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.”