Jerome Souers, a man who has spent nearly 30 years coaching in the Big Sky, called the player who ranks 46
th on the list of the Big Sky Conference’s “50 Greatest Athletes,” “one of the most courageous and smartest players he ever coached.”
Tim Hauck might’ve been too small and too slow in the eyes of many. His home-state Montana Grizzlies didn’t give him a look coming out of tiny Sweetgrass High School in Big Timber, Mont.
“Tim Hauck was all about character and heart,” said Souers, Northern Arizona’s head coach, who was Hauck’s defensive coach at Montana. “The talent he had, he made the most of. He was a walk-on. He had amazing collision skills. He was one of the smartest players I ever coached. They don’t get any tougher. Guys like that don’t come along very often.”
Hauck, listed at 5-foot-10, and 187-pounds in his NFL days, began his collegiate career at NAIA Pacific University in Forrest Grove, Ore. He just wanted to play football.
“My goal was to play for Montana, but they didn’t recruit me,” Hauck said. “I decided that maybe I wasn’t good enough to play at the Big Sky level, so I made that choice. Giving up football never crossed my mind. I really wanted to play, so if I couldn’t go to Montana, I was going to go play somewhere.”
After a stellar year at Pacific, Hauck turned his attention back to Montana. The Grizzlies had begun a new era under Don Read and the opening of Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
“I was still 160 pounds,” Hauck said. “But Don Read and Jerome Souers welcomed me with open arms. They got me to come back as a walk-on. They had no idea who I was. My dad was a head coach in the state, so maybe they thought it was a good publicity move.”
Souers and Read got more than they could have dreamed. Hauck played cornerback his first season, strong safety the next, and free safety as a senior. He was named the Big Sky Defensive MVP as a junior and a senior, becoming the first player in league history to claim the honor in back-to-back years.
Hauck recorded a school-record 25 tackles in a 1989 loss to Fresno State. He finished with 305 career tackles, and 15 career interceptions. He also blocked four extra points during the 1989 season, which to this day is tied for the FCS single-season record.
Hauck earned All-America accolades in 1988 and 1989, and played in the Senior Bowl. He helped Montana to the national semifinals, the program’s first foray into the I-AA final four.
He’s also widely remembered for wearing the No. 37 number at Montana. It’s a tradition for a player from the state of Montana to wear the numerals. Hauck was the second player to wear it, following fullback Kraig Paulson. Since Hauck, defensive players have worn it. Prior to each game, a No. 37 flag is raised in Washington-Grizzly Stadium
“I’m surprised, that’s for sure,” Hauck said on making the Big Sky’s Top 50. “I’m very honored. There were so many great players in the Big Sky even in my era. I guess I never put myself in that echelon. I look back on my career and it was very rewarding. The first time I won the Big Sky MVP, I thought, ‘Wow, am I really that good?’ The second time around, I was pushing myself toward that next level.”
Hauck, known by many simply as “Hitter,” more than made it in the next level. Despite not being drafted, he played 13 seasons in the NFL for Green Bay, Denver, Seattle, Indianapolis, Philadelphia and San Francisco. He was a special teams standout for the most part, but started 15 games at safety for Philadelphia in 1999 when he recorded 60 tackles.
Since his pro career ended, he’s stayed on the move coaching. He joined his brother Bobby’s staff at Montana in 2004, moved to UCLA in 2008 and had stints with Tennessee and Cleveland in the NFL. He is now back with Bobby as the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at UNLV.
During his down time, you’ll likely find him enjoying the outdoors in the Treasure State.
“I’ve got a couple of places, and one of them I’ll eventually make home,” he said. “If it’s winter, I’m skiing or snowmobiling, and if it’s spring, I’m boating or fishing.”
