Football: Dwayne Haskins learns how to respond to adversity
Dwayne Haskins walked into Beaver Stadium like a heavyweight boxer walking into a ring.
With a camera in front of his face, Ohio State’s redshirt sophomore quarterback threw punches, hyping himself up, displaying confidence. Ohio State hadn’t really seen this before from its starter, as Haskins carried himself in the same way Penn State redshirt senior quarterback Trace McSorley has done his entire career, and did against the Buckeyes on Saturday.
After lining up for the first time in a shotgun set, Haskins showed that confidence, rolling out to the right and finding junior wide receiver Austin Mack on an outside curl route, giving him a quick first down and, seemingly, momentum.
Haskins sped up the pace, getting to the 30-yard line for the second play. The ball was snapped and he quickly fired one towards redshirt senior Parris Campbell on the left side for a screen pass.
The ball was dropped. The momentum was gone. Haskins started to slump.
For the first time in his Ohio State career, Haskins faced adversity. He had the opportunity to define what his response to that adversity would be, what play-calling he would lean to in those times of high pressure.
Against Penn State, the adversity did not begin because of Haskins.
Reminiscent of Mack’s performance against TCU, Ohio State receivers dropped three passes in the first quarter, including a ball off the hands of redshirt junior tight end Rashod Berry that ended up being Haskins’ second interception of the season.
With the combination of mistakes from Ohio State receivers and a consistent pass rush by the Penn State defensive line, a unit averaging 3.2 sacks per game, the confidence that Haskins came into the stadium with was not there.
From there, Ohio State recorded five three-and-outs on its first eight drives.
Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Ryan Day said he had to encourage Haskins as he struggled in the first half.
“It’s his first time going through it. Just talking to him, ‘Hey, you are playing good.’ I thought the ball to Rashod [Berry] was a good throw,” Day said. “I thought he was managing the game well even though it didn’t feel like it at the time.”
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https://www.thelantern.com/2018/10/football-dwayne-haskins-learns-how-to-respond-to-adversity/