Ohio State senior defensive tackle Haskell Garrett (92) prepares to line up at the line of scrimmage during the Ohio State-Nebraska game on Oct. 24. Ohio State won 52-17. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
Despite not losing out on any game action, Haskell Garrett made a triumphant return to the field Saturday.
The senior defensive tackle saw his season and career slip into jeopardy when he sustained a gunshot wound to the cheeks while trying to break up an altercation Aug. 30. However, Garrett didn’t miss a beat as he worked his way back to full health and earned the team’s defensive player of the week due to his play against Nebraska Saturday.
“I just realized that I was doing the right things, and I was very much prepared to play in this game,” Garrett said Tuesday in a conference call. “It felt awesome. It felt great just being out there and playing with my brothers.”
The Las Vegas native collected his first career sack and wreaked havoc in both Nebraska’s passing and running games.
Garrett’s sack came at a point when the Buckeyes had not yet taken control of the game as Nebraska had just gotten the ball and trailed only by three points with just over three minutes left in the opening half. The sack set the Cornhuskers back to their own 15 and forced them to face a third-and-15, which they did not convert.
“It was just all the preparation that was put into it. I don’t think anyone really realizes how much goes into one play,” Garrett said. “I was just thankful that I was in the right place at the right time and used my techniques and my basics.”
The Buckeyes scored on their next drive and ran away with the game in the second half, going on a 38-3 run to close the game.
Garrett added another tackle in the second quarter.
Following the Aug. 30 shooting, Garrett said he underwent a series of mouth surgeries, including a bone graft. As a result of the shooting, Garrett said he is still without five teeth.
Due to his lost teeth, Garrett said he’s turned to a primarily liquid diet to help keep him at his 299-pound frame.
“I have to drink a lot of protein shakes,” Garrett said. “For the most part, it’s a lot of intake throughout the day and constantly changing my routine in what I put in my body.”
Although he said he can eat softer solid foods, Garrett said that he’ll have to stay on the diet until he gets all five teeth replaced.
As Garrett navigated a new diet, he also had to continue to be mentally present with the defensive line during his recovery.
“Post surgery, I couldn’t do anything physically, but I could do stuff mentally and just sit there and talk with coach (Larry Johnson) and go over gameplans,” Garrett said. “Just being as prepared as possible, like I said when I came back, be ready to do anything and everything to help the team.”
While he remained a student of the game throughout his recovery, junior center Josh Myers said Garrett made an immediate impact once he was able to return to practice.
“His first day back in pads, we ran an outside zone play and he got my number on it. I was not ready for it. Man, he came off the ball so hard, I mean I could just tell he was so happy and so excited to be back,” Myers said.
Myers said he didn’t find out about Garrett’s gunshot wound until the morning after the incident occured and that he was terrified when he saw the news.
Following the incident, Garrett said that Myers and his other teammates rallied around him throughout his recovery process.
“I was very happy the second I got cleared, just the fact that I knew they wanted me out there,” Garrett said. “The guys were leaning on me just as much as I lean on them. It was just really emotional and a really blessed opportunity to go out and be with them.”
As Garrett looks ahead to the rest of the season, head coach Ryan Day said that he wasn’t surprised by Garrett’s impact Saturday and expects him to play a key role in the defense as the season progresses.
“I am really impressed with the way he played,” Day said. “While I wasn’t surprised with his ability on the field, it was pretty impressive to see that quick turnaround, and if he can continue that, he can have a major impact on our defense.”
