Bryan Station football has more than a new head coach. It has a Defender.
The moments stand apart by two dozen years but tie together a family, a school and a community.
They’re united by a man who doesn’t just know the meaning of Northside Pride. He lives it.
J.T. Haskins Sr. gave his blood, sweat and tears to Bryan Station as one of its most outstanding players, helping lead the Defenders to the state finals in 1999 as its quarterback and a lockdown defender in the secondary.
His passion was immortalized in the Herald-Leader by a photograph taken in the aftermath of Bryan Station’s heartbreaking 34-31 overtime loss to St. Xavier in that year’s Class 4A state championship game at Cardinal Stadium in Louisville.
The Tigers roared by as Haskins’ tears fell.
Years later, Haskins devoted his mind, time and children to Bryan Station as associate head coach and defensive coordinator. The boys, then-senior J.T. Haskins Jr. and freshman Jordan, followed in their father’s footsteps and helped take the Defenders back to a state title game in 2023, the school’s first championship appearance since their father and uncle Robert Haskins played together.
Again, Bryan Station came up short, this time a 41-20 loss to Trinity in the Class 6A finals. Again, the Herald-Leader captured a somber Haskins moment, a hug between brothers standing alone together at Kroger Field. It could be the last time they shared a uniform.
The losses sting. But the pride swells.
So, when Bryan Station began looking for a new head football coach after last month’s departure of Phillip Hawkins to Henry Clay, it didn’t have to look far.
And it chose a Defender through and through.
Expect J.T. Haskins Sr. to give it his all as he’s always done.
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‘We’re going to get back to work’
Haskins couldn’t count the number of texts and calls he’d received Friday morning.
Becoming head coach at Bryan Station “means the world,” Haskins told the Herald-Leader. “Growing up in the same neighborhoods that the kids that I’m actually coaching is just a tremendous feeling … I’m able to give back to the youth.”
Bryan Station announced Haskins’ promotion on social media.
“Coach Haskins lives and breathes Station football. As the defensive coordinator over the last several years, Coach Haskins was instrumental in the rebirth and recent success of our program,” Bryan Station principal Eric Hale said. “He understands the passionate alumni, the rich history, and the importance of being a Defender. … Frankly, he is a winner. I am looking forward to the positive impact he will make on the student athletes in the years to come.”
Haskins succeeds Hawkins, someone who became a close friend. Together, they led Bryan Station to four straight 10-win seasons, a district and region title and a state finals appearance. The Defenders went 7-5 last season.
“I’m really excited for him. I don’t think they could have picked a better person,” Hawkins said. “I think he’s ready to do it. I think he’ll do well, and it makes me feel a lot better (about leaving). I just want them to keep rolling.”
Haskins experienced the highs at Station under Hawkins and his own coach, John Nochta, back in the day. He also experienced the lows as an assistant when the Defenders endured four straight losing seasons from 2016 until Hawkins’ arrival in 2020. Previously, Haskins served as an assistant coach at Lafayette, including the Generals’ run to the 2015 state finals.
“He’s a great hire for Bryan Station. He’s a kid from the Northside. He grew up at Winburn,” said Defenders alumnus Buford Green Jr., co-host of “Big Things Kentucky” on YouTube.com, a weekly high school sports commentary show known for hot takes and hijinks. “I think we won’t have a drop off. We won’t miss a beat.”
As a player, Haskins Sr. earned all-state honors at quarterback and defensive back before going on to play for Louisville. His brother and Eric Shelton, another Bryan Station title-game standout, later became teammates there, too.
After college, Haskins returned to Lexington and played several seasons for the Lexington Horsemen arena football team. He acknowledged he sometimes pulls out his old footage to get his point across to his players.
“I show them a couple of my highlights here and there and let them see how good Coach was,” Haskins said. “They hear about things so much, sometimes you’ve got to show them a visual and keep them on the right page. There’s so much that this game can teach you. I just want them to see it and be a part of it.”
Haskins opted to forego a formal hiring announcement and ceremony, preferring to keep his players on schedule for their offseason workouts in preparation for the next campaign.
“We’re going to carry on with business as usual. We’re going to get back to work,” Haskins said. “We know what we want to do. We know we want to be back in the state championship game. For that to happen, we’ve just got to get back to basics and get some of these young guys caught up to speed so we can achieve our goals.”
Coming full circle
Haskins and his wife, Hailey, have three children. Their youngest son, Jordan, will be a junior next season and has already garnered college offers from Louisville and Kentucky, among others. Their eldest, Jaidyn, was a Bryan Station cheerleader and attends Louisville. J.T. Haskins Jr. just finished up his freshman season at Ohio University.
The night before Bryan Station’s game against Trinity for the 2023 Class 6A championship, Haskins posted the tearful photo of himself after the Defenders’ 1999 state finals loss on his Facebook page. He couldn’t know the outcome the next day or how his sons would live that kind of moment themselves in front of another photographer.
“It was just a full-circle moment,” Haskins said of his sons’ photo. “After seeing that picture … it just brought back so many memories of me and my little brother, Robert, and how we started the quest of trying to clinch the state championship. We got so close.”
Haskins is sometimes asked if his photo haunts him. It doesn’t.
“That picture entailed all the hard work I put in in my four years here at Bryan Station,” Haskins said. “It just makes me who I am. I’m still hungry for that state championship, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to make sure we are able to get back to the promised land.”
This story was originally published January 18, 2025 at 1:12 PM.
