During a vigil for Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State coach Ryan Day took the lectern to share some words about his former player. After he touched on Haskins’s statistical highlights during the 2018 season while with the Buckeyes, he put his accomplishments in perspective.
“But the thing to me that was the most amazing that year was the legacy he left behind,” Day said. “It’s been said before that some men don’t fear death they fear being irrelevant or insignificant. I can tell you something right now, Dwayne Haskins left a legacy behind. He was relevant. He was significant.”
Haskins, who was an NFL quarterback for the Steelers, was walking on Interstate 595 in Fort Lauderdale when he was hit by a dump truck and pronounced dead on April 9 at 24 years old. Before he was drafted with the No. 15 pick in the 2019 NFL draft, he was a star for the Buckeyes.
Haskins played for Ohio State from 2016 to ‘18 and was named first-team All-Big Ten in his last year there. Ohio State posted a 13–1 record in 2018, and Haskins finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting.
The news of his death rocked the sports world and especially the Ohio State community. He was honored during the Buckeyes’ spring game, and an earlier vigil was held for him at Ohio Stadium shortly after his death. Day was the acting coach in 2018, and it is clear the young signal-caller had a profound impact on him.
“I just wish I had more time with him, and I know we all do here,” he said. “I just want to let you know that Ohio State and our program is forever in debt to Dwayne Haskins and the Haskins family.”
