TCU GAME NOTEBOOK: NICK BOSA SUFFERS INJURY, AUSTIN MACK BATTLES DROPS, DWAYNE HASKINS RUNS FOR A TOUCHDOWN AND RYAN DAY COMPLETES HEAD COACHING TENURE
HE CAN RUN
While it’s widely accepted at this point that Haskins is a more gifted downfield passer than J.T. Barrett was at Ohio State, it’s also well-established that Haskins isn’t as skilled a runner as Barrett was. And while it’s mostly the positives of Haskins’ increased passing aptitude that have been highlighted through the start of his tenure as the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback, the absence of Barrett’s running ability was noticeable for much of Saturday’s game.
In situations where the Buckeyes have often leaned on Barrett to run the ball in the past, the Buckeyes haven’t turned to Haskins to do the same, and there were times in Saturday’s game – particularly in 3rd-and-short situations, on a night where the Buckeyes went just 4-of-12 on third downs – when a quarterback keeper would have been the more effective play. But when the Buckeyes needed one more score early in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game to help finish the Horned Frogs off, Haskins finally showed he can do it, pulling the ball away from J.K. Dobbins on a read option and running behind a block from Rashod Berry to the left side of the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown.
While it was presumptive to think Haskins would give the ball to Dobbins in that situation – given that Haskins ran the ball only two other times in Saturday’s game – that was why the play worked. Haskins said he saw the defensive end crashing down toward Dobbins on the play, and that was why he chose to keep the ball himself.
“We saw the end was crunching in hard,” Haskins said. “So that's why we called that play.”
Dobbins said he wasn’t surprised that Haskins made the decision to keep the ball, because he saw the same thing Haskins did.
“I wasn't that shocked,” Dobbins said. “I seen the end crash and I saw a big opening. It was like, please go score!”
Day credited fellow offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson with identifying the fact that the defensive end had been leaving the outside open and making the decision to call that play, setting up the opportunity for Haskins to score the first rushing touchdown of his career.
“He said that two plays earlier, we called a play where the fullback came across and crunched the defensive end. He said he was coming real hard. So Kevin says, if we call the play where he can read the guy, that we've got a chance to hit it. And he was exactly right,” Day said. “He was right on the money. The timing was right. So he pulled it; he read it. And then Rashod came around and led the way. Big play in the game.
“Dwayne can beat you with his feet,” Day said. “That's a part of his game. It's not the biggest part of his game, but it is part of his game.”
Entire article:
https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...rops-dwayne-haskins-finally-runs-and-ryan-day