Last week, the NFL world was driven into a state of shock when news dropped that former 1st round quarterback Dwayne Haskins had died. He was hit by a vehicle while walking on the highway. Witness reports suggest he may have been trying to flag down some help, given his arms were raised. That was when the accident occurred. He was only 24-years old. Family, friends, and former teammates were stunned. That included Justin Fields.
Most people wouldn’t think the Chicago Bears quarterback had any connection to Haskins outside of replacing him at Ohio State. The latter went into the NFL draft in 2019, the same year Fields arrived to take over the QB position after transferring from Georgia. As it turns out, the story goes far deeper than that. In speaking with Albert Breer of the MMQB, Fields revealed that Haskins played a central role in convincing him to attend Ohio State.
Even though Haskins had already declared for the draft, he played host for Fields’s weekend on campus, introducing him to his girlfriend, taking him to a basketball game with ex-coach Urban Meyer, and showing him around a campus he never got to see as a prep recruit.
“If I’m gonna be honest with you, before that, we kind of talked, but we didn’t really talk that much,” Fields said. “It seemed like when I was there, we’d known each other our whole lives. He was so cool, so welcoming. I think that’s where our relationship turned into a more personal relationship, us getting to know each other more. And he became like a big brother to me.”
Haskins told Fields the mantle was his now. Don’t drop the ball.
He didn’t. If anything, he surpassed what Haskins accomplished across two years, carrying the Buckeyes to two College Football Playoff appearances and the national championship game in 2020. He was a Heisman contender both years. In the end, he was drafted four spots higher (11th) than Haskins was (15th) two years prior. Fields didn’t want to believe the news was real when it came out his friend had died. It was easy to sense the emotion in his words talking about him.
“It’s just how positive he was,” Fields said. “Everyone he met, I don’t think he disliked anybody, he always had that positive attitude, always wanted to get better, he was always working hard, it was just … it was tough to see. Really, it puts it in perspective. It shows you that tomorrow isn’t promised. Anything can happen, His impact on everybody he came in contact with, when he was here, on earth, that’s the biggest thing I take.
“It’s the impact he had on not only me, but even C.J., that whole line of quarterbacks, and all his teammates he played with.”
It isn’t clear what went wrong with Haskins in the NFL. He had so much talent. Yet, for whatever reason, things never clicked. There were persistent rumors that he suffered from work ethic issues. Coaches benched him in 2020 due in part to this reason. He also had difficulty following rules, violating league COVID protocols on multiple occasions. After just two seasons, the Washington Commanders cut him. A month later, he ended up with the Pittsburgh Steelers as their third-string quarterback. Quite a fall.
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Justin Fields hopes to do his friend proud.
There has been a stigma against Ohio State quarterbacks that they can’t have success in the NFL for the longest time. Despite being such a successful program going back decades, they’ve never been able to produce even a good QB in the pros. Haskins had hoped to change that perception. Instead, he only fed into it further. His struggles likely played a partial role in Fields falling out of the top 10 in last year’s draft.
Now the second-year QB is hoping to carry that burden forward. Justin Fields has plenty of doubters at the moment. His difficult rookie season showed flashes of what he can be, but there is much work to do. Some aren’t sure he has what it takes to handle the speed and complexity of the NFL level. Ever the competitor, he’s been working tirelessly to prepare for the 2022 season.
Fields has no intention of going out with a fizzle.
He wants to do Haskins proud. He wants to show everybody that Ohio State can produce great players at every position. With his friend gone, that sense of urgency only intensifies moving forward.
