Three Ohio State football players who shone brightly for a single season

Writing about Dimitrious Stanley’s season a couple of weeks ago had me thinking about Ohio State players that put together one excellent season that defined their college football careers.

There can be a variety of reasons why some players end up putting up just one phenomenal season at Ohio State. Some, like Stanley, have to wait their turn behind other players who are performing at a high level. Others, like Trey Sermon, might transfer in for one final season, looking for playing time and perhaps a run at a championship. Some players might be hampered by injuries or suspensions.

Whatever the reason, some players simply shine brightly for a brief time while in Columbus and that’s all you get. I have selected three of those players who came to mind when thinking about those Buckeyes who put up a great year and then were gone.

Maurice Clarett

Bursting straight out of Warren G. Harding and into the Ohio State record books came a brash workhorse of a freshman named Maurice Clarett in 2002. Clarett graduated from high school and enrolled at Ohio State early enough to participate in spring ball before his freshman season. He beat the odds and won the starting tailback job as a true freshman before the season opener against Texas Tech. He made an immediate impact, scoring three touchdowns in a 45-21 win on opening day. Two of those scoring runs were big plays — a 59-yard run in the first quarter and a 45-yard scoring play in the third quarter. Clarett ran for 175 yards on 21 carries, averaging 8.3 yards. He also caught four passes in his first collegiate game for 30 more yards, providing more than 200 all-purpose yards.

It was the start of big things for Clarett. Over the course of the 2002 season, despite playing much of the season with one good shoulder — and missing the road game at Cincinnati, the home game vs. Minnesota, and the Illinois road contest — the freshman carried the ball 222 times for 1,237 yards and 16 touchdowns. He caught 12 passes for another 104 yards and two more scores. His rushing total set a new school record for rushing yards by a freshman. He was the 2022 Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

He capped his freshman year with a big game in the Fiesta Bowl against Miami, helping the Buckeyes win a national championship. Although he only managed 47 yards on 23 carries that night, he scored two touchdowns and made one of the most important plays of the game when he stripped the ball from Miami’s Sean Taylor after the safety had intercepted a Craig Krenzel pass in the end zone.

After his first season, Clarett was suspended for the 2003 season after multiple problems with school administrators and subsequently left the program.

Malik Hooker

New Castle (Pennsylvania) High School product Malik Hooker entered Columbus as a two-sport star who had played wide receiver and corner. He redshirted in 2014, learned the safety position, and spent most of 2015 playing on special teams as he was behind a couple of starters named Vonn Bell and Tyvis Powell that year. In 2016, Hooker got his opportunity to start and made the most of it.

Hooker played in all 13 of Ohio State’s games in 2016 for a team that ultimately finished 8-1 in Big Ten play and 11-2 overall after a Fiesta Bowl loss to Clemson in the College Football Playoff. He had an incredible season, making a name for himself with big plays. Hooker intercepted seven passes that season and returned three of them for touchdowns. He was third on the Buckeyes in total tackles (74) behind linebackers Raekwon McMillan and Jerome Baker, and tied for third in solo tackles (43). He finished with 5.5 tackles for loss and four passes defensed.

One of Hooker’s biggest moments was a pick-six for Ohio State’s first points in The Game on Nov. 26, 2016. The Buckeyes went on to beat the Wolverines 30-27 in overtime on Curtis Samuel’s unforgettable touchdown run. Hooker also scored on interceptions in wins against Nebraska and Tulsa. Unfortunately, the safety’s fantastic run as a Buckeye came to an end one game short of the national championship, as the Buckeyes laid an egg in a 31-0 loss to Clemson. Hooker had a good game, though, finishing third on the team in tackles (7) and intercepting a Deshaun Watson pass.

After the 2016 season, Hooker was named to the All-Big Ten first team and joined center Pat Elflein as a unanimous All-American selection. Hooker and Elflein were named the team’s co-most valuable players for the 2016 season. Hooker declared for the draft and was the No. 15 overall pick in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft, going to the Indianapolis Colts.

Dwayne Haskins

One of the best pure passers in recent college football history, Dwayne Haskins, was almost never a Buckeye. The New Jersey native was originally committed to Maryland but reopened his recruitment after Randy Edsall (of all people) was fired.

Like Hooker, Dwayne Haskins had to wait his turn to start at Ohio State. The starter before him was J.T. Barrett and if not for an injury to Joe Burrow, he might never have moved up on the depth chart and become the Buckeyes’ starter. He made the most of his opportunity, putting up one of the best passing seasons in Big Ten history.

After a redshirt year in 2016, when he watched Hooker’s amazing season unfold, Haskins became a backup in 2017. He managed to get on the field in eight games and completed 40 of 57 passes for 565 yards and four touchdowns, with just one interception.

He became the starter for the 2018 season and put up video game numbers in Ryan Day’s offense. Haskins completed 373 of 533 passes for an incredible 4,831 yards, 50 (!) touchdowns, and a 70% completion rate, with just eight interceptions. His yardage and touchdowns were single-season records not just at Ohio State but in the Big Ten. Only seven other college quarterbacks had managed a 50-touchdown season. He also ran for 108 yards and four more touchdowns.

Haskins eclipsed 225 yards passing in every game in 2018, surpassed 300 yards eight times, and threw for over 400 yards twice. He came within one lousy yard of reaching 500 yards once, with 499 passing yards on 34-of-41 passing against Northwestern during an MVP performance in the 2018 Big Ten Championship Game, tossing five touchdowns against only one pick. He came within one dropped pass of eclipsing 400 against Michigan, with a 20-for-31 performance for 396 yards and six touchdowns without an interception in a 62-39 demolition of the Wolverines.

He capped his lone season as a starter with a 25-for-37 performance against Washington in the Rose Bowl, passing for 251 yards and three touchdowns and leading the Buckeyes to a 21-3 halftime lead and an ultimate 28-23 win. Haskins was again named MVP. Ohio State finished 13-1 under Haskins that year but a bad loss at Purdue kept Ohio State out of the playoff — the committee chose Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma, and Notre Dame to fight it out for the national championship. The 49-20 loss at Purdue was crushing. Haskins threw for 470 yards on 49-of-73 (yes, 73!) passing, tossing two touchdowns but also a costly and uncharacteristic pick-six. The Buckeyes simply couldn’t finish drives and the defense couldn’t stop D.J. Knox or David Blough…names that aren’t exactly etched in the annals of all-time college football lore.

Haskins was named Big Ten Player of the Week six times in 2018, was a first-team All-Big Ten selection, and won the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year award and the Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year. He finished third in the Heisman Trophy race.

After the season, Haskins declared for the draft and was selected No. 15 overall in the first round by Washington. After a short stay in Washington, he signed with Pittsburgh. He sadly passed away just under a year ago, when he was struck by a truck trying to cross a busy highway on foot in South Florida, where he had been training with some of his teammates.