Former Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins is planning to participate in both passing drills and athletic testing at the NFL Scouting Combine next month, he said Friday in an interview on NFL Network's Super Bowl Live.
Asked by NFL Network's Andrew Siciliano whether he would throw and run at this year's combine, where quarterbacks are set to work out on March 2, he responded affirmatively.
Dwayne Haskins tells me and @SteveMariucci that hell run, throw, and kill it on Moochs white board at the Combine next month.
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) February 1, 2019
Haskins said he has been training for the combine with his quarterbacks coach, Quincy Avery, in Los Angeles.
In one of his first public interviews since announcing he would enter the NFL draft last month, Haskins also explained why he made the decision to jump to the NFL after just one season as Ohio State's starting quarterback, with two remaining years of eligibility.
"Just being able to get better every game, see the progression of every game, it was a lot of fun to see the growth as far as a player, person, quarterback, leader, as every game went on throughout the season ... Just knowing that I wanted to be a professional for a long time, had an opportunity to go do it, I couldn't pass it up," Haskins said.
Some NFL scouts might have concerns about drafting a quarterback who has only been a starter for one year, but Haskins said he believes he is "pretty far along" in his development. The Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year also knows, though, that there are still many ways in which he can improve.
"I feel like I can get so much better, and that's the thing I'm so excited about is that I feel like I have great potential, and I'm going to keep getting there, keep working every day to get to that spot in my life where I feel like I'm satisfied with my growth," Haskins said.
Haskins is widely projected to be a top-10 pick in the 2019 NFL draft, with many mock drafts projecting him to be the top quarterback selected. When asked whether he thought he would be the first quarterback taken in this year's draft on Friday, though, he didn't want to answer directly.
"That's what we're praying for," Haskins said.
Asked for his Super Bowl prediction, Haskins picked the New England Patriots to win, saying he "can't go against (Tom) Brady" although he added, "I hate The Team Up North."
