From the Sidelines

Rusty Haehl is a 2008 Bellevue graduate. Photo courtesy of EWU Athletics

I wrote this story for today’s paper, focusing on former Bellevue Wolverine Rusty Haehl, a redshirt sophomore linebacker at Eastern Washington University. Haehl and the Eagles beat Delaware 20-19 earlier this month, winning the FCS National Championship.

I spoke with Haehl for quite a while and he had lots of interesting things to say that didn’t make the paper. Here’s some of that conversation.

On his playing time behind Buck Buchanan award winner J.C. Sherritt:
About halfway through the season last year, I switched to SAM linebacker. When I switched, my actual defensive snaps started to dwindle down. I had hurt my ankle pretty bad in the beginning of the year and missed two games, and my buddy Grant kind of got the back-up spot.

On EWU’s first round playoff game against North Dakota State:
That was the most physical game I’ve ever played in. There were some big boys in that game. I’d never played in a snow game before. It was just crazy, the whole atmosphere was insane.

On Eastern’s pre-game thoughts on Delaware and QB Pat Devlin:
We knew they were good – obviously, everyone’s good at this point in the year. We knew Devlin really likes his short game and never really threw the ball deep.

On being down 12-0 at halftime:
For me, personally, playing on special teams, it’s hard to be in that position. It’s hard to just watch because you can’t really do a whole lot about it. When you’re in, obviously, we wanted to do something, block a punt, return a touchdown. Luckily, the offense got it rolling and once we got the first touchdown, we were like ‘OK, just two scores away.’

It was a quick defensive series and we immediately converted, now we were just one touchdown away from being national champions. Everyone was pumped.

I know some of my friends turned the game off in the beginning and only saw the end. They missed the comeback.

On the last defensive stand after Eastern took a 20-19 lead with just minutes to play:
That goes back to the rest of the season, it’s always fallen into the defense’s hands and put onto our shoulders. Not to knock the offense, but as a defensive player and a defensive unit, you have to learn that’s going to happen to you.

Offense puts the people in the stands, but defense wins championships.

On being part of the EWU team to finally win a championship, after many great teams and great players have gotten so close in the past:
My first year we were just over .500. I saw a lot of those guys at the championship game, and we told them ‘we did this for you guys’. With the red turf going in this year, with all the support from the EWU alumni, all the people who donated and sponsored us, it was really special for us to win it and also win those three playoff games at home.

On learning from J.C. Sherritt, the nation’s top defensive player:
He’s a goofball, but that’s our whole team. There’s nothing else that matters besides winning and competing and J.C. is a competitor. He hates losing and he loves putting in the work to make himself or the team win. That goes for everything from XBox in the locker room, to ping pong, to weightlifting. He’s the top dog of it all. He’s always trying to better himself and his teammates. He’s also a really good friend.

On coach Beau Baldwin:
He’s such a good guy, such a good coach. He’s not a complete hardass. He’s tough, but he understands. He relates to us; he wants to get down to business.

On the difference between college and high school:
The biggest difference in the college game is the speed, both on the field and off the field in the meeting room. One thing that definitely helped me out in my time at Bellevue was the long playoff runs. Always having the goal of winning your league, going to the playoffs and winning state, going in for the long haul, that prepares your body and mind. For example, I never played football in January before this year.

On teammate Taiwan Jones, a junior running back who declared for the NFL Draft:
I knew the possibility was there. I could see him as maybe a receiver or for sure 100 percent as a return specialist. He’d be up there with the best of them in the NFL. People don’t realize how quick he is until their ankles are broken and their pants are on the ground. I’m happy for him – I’d love to be in that situation.

On Eastern’s opener next season at the University of Washington:
I’m really excited. I grew up going to Husky games. My grandpa played there, my parents went there. It’s going to be one of the last games there [before renovation]. Being that our team is about 68 of 90 guys from Washington, there’s a lot of westside guys. UW was our team for most of us. We’re friends with them, but now that they’re on our schedule, they’re next up. I think it’s going to be a blast.