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In four games, Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins made 16 touchdown passes, averaging 10.4 yards per attempt and one interception. It ranks third nationally in terms of efficiency, behind Tua Tagovailoa (Alabama) and Will Grier (West Virginia). More impressive perhaps, he changed the paradigm of the Ohio State offensive, which turned into a bloated hybrid between the Urban Meyer extension and the part-time attack of coordinator Ryan Day of the Chip Kelly tree.
The result was a quarterback climb that we have not seen since Cam Newton in 2010. To be clear, Haskins does not play anything like Cam Newton. Haskins is a 6-foot-3, 220-pound quarterback who is comfortable in the pocket. Think of a Carson Wentz-style quarterback playing in the Big Ten, as the emergence of Haskins virtually eliminated the quarterback of the Ohio State's offensive record. (Newton, of course, ran the area relentlessly to Auburn and continues to run it in the NFL.)
The only place where comparisons with Newton are likely to come from the rare rhythm of their ascents. Daniel Jeremiah, the NFL explorer's guru, points out that the last time we saw a similar increase, Newton arrived at Auburn from Blinn College and went through the SEC to win the national title. Newton, of course, found himself at the front of the pack in the 2011 NFL. Haskins, 21, is far from these achievements, but the bow at first feels familiar.
"On the road, there's a chance he'll come out," said Quincy Avery, the Haskins coach. He pointed out that he had not discussed this with Haskins. "If he's a freshman, he'll be playing in the NFL next year. It would be almost irresponsible of him not to do it.
Here's what we need to emphasize with Haskins. It's early. Really early. He has played four games as a starter and only one, TCU at the AT & T stadium, would be considered a big challenge. He faces a critical test at Penn State on Saturday night, with a white veil in the stands that undoubtedly creates the most intimidating environment of college football. A misfire will change Haskins' story as quickly as it emerged, as he must continue to play at a high level to continue spinning on the NFL's radar.
No one in the NFL will go so far as to say that Haskins has done enough or has enough talent to overtake Oregon's Justin Herbert as the best quarterback in this class. Herbert is the No. 1 pick in the recce rounds, and his brilliant regulation against Stanford – 25 out of 27 for 331 yards – has done little to calm this speculation.
Because of his limited representatives, Haskins' production has not yet dictated his first-round pick. But there is a general feeling that he is a high-end hope and talent because there is a desire to see more.
"He has a lot of talent, a great size and an arm strength," said one of the few scouts who saw him enough to make an early projection. "Ideally, we would see him throw open guys, but I think he's the real deal. I think he's talented enough to be a first-round pick if he leaves. "
Yahoo has contacted more than half a dozen Scouts and team officials this week, and it's far too early to give Haskins a scoreline. The NFL teams are not studying second-year third-year students in the off-season, and Haskins had only 57 attempts as a rookie last season, supporting J. T. Barrett. By the end of September, NFL scouts can not identify or project their future with professional precision because they have not yet studied it enough. (If you really want to dive, screening in the NFL is a painstaking and thorough process where gunners are controlled as carefully as quarterbacks).
But the prospect of Haskins, a sophomore as a star-star, has percolated into the NFL circles. A big Saturday night could continue to fury. Yahoo Sports interviewed three of the university's top coaches who faced Haskins, and they all laughed at him. Jonathan Smith of the Oregon State congratulated Chris Ashley for his command of the offense. In a telephone interview this week, Tulane's Willie Fritz called Haskins a "very good NFL quarterback".
What impressed Fritz most is the number of things the Ohio State could do with Haskins, as his talents stretched Green Wave's defense horizontally and vertically. "I watched a little bit of them last season," Frtiz said. "They did not seem as dynamic as they are this year with all the things they do."
He then launched a host of different offensive packages – dropback passes, sprint-out passes, bootlegs, inner zone, stretching races, power and fast play – that Haskins is launching. They do so with a tempo that has earned them an average of five clicks per game this season (80), OSU ranking 15th after finishing 37th last year.
"They spread it, use all parts of the ground horizontally and vertically," said Fritz, comparing it to the attack that Tulane sees Memphis run in the AAC. "They quickly get the ball in space. This is by no means an old style offense.
Behind the scenes of the Ohio State, the subject of the NFL has not been discussed with coaches. By analyzing Meyer's public comments, it is clear that he is reluctant to praise the inexperienced quarter too much to avoid waiting for unrealistic expectations.
"It's so early, though, I hate putting it in these conditions …", said Meyer, when asked to put him in the context of the big-quarterbacks, he is trained. He quickly turned to the Penn State game. "Game 5 to come. This one is a big to come, so I'm happy with his performance. "
At the time Haskins was a sophomore in high school, he attended the NFL Prep 100 camp in Baltimore. It has attracted the attention of Rich Bartel, a counselor who is a former NFL quarterback and who now works in the private quarter space. Haskins had no offer at the time, but his presence and talent hit Bartel.
"It's as if he had fallen from his belly throwing football," said Bartel. "It's long and fluid, it's just beautiful. It's the right length of limbs, arms and legs. The fluidity of his movement is different. "
Bartel said Haskins had a strange ability to remember information and a unique presence that "was just between the arrogant and the trust, both disengaged and very committed." Bartel loved him, sent his film to June Jones at SMU Haskins offers his first scholarship offer in March 2014. Bartel projects Haskins as an NFL quarterback, but he warns Haskins to go to the NFL.
"What do you really want?" He said. "The first contract? Is the goal to succeed or be a quarterback of the NFL sustainable and sustainable?
Avery compliments the co-coordinators of the work, Day and Wilson have made the development of Haskins, which includes "the pure passage of progression" and "all that the NFL teams want to see".
"They did not take any shortcuts," Avery said. "Dwayne has made so much progress in protection. These are the things that will allow him to go on an NFL team and play early.
Haskins' performance on Saturday night at Penn State will go a long way in determining whether his early trajectory remains true.
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