Trailing 20-14 in the third quarter of last year’s Michigan game, Ohio State starting quarterback J.T. Barrett went down with a knee injury. The Buckeyes lost their leader, but the game was still there for the taking.
In stepped backup quarterback Dwayne Haskins. Haskins completed his first pass to J.K. Dobbins for four yards. Then, on third-and-13 from the OSU 47-yard line, Haskins found receiver Austin Mack down the sideline for a 27-yard gain. Two plays later and Haskins was scrambling for 22 yards down to the Michigan 1-yard line. The drive ended in a touchdown run for Dobbins.
That was the first of four drives for Dwayne Haskins. He led the Buckeyes to scores on three of the drives. The fourth ended in a missed field goal attempt. More importantly, Ohio State won the game 31-20.
Replacing Barrett in that particular situation put Haskins to the test, and he passed it with ease.
How does that performance now come into play as Haskins battles Joe Burrow and Tate Martell to become the Ohio State starting quarterback?
“I mean I feel like it was pretty important, but the main goal for me for that game was to not mess anything up, just go out there and win,” Haskins said. “It happened the way it happened and it wasn’t planned. I didn’t think it was going to happen that way. Just executing is what you have to do as a quarterback and I’m glad I did well.”
Haskins stayed in the moment and did exactly what his team needed. He stayed composed and focused on the task at hand. The OSU coaches got a preview at what the offense looks like with Haskins in control, but that was last year and this is a brand new season.
“He did a nice job in that game, but now this is a new year and so these guys have got to come out and compete,” said quarterbacks coach Ryan Day. “Just like anything else, what have you done for me lately? So he’s got to improve and prove himself to be the starter just like the other guys.”
Coming off the bench and playing a key role in securing a win is a great start, but doing so on the road against Michigan is an entirely different animal. The moment could have been too big for Haskins, but it wasn’t. And while the coaches still want to see more — and Haskins has competed all spring long to give them more — he left that game with the kind of confidence that a starting quarterback needs.
“Just having the opportunity to play in the biggest rivalry in all of sports and just being able to go in there and not really worry,” Haskins said. “Just play every play at a time and just being able to go out and win puts a lot of confidence in you because your team saw you do it, the world saw you do it, and it just gives you a lot of confidence going forward.”
Seems like backup qb’s often perform well, Kenny Guiton, Joe Germaine, and Alabama in NC, Tua T. Oh yeah, how about Cardale Jones! And even Terrelle Pryor. Cannot see why only one is right to play just because that is the way it has always been done. We have multiple offensive sets featuring different skills sets for others, why not qb’s. Just sayin’.
Nobody knows what a qb is until they see them in real game action under tough conditions. That is why coaches at all levels are generally bad at drafting/recruiting abs and figuring out who the starter should be. Kernel was the third string Qb a week before he first beat Michigan, It took several embarrassing defeats before Tressel reluctantly let Troy Smith play. Saban basically said that there was no way OSU beats Bama without Cardale replacing Barrett. Michigan fans can tell similar stories about Griese replacing Dreisbach due to injury and Brady being overlooked. I could talk about Bauserman being overrated and Germaine being underrated, but I hope, by now, my point is clear;: although coaches would like to think they know whi is best based on practice, they don’t.
So, yes,
Tony, I’m thinking that the coaches know they need to change the offense *some* to suit the next man up.
I really believe they would prefer to change it ass little as needed.
Assuming Tate is prepping to start in ’19, I think that makes Joe B the best fit as he throws ( at least almost ) as well as Dwayne – he certainly runs better -which makes him as the QB the one that demands less change to the running style Urbs prefers. imho
Interesting thought. I’ll throw it in next week’s podcast.
We could have back to back 4 time Michigan thumpers! Of course it should count.
“as little as needed” – I’m the ass here….
What’s equally as important to remember is OSU also didn’t allow a point after Haskins took over. I think his performance in the game was awesome, but I don’t think it should give him a leg up in the competition either.
He threw a beautiful pass to Mack, and connected on a few crossing routes to Hill. But it’s not like Joe Burrow isn’t capable of doing those exact same things. Contrary to what many Buckeyes fans think, I think the job is going to be won solely during the spring and they still don’t have a clear #1 yet. I mean if they knew who their guy was, he’d be taking as many 1st team reps as possible.
Good thoughts, but what you forgot that he also had a wonderful run right down to the goal line that made him seem like he had eyes in the back of his head and led to a lead that OSU wouldn’t relinquish. Burrows had made no such plays in real games, the question isn’t capability, but accomplishment. I have high hopes for Burrows, but have been honestly disappointed in his real game performance at least during last season. The proof is in the pudding. The rest of your statement I tend to agree.