We’ve all gotten a season and some change to watch as Washington Redskins quarterback Dwayne Haskins works to acclimate himself in the NFL and learn how he can better lead the franchise through turbulent times.
While we all may have our own opinions on what we’ve seen thus far, and what may be coming in the next few months, one person that knows a ton about Haskins and his abilities is former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, who is now an analyst at Fox Sports.
When asked about Haskins, Meyer kept his confidence and pronounced his belief in Haskins and his ability to weather the storm of a rough rookie year. He doesn’t seem to have been surprised that Haskins went through some growing pains in 2019, but he figures things will get better from here.
Interesting nugget from Urban Meyer. He mentions he met with Ron Rivera/Kyle Smith to answer some questions regarding Dwayne Haskins. #HTTR #Redskins pic.twitter.com/sIfSwKPtOb
— 🛶❄️ (@IcyMcLaurin) April 12, 2020
“My concern about Dwayne wasn’t so much about maturity, it was about lack of experience,” Meyer said while talking on FS1’s Speak for Yourself. “He had the best quarterback year in the history of Ohio State — one of the best years in the history of college football for a quarterback. However, it was one year.”
The concerns about Haskins’ experience were prevalent in his first year, and it became apparent that others on the team weren’t sold on his ability to lead either. Some videos popped up midway through the season of Haskins pleading with his offensive line on the sidelines, trying to figure what he could do to better help them. They seemed to want nothing to do with him. Then, there was also the matter of the infamous selfie during his first career win — a classic case of rookie naivete.
“To think he’s ready to go lead a franchise immediately — you know the NFL is such a different game, it’s such a fast game — everybody’s an all-star,” Meyer said. “My concerns were only that lack of experience. I think he’s going to be fine if they stick with him.”
It’s a tale as old as time in the NFL, where young QBs are thrown into the game before they’re ready and asked to sink or swim. Haskins might not have passed the test in his rookie year, but that doesn’t mean he can’t find his water wings as his career goes on. Many others have done so.
“What’s the common denominator?” Urban asked, rhetorically. “It’s ‘will they surround him with good players?'”
I happen to know another ‘good’ player who Urban Meyer is also familiar with from his time in college. The Redskins just might draft him with their first pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, which would go a long way to giving Haskins a safety net to fall back on.
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