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Dwayne Haskins: Legend. Leader. Forever a Buckeye.

Dwayne Haskins: Legend. Leader. Forever a Buckeye.

4/9/2022 12:27:46 PM | General

Buckeye standout remembered at 2022 Spring Game

24-year-old dies Saturday morning in auto-related incident in South Florida

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State University Department of Athletics is mourning the loss of Dwayne Haskins today after learning of his death earlier this morning in Florida, where he was in training for the upcoming NFL season. He was 24.

“The loss of Dwayne is beyond tragic and extremely difficult to process,” Ohio State head coach Ryan Day tweeted. “For those who knew him closely, he was much more than a great football player. He had a giant heart, old soul and an infectious smile. The Ohio State community and our entire football program are heartbroken.”

Haskins, a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers and in his fourth year in the National Football League after being a first-round NFL draft pick in 2019 by Washington, was a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2018 after leading Ohio State to the Big Ten Conference championship and an appearance in the Rose Bowl. Ohio State defeated Washington in the Rose Bowl to cap a 12-1 campaign. 

The Rose Bowl win capped a magnificent season for Haskins. Not only was he a finalist for the Heisman Trophy that year, but he also won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football award as the best player in the Big Ten, and was named the Big Ten’s Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year and its Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year.

From the first game of the 2018 season to the very end, Haskins left no doubt that he would be remembered as one of the great quarterbacks in school history. He set 28 Ohio State records in 2018 and added seven additional Big Ten Conference records, including single season passing yards (4,831), touchdown passes (50) and total offensive yards (4,939). 

Haskins also set a Big Ten record for most offensive player of the week awards with six. In those six games:

  • he threw for the most yards (313) and TDs (five) in a first-start for any Ohio State quarterback (vs. Oregon State);
  • he completed 21 of 24 passes for 304 yards and five TDs vs. Tulane;
  • he led Ohio State on two touchdown drives inside of 8 minutes to play in the come-from-behind, 27-26, win at No. 9 Penn State;
  • he threw for 455 yards and six TDs vs. Indiana;
  • he threw for 405 yards and accounted for six touchdowns – three in the fourth quarter with each one tying the game – in the OT win at Maryland; and
  • he threw for 396 yards and six touchdowns against No. 4 Michigan.

One week following the Michigan win he threw for 499 yards and five touchdowns to earn game MVP honors in the Big Ten championship game win over No. 21 Northwestern.

Haskins’ three touchdown passes vs. No. 9 Washington in the Rose Bowl gave him 50 for the season and enabled him to become only the sixth FBS player to throw 50 TDs in a season.

In 22 games at Ohio State and with only 14 starts for his career, Haskins climbed to ninth in Ohio State history with 5,396 passing yards and to fourth with 54 touchdown passes.

Haskins, who was married to the former Kalabrya Gonderzick, of Benton Harbor, Mich., was a two-time OSU Scholar-Athlete majoring in journalism and he was a two-time Academic All-Big Ten Conference honoree.

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