Former Lake Travis High School wide receiver Garrett Wilson catches a pass for the Cavaliers. Wilson is now a freshman wide receiver at Ohio State. Credit: Courtesy of Shelia Parodi
While the focus for the team may be on the Spring Game that is three days away, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day had plenty to say about a player who is no longer on the team.
Former Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins has more than two weeks to go before his fate in the 2019 NFL Draft is decided, and it has been announced that the Heisman trophy nominee will not be in attendance at the draft.
For some, this was a worrying sign. But for Day, he said this was the plan all along.
“He never planned on going to the draft,” Day said. “He’s got a big family, a lot of supporters so I think he wanted to do something back home, I think that’s something he’s always wanted to do.”
Haskins’ draft stock has been moving around, with some experts dropping him to the No. 3 quarterback to be selected.
Day said this is just how the NFL Draft is. The Ohio State head coach and two-year NFL quarterbacks coach said player’s’ stocks rise and fall all the time, but that Haskins should be on the eyes of any team looking for a quarterback.
“Any time you have a quarterback like that, you’re looking for what is his extraordinary skill? What is it makes him different? All the great ones have that, and I think his thing is his accuracy, and his ability to see the field,” Day said. “When you look at what he did in one year, it’s tremendous.”
Haskins has moved on to the NFL, and Ohio State will have its annual Spring Game without him.
The game is going to be four 10-minute quarters, with the second half implementing a running clock, according to Day.
Day also said there will be no tackling, using “thud” tackling, which means players will go full speed until the initial contact.
“Tackling in the spring is a dangerous thing,” Day said. “We spend so much time and so much effort recruiting these guys, getting them ready to go, just don’t think it’s worth it to try and put the pads in the ground right now.”
Throughout the 13 spring practices thus far, there has been one player on offense who has managed to shine: freshman wide receiver Garrett Wilson.
When asked who on offense has made an impact without the history of significant playing time, Day mentioned the former five-star recruit from Lake Travis, Texas.
“It probably is Garrett Wilson,” Day said. “Just seeing him make plays day in and day out down the field, it would probably be him on offense.”
As for the defense, Day mentioned redshirt sophomore cornerback Shaun Wade and sophomore safety Josh Proctor as two players who have impressed thus far.
