Urban Meyer didn't hesitate. When prompted with a question about future quarterback Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State's head coach responded immediately to identify his feeling toward the incoming freshman and if he already roams the mind of the three-time national championship-winning coach.
"Yes," Meyer said April 20 at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, when he and a bevy of his assistants put a bow on spring practice. "I’ve known Dwayne for three years. I sat and watched him work out. He was training at a facility and I got to physically watch. Some of these kids I don’t get to physically watch. I saw him in camp, although he was very young. His skill set is really good, his film is really good and I’m hoping he gets right in the middle of that."
“The expectations are going to be very high for him to come in and learn the offense and compete to try to play.”– Tim Beck on Dwayne Haskins
"That," is the Ohio State backup quarterback battle. The Buckeyes are set with 2014 Big Ten Quarterback of the Year J.T. Barrett as their starter this fall. Redshirt sophomore Joe Burrow cemented himself as Barrett's understudy at the spring game, tossing three touchdown passes. Stephen Collier is Ohio State's No. 3.
But Haskins is on his way from Maryland, a four-star recruit known best for his precision passing whom Meyer and the Buckeyes flipped from the Terrapins in January.
A high school All-American and the nation's No. 7 signal caller according to 247Sports, Haskins was a massive get for the Buckeyes in the 2016 class. His Letter of Intent is signed, sealed and delivered, which means he best be ready to compete right away. It doesn't matter that he will only be a true freshman.
"In our program we never count anyone out," Ohio State quarterbacks coach Tim Beck said April 20. "The expectations are going to be very high for him to come in and learn the offense and compete to try to play."
Haskins made a trip to Columbus last month, showing up at Ohio State's coaches clinic April 15 and the spring game the next day. He posed with former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, as seen above. The two have a history:
Believe this is Dwayne Haskins showing Jim Tressel a picture of him on his visit to Ohio State way back when pic.twitter.com/JFHFC9vjrb
— Ryan Ginn (@RyanGinnBSB) April 15, 2016
Haskins' anxiousness to get to Columbus is evident. The feelings are the same from his future coaches.
"He is a very smart young man," Beck said. "He understands the concepts and coverages and things like that. That gives him an advantage over a guy who maybe is a great quarterback but hasn't been trained very well and they come in and everybody says, 'We're excited about this guy but does he really have a chance to play the quarterback position?' I think Dwayne does."
Meyer mentioned quarterback guru Bryson Spinner, an individual Haskins spent his off-seasons with at a performance center in Washington, D.C. Spinner checks in with Tim Beck "quite often," Meyer said, to bounce drill ideas off one another. What Spinner taught Haskins is palpable when Meyer watch him play.
"I think we’re going to try to get him in our camps because I just love his drill work," Meyer said of Spinner. "We’re studying it. He’s one of the best I’ve ever been around. I got to see it first hand. Sometimes you watch guys do these incredible drills, and you turn on the video and it looks nothing like that. That means he’s a poor teacher, he presents, but he doesn’t teach. This guy is outstanding."
Spinner represents one pillar of the excitement surrounding Haskins and his enrollment at Ohio State, set for next month. Meyer's offense is complex, but he and his staff feel Haskins properly constructed the foundation to be in the mix when he arrives.
"It's Joe Burrow, it's Steve Collier, J.T. Barrett, it's their job to keep him at bay," Beck said. "That's part of the competition level and being a quarterback here at Ohio State."
