The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Haskins is modest, ranking second
Haskins is modest despite ranking second among Division 1 QB’s in touchdowns
Dwayne Haskins Jr. got a phone call from coach Urban Meyer on Saturday night, hours after the quarterback bullied Tulane in a performance that turned up the volume of talk about his potential Heisman Trophy candidacy.
Meyer wanted to make sure Haskins was keeping his feet on the ground as the hype around him intensifies.
“I called him driving home with that message, just stay focused,” Meyer said Monday.
“We’ve had some pretty highprofile guys around here, and
I’ve seen it go both ways. One thing about Columbus, Ohio, is this is the show, and they become bigger than life. But he’s a really humble guy, he’s a very conscientious guy, comes from a great family. So he’s been great so far.”
The spotlight on the third-year junior will only get brighter if he can go into a hostile “white out” at Beaver Stadium and lead No. 4 Ohio State past No. 9 Penn State in a nationally televised game Saturday night.
His eye-popping passing numbers are even better than they seem, considering he didn’t play for big chunks of the second half after Ohio State was comfortably ahead in three of its four wins this year. On Saturday, he threw for 304 yards and five touchdowns in the first half before taking a seat.
Haskins is second among Division I quarterbacks in touchdowns (16) and completion percentage (75.7), third in quarterback rating (207) and is in the top 10 in passing yards and yards per attempt. He has been sacked only three
times and picked off just once. The only player who has more touchdown passes is Hawaii’s Cole McDonald with 20, but he has played in one more game.
“I just want to show how dangerous the offense is, and with me at the helm, a lot of plays can be made,” said Haskins, whose default setting is to heap praise on the offensive line and receivers before saying much, if anything, about himself.
He is turning heads with his ability to throw into tight spots and launch perfectly placed long balls.
“Dwayne for Heisman,” Ohio State receiver Austin Mack said after the 49-6 rout of Tulane that earned Haskins his second Big Ten co-player of the week designation this season. “He’s being a pro, making a lot of tough reads and throwing the ball incredible. We all knew what Dwayne could do. It was just a matter of if he could be the guy on Saturdays.”