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“For someone who has yet to play an NFL game, Haskins certainly isn’t afraid of challenging anyone. He will challenge the team’s best defensive backs in practice, and even talk a little trash with them, too.”
— Ethan Cadeaux | NBC Sports Washington
Dwayne Haskins is proving his worth for the Washington Redskins, as he’s already making connections with teammates and shining at the start of training camp.
In a recent report from Ethan Cadeaux of NBC Sports Washington, another day at the Redskins’ training camp showed another day of improvement for the record-setting Buckeye passer.
This has been a constant theme for Haskins, who is in the middle of a quarterback battle between Colt McCoy and Case Keenum. Reps aren’t infinite, so having great days with the opportunities given are critical. Sunday, as reported by JP Finlay, appeared to be one of — if not the — best day Haskins had in camp.
Cadeaux’s article focused on the former Buckeye not backing down from the challenges ahead. On top of the confidence, Haskins is also a little bit of a trash talker, too.
When asked how many times Shawn Springs, a 13-year NFL veteran and former Buckeye defenseman, would’ve picked off Haskins in camp, the QB responded with “zero.”
That kind of confidence is what moves you up the depth chart. You have to know you can do it, in order to be able to get the chances to prove you can do it. Haskins has made the most of the chances he’s been given, and is putting in the work to improve.
Odds that Haskins is a starter by Week 1? My money says no. But, will he be NFL ready at some point during the season? If his improvements continue, then absolutely.
We’ll definitely keep an eye on how the QB battle in Washington plays out over the next month.
“Against Ohio State last season he recorded 13 tackles — 3.5 for loss — and a sack as the Spartan’s defense did its part to given them a chance to win.”
Every year it seems that someone goes off for a breakout game against Ohio State. Last season, it was Rondale Moore, who virtually gobbled yards at will for the Purdue Boilermakers in their upset of the Buckeyes.
There won’t be a meeting with Moore this season, but the Buckeyes will face some of the Big Ten’s best throughout the fall. Stephen Means of cleveland.com is going over five of the players that should concern Ohio State the most, and one of them is Michigan State’s Kenny Willekes.
The Big Ten defensive lineman of the year has been a staple of the Spartan defense since entering the program as a walk-on. Last time against the Buckeyes, Willekes tallied 13 tackles and a sack. You couldn’t blame the MSU defense for losing to OSU last season; they did everything they could to give the Spartan offense a chance to score and win the game. However, the punting of Drue Chrisman, which included five second half punts downed within the MSU 10-yard line, kept the momentum in Ohio State’s favor.
Willekes, though, will be one of the leaders on the defense in 2019-20. From a stat perspective, he is the bonafide leader. He led the program in sacks (8.5) and quarterback hits (12) through 13 games last season.
Personally, Michigan State poses a two-headed problem. Not only is Willekes an issue, but it’s the coaching staff that is always a bag of tricks. Mark Dantonio takes risks, and when they pay off, the dynamics of the game go toward Sparty. He’s pulled off fake field goals, fourth down conversions, and everything in between. If the Oct. 5 meeting between the two goes down to the wire, expect Dantonio and the Spartan brain trust to have some sneaky trick play being dialed up.
Full disclosure: I’m still shook from the 2015 loss.
“For Campbell, this is the beginning of what he hopes to be a long NFL journey. Like at Ohio State, he will have to work for everything he gets in Indy and show people what he can do. If his NFL career goes anything like his Buckeye career though, it won’t take him long to become a real receiving weapon for the Colts,”
We’ve already covered Haskins in the Redskins’ training camp. But he’s not the only former Buckeye looking to not only improve at the next level, but become a household name.
Parris Campbell is in the Indianapolis Colts training camp, and is trying to become the next wide receiver star in the NFL. It won’t come easy, but nothing has been easy for Campbell.
At Ohio State, and even in the draft scouting reports, Campbell’s experience (and potential landing spot) centered around being in the slot. He has the speed and catching ability to excel in that arena, but to be a true star in the NFL, you have to be able to do it all.
In Patrick Murphy’s piece, Colts head coach Frank Reich says that a couple of the plays in the red zone that featured Campbell were “legit NFL I’m-gonna-be-a-stud-receiver plays.”
These are the things you like to see and hear as a player—and a fan. The Colts put down a second round draft pick for Campbell, and hope he becomes a go-to target for Andrew Luck. For the Buckeye faithful, you always love to see a former star become a breakout star in the NFL. And for the OSU coaching staff, this becomes the latest example of how the Buckeyes are becoming “Wide Receiver U.”
Missed the latest edition of Outside the Shoe?
Each week, Meredith Hein and I do a podcast, Outside the Shoe, focusing on OSU sports that aren’t football or men’s basketball. Last week, we reviewed and previewed the wrestling team, which went 12-2 and were named runners-up in the Big Ten and NCAA Championships.
To listen to the podcast, click here. Also, you can listen by clicking on the embed below. It’s a short listen, but we cover a lot of ground. If you like the pod, the embed allows you to share and subscribe.
At 12:01 a.m. Friday, a new episode of Outside the Shoe will drop. This week, the focus will be on the rowing team.
Stick to Sports
- Semi truck crashes into the historic Linn Schoolhouse in Marion.
- If you haven’t given up on it yet, the second part of The Bachelorette season finale takes place tonight on ABC.
- Apple joins Google, Facebook and Twitter in the Data Transfer Project.
- A$AP Rocky pleads not guilty in Sweden.
- Leadership at WarnerMedia after the AT&T merger.
- On this day in history: (1932) Walt Disney’s Flowers and Trees is the first cartoon short to use Technicolor.