widely known, is a week-long showcase, occurring every February in Indianapolis, Indiana's Lucas Oil Stadium , where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Football League coaches, general...
, Haden disappointed scouts with a 4.57 sec time in the 40-yard dash, which is slow for an NFL cornerback, but it was later revealed he had a sore back at that time. He ran a 4.43 in Florida's Pro Day
Cleveland Browns
Haden was drafted 7th overall by the Cleveland BrownsCleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the 2010 NFL Draft
2010 NFL Draft
The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible football players. Unlike previous years, the 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first round on Thursday, April 22, 2010, at 7:30 pm...
. He and the Browns agreed to a five-year, $50 million contract on July 31, 2010.
Haden started his rookie season as the Browns nickelback, but took the starting spot from a struggling, and injured Eric Wright in Week 11. Haden became the first Browns player since 1968 to intercept a pass in four straight games. He finished his rookie season with 64 combined tackles, 6 interceptions and one forced fumble.
See also
- 2008 Florida Gators football team2008 Florida Gators football teamThe 2008 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2008 college football season...
- 2009 College Football All-America Team2009 College Football All-America TeamAn All-American team is an honorary sports team for a specific season composed of the best amateur players at each position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply "All-Americans". Although the honorees generally do not...
- Florida GatorsFlorida GatorsThe Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
- History of the Cleveland BrownsHistory of the Cleveland BrownsThis article details the history of the Cleveland Browns American Football Club.-1946–1949: The AAFC years:The Cleveland Browns were founded in 1944 by owner Arthur 'Mickey' McBride and head coach Paul Brown and started play in 1946...
- List of Cleveland Browns first-round draft picks
- List of Florida Gators football players