SUNDAY, APRIL 10 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE A25
Trubisky, Najee Harris and Chase
Claypool.
“I am devastated and at a loss
for words with the unfortunate
passing of Dwayne Haskins,”
Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin said
in a statement Saturday. “He
quickly became part of our Steel-
ers family upon his arrival in Pitts-
burgh and was one of our hardest
workers, both on the field and in
our community. Dwayne was a
great teammate, but even more so
a tremendous friend to so many. I
am truly heartbroken.”
Haskins, the 15th overall pick
by Washington, played almost two
full seasons with the team before
he was cut late in the 2020 season
after a tumultuous run. He was
signed by the Steelers in January
2021 and retained on a restricted
free agent tender for the 2022
season, affording him a chance to
compete for a backup role follow-
ing the retirement of longtime
starter Ben Roethlisberger.
“I am absolutely heartbroken
to hear the news of the passing of
Dwayne Haskins Jr.,” Washington
Coach Ron Rivera said in a state-
ment. “Dwayne was a talented
young man who had a long life
ahead of him. This is a very sad
time and I am honestly at a loss for
words. I know I speak for the rest
of our team in saying he will be
sorely missed. Our entire team is
sending our heartfelt condolences
and thoughts and prayers to the
Haskins family at this time.”
Washington co-owners Daniel
and Tanya Snyder issued a state-
ment saying they were “devastat-
ed” by Haskins’s death. “He was a
young man with a tremendous
amount of potential who had an
infectious personality,” they add-
ed. “To say we are heartbroken is
an understatement.”
Before Haskins became a star
at Ohio State University and then
a highly touted pro prospect, he
was a teenager brimming with
possibility. The Highland Park,
N.J., native, moved with his family
to Gaithersburg, Md., when he
was in ninth grade to attend the
Bullis School in Potomac. Parents
Dwayne Sr. and Tamara Haskins
knew their son had a gift and
decided the Washington area
would be the best spot to nurture
his talent as a quarterback.
The family considered multiple
HASKINS FROM A1
schools throughout the D.C. met-
ro area, many noted for their foot-
ball success. But Haskins chose
Bullis, less because of its football
program and more because of its
academics and its art program, a
good fit for his younger sister,
Tamia.
“So I’d be able to be there for
her every day,” Haskins had said.
Haskins became the sports edi-
tor of the school’s student news-
paper and the star of its football
team as a consensus four-star re-
cruit. He originally committed to
the University of Maryland but
changed his mind when the Terra-
pins changed coaches. Enticed by
the chance to play for then-Buck-
eyes coach Urban Meyer, Haskins
chose Ohio State, a match that
seemed destined years earlier.
When he was 11, he visited the
school for the first time wearing a
No. 7 Buckeyes jersey and a head-
band. In a moment captured on
video, Haskins told his father:
“This is awesome. I’m going to
college here.”
Less than a decade later, he wasnamed the Buckeyes’ starting
quarterback.
In 2018, after playing only 171
offensive snaps as a redshirt
freshman the previous season,
Haskins was chosen over Joe Bur-
row, now a star with the Cincinna-
ti Bengals. The season altered the
trajectory of Haskins’s career as
he set 28 school records; estab-
lished Big Ten single-season rec-
ords for passing yards (4,831),
touchdown passes (50) and total
offensive yards (4,939); and be-
came a Heisman Trophy finalist.
Despite starting only 14 games
for Ohio State, Haskins declared
for the NFL draft and was selected
by Washington, becoming the
third quarterback chosen that
year behind the Arizona Cardi-
nals’ Kyler Murray and the New
York Giants’ Daniel Jones. Before
the draft, Haskins visited the
team’s facility and met with
coaches and executives, including
Daniel Snyder.
“It’s just crazy how small this
world is and how you meet some-
body and that can change yourlife,” Haskins said on draft night of
his meeting with Snyder. “That’s
why I make sure I treat people the
way I want to be treated, and I’ve
got to do all I can to make sure that
I leave a lasting impression on
people. I think that’s why Mr.
Snyder thought that I was the guy
for this franchise.”
Haskins’s tenure in Washing-
ton was a roller coaster, starting
with that night and culminating
with his abrupt release in 2020.
Snyder, whose son also attend-
ed Bullis, pushed for the selection
of Haskins despite concerns from
then-coach Jay Gruden and oth-
ers in the team’s personnel de-
partment. The rookie was cast as
the future of the franchise but not
entirely embraced by the coach-
ing staff. Gruden was fired early in
the 2019 season after an 0-5 start.
When Rivera took over the fol-
lowing year, he declined to name
Haskins the starter outright, in-
sisting instead that he prove him-
self a leader of the team. Late in
training camp, Rivera lauded the
work Haskins put in during theoffseason and appointed him as
the lead quarterback.
“There’s a certain aspect of be-
ing the face of the franchise in
terms of being the starting quar-
terback that you have to deal with,
kind of like being the head coach,”
Rivera said at the time. “... He has
to carry himself a certain way; he
has to deal with on-the-field is-
sues the same way he deals with
off-the-field issues. I thought he’s
done a great job.”
Haskins cycled through Wash-
ington’s rotation as a starter and a
reserve multiple times that sea-
son before he was cut.
In Pittsburgh, Haskins started
anew under Tomlin. After a year
as the Steelers’ third quarterback
behind Roethlisberger and back-
up Mason Rudolph, Haskins was
set to compete for a job in 2022,
presumably behind Trubisky.
“We’re excited to see what
Dwayne can provide, either from
competition, or maybe he evolves
as a starter,” Steelers General
Manager Kevin Colbert said in
January.Haskins was inactive for all but
one game in his first season with
the Steelers and had yet to start a
game since his finale with Wash-
ington. But he believed he could
still develop into an NFL starter
and viewed the upcoming offsea-
son as another chance to try “put
it all together.”
“I want to be a leader,” Haskins
said to Pittsburgh media in Janu-
ary. “I want to be a guy people can
rely on, on and off the field. I’m
more than just a guy who can
throw a ball and be talented. I can
be an efficient player. I can exe-
cute at a high level. I can keep the
Steeler way and continue to go on
the path we’re trying to go on as
far as making playoff runs and
going to the Super Bowl.”
Haskins’s sudden death S atur-
day elicited an outpouring of
shock and sadness from former
teammates, coaches and many
others affiliated with the NFL and
Ohio State.
“Struggling to find the words to
express how crushing this news is
today,” Kevin O’Connell, the for-
mer Washington offensive coordi-
nator and current Minnesota Vi-
kings head coach, tweeted.
“Dwayne had such a positive ener-
getic outlook on life and always
treated people with genuine kind-
ness. So Talented and with so
much positive ahead in his life.
Thoughts and Prayers to the
Haskins Family.”
Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt
shared in a tweet his memory of
seeing Haskins walk into the
Pittsburgh locker room for the
first time.
“I could tell he was an upbeat
guy,” Watt wrote. “He was always
making people smile, never tak-
ing life for granted. His impact on
me will last a forever.”
Meyer wrote that he was
“heartbroken” by the loss of
Haskins and offered his thoughts
and prayers to Haskins’s family.
“One of the greatest QB’s in
Ohio State history, but an even
better son, teammate, and friend.
God Bless!!” Meyer tweeted.
And Ryan Day, who replaced
Meyer as coach of the Buckeyes in
2019, described Haskins’s death
as “beyond tragic.”
“For those who knew him close-
ly, he was much more than a great
football player,” Day tweeted. “He
had a giant heart, old soul and an
infectious smile.”Haskins, former quarterback for Washington, dies at age 24
JONATHAN NEWTON/THE WASHINGTON POST
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