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‘I cried’: Dwayne Haskins admits to being emotional when Urban Meyer retired at Ohio State
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The bond between a player and coach can be incredibly strong. The personal relationships are often a major reason why football coaches get into the business.
Former Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins and ex-Buckeye head coach Urban Meyer had a pretty strong connection while in Columbus. And the record-setting QB admits that, when Meyer decided to step down as head coach, it was an emotional time.
While making an appearance on Fox Sports’ “Ring Chronicles,” Haskins recalled the emotions he felt when Meyer decided to retire from Ohio State.
“For me, I cried,” Haskins said, according to 247Sports. “I didn’t cry in front of the team, but for me watching (him) at Florida, hearing about him at Utah with Alex Smith and being around him he molded me into the player that I was at Ohio State. We just said we’re gonna lead Coach out with a bang in the Grandaddy of Them All, probably the best bowl game in college sports. The whole opportunity to play in the Rose Bowl and Coach being his last game, we had to make sure we came out with a win.
“Knowing that it was his last game and knowing that we were going to California with a whole bunch of distractions there, make sure we were focused, locked in the whole time we were getting ready for Washington who had a great defense. We had to go in there and play our best game. We knew that we weren’t gonna let Coach down.”
Meyer left the program on a high note. Ohio State finished the season with a 13-1 record, won a second-straight B1G title and defeated Michigan at the end of the season, meaning Meyer retired with a perfect 7-0 record against the Wolverines.
Ohio State went on to win the Rose Bowl, defeating Washington. It was Meyer’s only trip to the “Granddaddy of them all.”
Haskins flourished in his lone season as a starter in Columbus, too. The quarterback was a Heisman Trophy finalist after throwing for 4,831 yards and 50 touchdowns while completing 70 percent of his passes.
Haskins went on to be a first-round draft pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB