They say the backup quarterback is the most popular guy in town, at least where the fan base is concerned.
When it comes to the backup quarterback’s teammates, however, they may have different thoughts. There’s a reason the backup is the backup, after all.
But at Ohio State over the years, the backup quarterback has more than held his own.
Ron Maciejowski was there for Rex Kern in 1968. Bret Powers bailed Ohio State out repeatedly in 1993. Joe Germaine probably shouldn’t even be considered a backup. Craig Krenzel stepped up in 2001 on the road in Michigan. Kenny Guiton is a near-legend at OSU, and Cardale Jones absolutely is a legend.
And this past Saturday, redshirt freshman Dwayne Haskins joined the long list of backups who have helped lead the Buckeyes to key victories in a relief role.
Haskins completed 6-of-7 passes for 94 yards against Michigan and rushed for 24 yards on three attempts. He led the Buckeyes on three scoring drives, and a fourth drive ended in a missed field goal. Ohio State was trailing 20-14 when he entered the game late in the third quarter and he was at the helm for a 17-0 run.
It was the kind of performance that can only boost the confidence of his head coach.
“First of all, the comfort — and it’s still so young, I can’t say it’s comfort yet — but to see him perform in that environment, and more importantly against that defense. That’s an elite defense,” Urban Meyer said on Monday. “And to come in, I can’t remember what the score was, but we were down, I know that. And to come in and I think someone said 17 unanswered points.”
But it’s not just the confidence and comfort that Meyer has that is important. He saw Haskins’ teammates rally around the young quarterback, and his performance was good enough to grade out a champion. That will always build confidence.
“And more than a coach, the comfort and the confidence that those other ten players have, the quarterback is the most unique position in all of sport,” Meyer said. “And to see that there’s confidence amongst them, and when he was rewarded yesterday and graded as a champion, I could see it in the room that there’s a lot of confidence in him.”
Starting quarterback J.T. Barrett hasn’t practiced yet this week, but the Buckeyes will take the field again on Tuesday. Barrett is day-to-day according to Meyer, but the Buckeyes are confident in any of their quarterbacks on Saturday.
“Whoever’s out there I feel confident that they can do the best job to win the game,” said junior receiver Terry Mclaurin. “Obviously, I feel like the coaches are going to put whoever is healthiest and ready to play out there. I know the competitor that J.T. is and he’s going to do whatever it takes to play in this game.”
If Barrett can’t go, the experience that Haskins gained against Michigan was invaluable. But the confidence that his teammates have in him came from his preparation as much as his production.
“Dwayne had a great week of preparation. We’re very confident if he were to have to step in to make the call,” said senior center Billy Price. “We’re setting up a good game plan for whatever quarterback ends up playing. The personnel is in a good position offensively to take advantage of what we can. Again, a huge amount of confidence in Dwayne.”
Having now seen Haskins in a situation that was not necessarily conducive to success will give Ohio State options moving forward. Barrett is not totally healthy, and if he continues to labor through this week or even possibly into Saturday, Meyer could opt for the youngster to replace the veteran.
“I mean, that’s an option,” Meyer said. “I can’t speak for that moment, because there’s a lot of things that go into it, score, etc., etc., etc., and how we’re playing on defense, etc., etc. But the comfort — and anymore I almost hate saying ‘comfort.’ It’s the confidence, because you’ve seen it.”