Hassan Haskins, Mike Vrabel on opposite sides of Michigan-Ohio State rivalry — but they're a perfect match
Former Ohio State defensive lineman and current Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel was 1-3 in the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry, and Wolverines running back Hassan Haskins — the newest Titan — was 1-2. Haskins was selected by the organization in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft at No. 131 overall.
The former Michigan running back left his mark on the rivalry, rushing for 169 yards and a record five scores in a 42-27 beatdown of the Buckeyes Nov. 27, 2021.
Vrabel was surely aware of what Michigan’s workhorse back did to his Buckeyes last season, part of a 1300-yard, 20-touchdown year, but he and the team had no problem selecting him. As Titans left tackle and former Michigan offensive lineman Taylor Lewan put it, he didn’t let “his ego get in the way.”
“I just want to give a quick shoutout to Mike Vrabel, the coach of the year, because his alma mater got absolutely donkey stomped the [fourth] week of November by Hassan Haskins,” Lewan said in a Twitter video. “Twenty nine carries, 169 yards, five touchdowns — literally went through them like a sieve. They had no chance. It was embarrassing for Ohio State country — embarrassing for all of them.
“This man is the pride of Columbus, Ohio. Takes his ego, moves it to the side, says, ‘I need this guy on my team.’ First Michigan guy drafted since your boy in ’14.
“Love him to death — don’t even know him — but I’m sure he’s going to be great. Listen, no one’s [Titans starting running back] Derrick Henry. No one will ever be Derrick Henry. But I’m glad the boy is on the team because he’s just another blue guy. He’s a hard-working, gritty guy.”
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Lewan’s comments were in jest, of course, just like Haskins’ will be if he gives Vrabel any grief about his performance against the Buckeyes.
“I’ll probably eventually give him a little grief. But not yet,” Haskins said with a smile after being picked.
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“Ohio State, it was a big rivalry. But now, I’m just here to play. I’m just ready to rock, ready to work, man. I’m just ready.”
And he couldn’t have gone to a much better team. Sure, it’s a long shot to beat out Henry, who led the NFL in rushing yards in both 2019 and 2020, before being banged up last season. But the Titans were second in the NFL in rushing plays called (49 percent) behind only the Philadelphia Eagles last season, meaning there will be carries to go around. That’s similar to the 2021 season at Michigan, with the Wolverines rushing for 3,001 yards, the eighth-most in the country.
“Yeah, we do a lot of power schemes and stuff like that,” Haskins said of the similarities. “Down hill running, that’s my game. I can do it all, but I feel like the best part of my game is to go down hill, run through your face and get those yards. All the yards count.”
In Haskins’ press conference, a Tennessee beat writer described Haskins as a ‘Vrabel type of guy.’ The coach was wearing a ‘run the damn ball’ hat in the war room after the selection, and is known for loving a physical brand of football, much like Haskins’ former coach, Jim Harbaugh.
“They like to run the ball,” Haskins said. “I love that about the team — they love running the ball. They’ve got a bigger back like Derrick Henry. I feel like I’m a bigger type of back.
“They love their running backs, they love running and they love physicality. I feel like I have all of those [same affinities]. I’m just ready to work, ready to get down there and have some fun.”
