Ryan Day Eulogizes Dwayne Haskins at Memorial Service: “Ohio State and Our Program is Forever In Debt to Dwayne Haskins”

By Dan Hope on April 25, 2022 at 12:00 am
Ryan Day
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Ryan Day traveled to Maryland to pay tribute to Dwayne Haskins on Sunday night.

Day, who was also in attendance for Haskins’ funeral in Pittsburgh on Friday, spoke about his former quarterback during a memorial service at Haskins’ high school, The Bullis School in Potomac, Maryland, on Sunday evening.

In a nearly 10-minute eulogy about the former Buckeye, who Day coached during his two seasons as Ohio State’s offensive coordinator in 2017 and 2018, Day made it clear just how much of an impact Haskins made on him and the Ohio State football program.

“What Dwayne meant to college football, the state of Ohio, Ohio State University, the football program, our staff and my family is hard to put into words,” Day said, after which he talked about the bond Day built with his son, RJ. “His compassion, the way he loved, I mean he loved big. And that still lives on at Ohio State.”

Day said he first met Haskins when Haskins was just 14 years old and Day was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Boston College. And he’s thankful that he ultimately got the chance to coach Haskins at OSU.

“We would not be where we’re at right now without Dwayne Haskins,” Day said.

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Day then told the crowd about how Haskins became Ohio State’s starting quarterback in 2018, which Day considers “one of the most magical seasons in the history of college football.”̦ He talked about the moments that led up to that for Haskins – including his fumble that was returned for a touchdown against Illinois in 2017, and how he bounced back to lead Ohio State to a comeback win against Michigan the following week – and about the signature moments of Haskins’ lone season as the Buckeyes’ starter, including how he led Ohio State to an overtime win at Maryland, threw for six touchdowns against Michigan and passed for a school-record 499 yards against Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship Game.

Finally, Day talked about just how big a legacy Haskins left in Columbus.

“It’s been said before that some men don’t fear death, they fear being irrelevant or insignificant. I can tell you something right now: Dwayne Haskins left a legacy behind,” Day said. “He was relevant. He was significant. He had an impact on so many people at Ohio State.

“In such a short time, the impact he made on this Earth, I just wish I had more time with him and I know we all do here. I just want to let you know that Ohio State and our program is forever in debt to Dwayne Haskins and the Haskins family.”

You can watch Day’s full eulogy at Haskins’ memorial service in the video below (beginning at 1:17:30).

Maryland coach Mike Locksley and Haskins’ sister Tamia were among the others who spoke at Sunday night’s memorial service, which was the third of three memorial services for Haskins over the weekend.

After the initial funeral was held in Pittsburgh on Friday, another funeral was held on Saturday in New Jersey, where Haskins’ former Ohio State teammate Terry McLaurin also gave a moving tribute to his former teammate in which he said Haskins “made me a better man and a better friend” and taught him “what it was like to be a real friend.”

Haskins’ sister, mother and father also paid tribute to their son at Saturday’s funeral in New Jersey.

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