It’s hard to find a player in the 2022 NFL draft with more spirit than Ohio State defensive lineman Haskell Garrett.
A two-year starter with an aggressive edge on the field, Garrett’s passion and determination translates to how he acts off the field.
In August of 2020, Garrett suffered a gunshot wound to the face after breaking up a fight, but was back on the football field just two months later, and even had a sack in his first game back.
Now, as Garrett prepares to continue his football career at the next level, he looks to serve as a leader and a tenacious, run-stuffing defender, like he was during his time with the Buckeyes.
Draft Wire had the chance to speak exclusively with Garrett about his journey to where he is today, his Polynesian heritage, his experience at the Senior Bowl, and much more.
JI: It’s been an incredible road for you getting to this point, including a gunshot wound to the face, and making an incredibly quick recovery. How was that recovery process, and did you know you’d be able to not only return so soon, but to play as well as you did?
HG: I was just very grateful surviving it, and for the medical, the first responders and all the MEs. But when it was told to me that our season was back on and that I had a chance to play in the first game, I did whatever was possible. [In] my recovery process, I had two major surgeries on my mouth, and underwent a bone graft in my jaw. I wasn’t allowed to have any physical contact in football practice, so I just really had to take it slow and let my body heal.
At the same time I was training, it was a different type of training; instead of training physically, I had to train mentally and really become surgical fine tune student of the game. [It] was a different a different aspect and take in terms of getting to the first game and just grinding it out, allowing myself to heal.
JI: You were named the 2021 Polynesian College Football Player of the Year. What does that award mean to you, being able to represent your heritage?
HG: It means the world, going back and just reminiscing…how much that really means to me. I told everybody, I couldn’t really care less about all the All-American awards and all those types of deals, but to be honored and recognized as one of the top Polynesian players in college football, just how small of a community being Polynesian and having that background, is just truly an honor: a real recognition of who I am not only as a person on the field, but a person off the field. I was very proud and blessed to be named Polynesian Player of the Year. It really meant a lot to me and meant the world, and [it’s] something I’m truly proud of.
JI: Playing at a school like Ohio State, you’ve had a college experience that few players in this class can match. What would you say was your favorite moment at OSU?
HG: I would for sure say it was beating Clemson in the 2020 Sugar Bowl. It was just kind of those little rivalries you have with schools throughout the years; not only just our rivalry with the team up north [Michigan], but the rivalry we kind of had with that school and how we always battled back and forth. We knew how much we put into that game and how much it meant to not only the team, but also the fanbase. Having to go through them and what we dealt with in 2020, in terms of COVID, in terms of not seeing your parents, just being very secluded and isolated to just the game and never really taking any break, was just remarkable; what we achieved not only personally, but what we achieved as a group and as a team.
JI: Would you say the guys you went up against every day in practice helped out your development?
HG: I feel that it played a tremendous part in my development, not only as a person, but an athlete and a player. You get asked a lot, “Who are the best guys who’ve gone against?”, and [it’s] truly to be said that the guys that were on my team. You get guys like, terms of alignment standpoint, you get guys like Billy Price, Wyatt Davis, Josh Myers, Jonah Jackson, Thayer Munford, Isaiah Prince, Jamarco Jones. You get guys like that you’re going against year-in and year-out, your skill set is bound to get better, because iron sharpens iron, we truly believe that at Ohio State. [That’s] why it’s such a great university, because we practice against the best.
JI: You had the chance to go down to the Senior Bowl recently. How was that experience?
HG: It was great. I’m happy I was able to [go] and I was, like I said, very blessed to and honored to be recognized and to have been able to receive an invite and go compete against the best. It was truly awesome not only getting to know guys from different schools, also seeing guys that you haven’t seen years that you saw in high school and during the recruiting process, and then seeing again during this process. But also just going against competition, playing ball and seeing just different techniques throughout college football, and then getting a taste of what it’s going to be like when you get to the next level, how to manage your time as being a professional. In college, you have the the school aspect of it, but now, it’s not only a game and a love and a passion, but now it’s a job. You get a taste for that aspect and the reality of it.
JI: If you had to choose, what’s your go-to move or combo of moves once you reach the point of attack?
HG: I work everything off of a long arm. Everything is based off of a long arm, and I use my speed and my power to complement it. Everything else is counter moves. It’s basically [like] if you’re building a house and you say you know his base, my base is my long arm. A lot of guys want to say want to talk about finesse and whatnot. Well, you can’t finesse unless you show strength, so I’d say my go-to is a long arm.
JI: Which defensive linemen have you grown up idolizing?
HG: Growing up, I’d watch guys like Haloti Ngata, Lawrence Taylor, Reggie White, guys like that. Just how violent you have to play the game at the next level. It’s truly why I base my game off of who I watched, and nowadays, you got the Aaron Donalds, the Ndamukong Suhs and people like that, but really just watching how like generation after generation of defensive lineman, the greats play with violence. They also have technique, and technique is a great thing, but you have to play the game violently being a defensive lineman because you’re in a fight every play, all day long. Those are the guys that I idolized and watched growing up.
JI: How do you like to spend your free time outside of football?
HG: It really depends. I’m actually right now in Montana, just enjoying the wildlife at my godparents’ home here, just kind of resting my body, healing from the Reese’s [Senior] Bowl. Other than that, I like to wake surf. I’m [a] very outdoors kind of guy. I like to play video games, and I like to do kind of bit of everything. My thing is just being outdoors and being around nature.
JI: Let’s say I’m an NFL general manager. What would I be getting if I drafted you to my team?
HG: What you should be getting is a competitor, somebody who takes his job very seriously, has a high football IQ, and ultimately wants to do anything that he can do possibly to bring the organization a Super Bowl.
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