Bobby Haskins on Moving From Tight End, Notre Dame and 'A Different Buzz' at USC

USC offensive tackle Bobby Haskins was the latest guest on the Momentum Truck, a podcast hosted by Trojans’ quarterback Mo Hasan and running back Matt Colombo.

During the episode, Haskins spoke about several topics, including his transition from tight end to tackle, his take on the perception of the Trojans, his pregame rituals and growing up a (cough, cough) Notre Dame fan.

Haskins arrived at USC from Virginia this offseason. He was a consistent starter and contributor for the Cavaliers and brings plenty of experience to the Trojans’ front five. A lower leg injury kept him out of practice all spring. But he’ll have a real shot to grab one of the starting tackle positions when fall camp opens.

But he wasn’t always going to be an offensive tackle.

Haskins Makes the Move From Tight End

Haskins played tight end at Fairfield (Conn.) Prep before moving to The Hun School in New Jersey for one year as a post-grad. In his final season at Fairfield, he led the team with 29 receptions for 354 yards and caught two touchdowns. That summer, he camped with Virginia and worked at tight end, offensive tackle and defensive end. Haskins’ father, Bob, played defensive end at Columbia and the younger Haskins played that position throughout high school as well.

After the camp, Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall offered Haskins as an offensive tackle, even though he’d never played the position before.

“They watched me run routes and said, ‘We want to put 50 pounds on you and have you play tackle,'” Haskins told Hasan and Columbo on the podcast.

He’s come pretty close to that goal during his college career. Haskins said he showed up at Virginia around 255 or 260 pounds and arrived at USC weighing 295 pounds. Building tight ends into offensive tackles has worked out well for programs and for prospects developing into high draft picks.

“They want to build them their way,” Haskins said. “They can monitor it and make sure it’s good weight.”

‘A Different Buzz’ at USC

Haskins played at Virginia and Hasan played at Vanderbilt before coming to USC. They both spoke about moving from a school where football is clearly not the No. 1 sport to one where it clearly is.

And Haskins understands the fortuitous timing of his arrival this offseason.

“There is a different buzz and a different energy,” Haskins said. “Especially right now, everyone is super fired up. Everyone is pretty locked in on it right now.”

USC is again a marquee program thanks to the arrival of head coach Lincoln Riley and some A-list additions to the roster.

“It’s pretty wild to turn on ESPN and see your own practices and your own players being talked about pretty regularly,” Haskins said.

Haskins said he relishes the social media backlash directed at USC for the Trojans’ success in the transfer portal.

“I think it’s cool,” he said. “This is like the Wild West kind of, in terms of the transfer portal and everything going on. Everyone’s getting upset about it.”

Haskins is high on USC’s potential this fall.

“I can’t wait for the season,” he said. “I think we’re going to do a lot of pretty cool things this year. And I feel like we’re going to have an awesome season. I’m very, very confident in what we’re going to do.”

Haskins on the Drum Solo

Haskins was asked about his pre-game rituals. He said there isn’t much that goes into it for him, but he does have a couple things he likes to do.

“I like to come out and just walk around a little bit,” Haskins said. “Sit in the endzone and stretch and just think about the game and stuff.”

The one pre-game song he specifically likes is In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins. And he made sure to say he has the drum solo locked down.

Growing up with Notre Dame

Considering he grew up in the Northeast, it wasn’t surprising to hear Haskins was a Notre Dame fan. Virginia played in South Bend during his time there and Haskins said he was blown away.

“That’s the coolest place I’ve ever been,” he said of Notre Dame stadium. “I grew up a Notre Dame fan. My dad always watched Notre Dame football with me. It was surreal playing in a game that I used to watch every week.”

USC will get Notre Dame in the Coliseum this season. And Haskins is looking forward to that.

“When we first were thinking about transferring and looking at the schedule, my dad said you guys get another look at Notre Dame,” Haskins said. “That’s huge.”