Buckeyes Get Their Quarterback: Four-Star Dwayne Haskins Flips From Maryland to Ohio State

A few months back, Buckeye running back recruiting went through a major overhaul. Today, the same can be said for the quarterback position as Ohio State has landed one of the nation's premier signal-callers. 

Dwayne Haskins should be a familiar name to anyone who follows Ohio State recruiting; or at least anyone who followed Ohio State recruiting early on in the 2016 cycle. Haskins — the nation's seventh-ranked quarterback — was long thought to be a virtual Buckeye lock as he sat atop the quarterback recruiting board early in the process. The Potomac, Maryland, standout grew up a Buckeye fan, has made numerous trips to Columbus, and was even filmed tossing some passes at the practice facility when he was still just a boy.

Alas, things went a bit sour between the two parties as Haskins began looking at other schools and Ohio State turned its focus to other quarterbacks—namely Jarrett Guarantano and Tristen Wallace. Up until the weekend of Dec. 12, 2015, it had been over a year since the four-star had even been to Columbus; his most recent visit being for last year's game against Cincinnati.

Since then, Haskins has picked up offers from a number of the nation's premier programs including Oklahoma, LSU, and Penn State. But for the last year, his recruitment has mostly swirled around Maryland and Florida. On May 15, he made the call to pledge to his in-state Terps; thanks in part to a strong relationship with offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Mike Locksley.

A coaching overhaul in College Park allowed Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes to sneak in and secure an official visit. That visit was enough to swing things back in the Buckeyes' favor, but they had to fight through a return trip to Maryland this past weekend and some chatter of a potential trip to Baton Rouge.

This morning, the Terps and Tigers made some last-ditch efforts to prevent the commitment from going down, but an afternoon in-home visit with Urban Meyer was enough to seal the deal.

As a fifth-grader in 2008, Haskins told the world where he was going to college, so should we really be surprised? 

Haskins has mobility and can definitely move around in the pocket, but he is more of a pocket passer than he is a runner. The four-star is known mostly for precision passing, so anyone hoping for a Braxton Miller clone is probably going to be a bit disappointed. As a senior, he threw for more than 2,200 yards and totaled 23 touchdowns (20 passing, three rushing) in nine games.

The lone quarterback commit for the 2016 class, Haskins is pledge No. 20 for Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes. 

Eleven Warriors will have more on Dwayne Haskins' commitment soon.