Senior quarterback on path to break NIU passing records.

F.our years ago, NIU quarterback Josh Haldi wasn’t worried about breaking school records or leading a team to win the Mid-American Conference. P “At that point, I was just worried about playing,” the 6-foot-2 senior said. “You don’t think that far ahead as a freshman.” P Haldi red-shirted his first year and was taken under the wing of then-NIU quarterback Chris Finlen – now with the New York Jets as a free agent.

Four years later, Haldi finds himself playing the role of tutor helping younger quarterbacks.

“Everything I know so far, I’ve learned from him,” backup quarterback Chris Carr said. “He leads by example, and he’s really taken the role as team leader.”

For Haldi, he’s just giving the aspiring quarterbacks the same favor he was given.

“I try to help them as much as I can,” Haldi said. “The biggest thing is working hard and being patient. You can’t worry about what others think of you. I always tell them to worry about yourself.”

Fans at times love and hate quarterbacks, but for Haldi, it’s all a part of the job.

“You always get too much credit if you’re winning and too much blame if you’re losing,” Haldi said, “but that’s the great thing about being quarterback.”

Haldi owns an 18-6 record as a starter for the Huskies. After passing for 2,544 yards last year, he needs only 2,152 to become the leading passer in NIU history.

Despite being within reach of breaking most every NIU passing record, Haldi jokes that he’s “not a numbers guy,” even if he is an accounting major.

Haldi attributes the numbers to his teammates, but his coaches attribute it to his work ethic.

“Josh is a guy that you’d want your daughter to date, as corny as it sounds,” quarterback coach John Bond said. “He takes pride in everything he does. He takes meticulous notes – I can see why he’s such a good student.”

As a senior captain, Haldi will be placed in a position of more leadership and more pressure. Huskies football coach Joe Novak just wants his quarterback to keep doing what he has been.

“I don’t want him to try and force plays,” Novak said. “He’s gotten it done pretty well, and that’s what he’ll continue to do. Josh doesn’t care if he throws incomplete passes as long as we win the game. Winning is what motivates him – he’s a competitor.”

Haldi is a member of a large crop of quarterbacks in the MAC from Ohio, but he’s the only one who left the state.

Bowling Green’s Josh Harris and Miami-Ohio’s Ben Roethlisberger received media attention for their efforts with Bowling Green and Miami-Ohio last season, and many think that Akron’s Charlie Frye is a Heismann Trophy candidate.

“Ohio has so many MAC schools and it’s so competitive,” Haldi said. “I’m not bitter at all – look at what those guys did. Those teams picked up the right guys.”

Haldi said he used to get more excited about games against Ohio teams but learned not to when that excitement created mistakes.

“You learn something every game,” he said. “Obviously a lot of things come with experience, and I know a lot more now than I did then.”