Ryan Day: 'When you think about Dwayne, you think about the compassion he had'

Dwayne Haskins’ last season at Ohio State was Ryan Day’s second year as Buckeyes offensive coordinator. The two worked great together — and the bond held strong until Haskins’ sudden passing over the weekend.

Haskins became one of the first stars of Day’s system. He completed 70% of his passes for 4,831 yards and 50 touchdowns as he took over the starting job and revolutionized the quarterback position in Columbus, setting multiple program records and paving the way for future quarterbacks such as Justin Fields and CJ Stroud.

Haskins headed to the NFL the next year as the No. 15 overall pick in the NFL Draft. But, as Day said Monday, he left his mark on the program — both as a quarterback and as a person with his “big heart.”

“There’s a good group of our guys who played with Dwayne, and they’re hurting,” Day told reporters. “It was a tough weekend for all of us. Certainly our prayers are going out with the entire family, his wife. His parents, Dwayne [Sr.] and Tamara, were awesome, his sister, to me. I know he and Dwayne were very, very close. He used to talk about her all the time. Certainly all his friends and teammates.

“It’s hard to wrap your mind around something like this, especially when it just happens so tragically to a young person, especially somebody who had such a big heart. When you think about Dwayne, you think about the compassion that he had. Certainly for all of his teammates and his friends, but he alway took time after practice to be around family members [and] kids.”

Ryan Day recalls Dwayne Haskins’ love for Ohio State, Buckeyes fans

Tragedy struck over the weekend when former Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Dwayne Haskins passed away. On Monday, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day held a press conference to address the death of Haskins. Day recalled the impact Haskins had during his time at Ohio State, and that impact began before he even arrived on campus.

Day recalls a younger Haskins coming through the Ohio State facilities and setting goals for himself even at such a young age. He then came to the Buckeyes and achieved those goals. And that epitomizes the legacy of Haskins.

“Just the way that he was 11 years old walking through this facility and said, ‘This is what I’m going to do.’ And then he did it,” Day said. “That’s the legacy he’s gonna leave behind.”