When you look back at the history of Ohio State football, there’s a massive, flashing neon sign that separates the "old" era from the "modern" one. That sign is the 2018 season. Honestly, if you weren’t glued to a TV that year, it is hard to describe how much Dwayne Haskins fundamentally broke the Big Ten.
Before he took over, the Buckeyes were mostly known for the "dual-threat" model. You had Braxton Miller spinning out of tackles and J.T. Barrett grinding out tough yards on the ground. Then came Haskins.
He didn't want to run. He wanted to pick you apart from the pocket. And he did it better than anyone in the history of the conference.
The Michigan Game That Changed Everything
Most people remember the 62-39 demolition of Michigan in 2018, but the real Dwayne Haskins Ohio State story actually starts a year earlier. Imagine being a redshirt freshman backup. You're sitting on the bench in Ann Arbor. Suddenly, J.T. Barrett goes down. The season is on the line.
Haskins didn't just "manage" the game. He stepped in and started throwing absolute lasers.
That 2017 relief appearance—completing 6 of 7 passes for 94 yards—was the proof of concept. It showed Urban Meyer and Ryan Day that they didn't need a quarterback who could run for 100 yards to win. They just needed a guy with a "pro-style" arm who could process a defense in a split second.
4,831 Yards of Pure Insanity
Let’s talk about the numbers for a second because they’re actually kind of stupid. In 2018, Dwayne Haskins threw for 4,831 yards. To put that in perspective, he beat the previous Big Ten record by over 1,000 yards.
One thousand.
💡 You might also like: Florida Gator Football Uniforms: Why That Orange and Blue Just Hits Different
He didn't just break the record; he moved the goalposts into a different zip code.
- 50 Touchdowns: He became just one of a handful of players in FBS history to hit the 50-TD mark in a single season.
- 70% Completion Rate: He wasn't just hucking the ball deep; he was surgical.
- 28 School Records: Basically, if there was a passing stat in the Ohio State media guide, Haskins wrote his name over it in permanent marker.
How He Rebuilt the Buckeye Identity
You’ve probably noticed that Ohio State is now a "Wide Receiver U" factory. Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Marvin Harrison Jr.—those guys all owe a little bit of their legacy to what Haskins started.
Before 2018, Ohio State’s offense was often criticized for being too predictable. Ryan Day, who was the offensive coordinator at the time, used Haskins as his laboratory. They moved away from the heavy QB-run game and started utilizing "mesh" concepts and vertical shots from five-receiver sets.
It was an Air Raid disguised in Scarlet and Gray.
It wasn't always perfect, though. The Purdue game in 2018 was a disaster. Haskins threw the ball 73 times in that loss. Seventy-three! That’s a high school career for some teams. Even in a loss, he threw for 470 yards, proving that even when the team was struggling, the arm was never the problem.
The Silver Football and the Heisman Snub
Haskins won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football, given to the best player in the Big Ten. He was a Heisman finalist, eventually finishing third behind Kyler Murray and Tua Tagovailoa.
A lot of fans still feel like he got robbed.
While Murray had the "flash" and Tua had the Alabama machine, Haskins was carryng a Buckeyes defense that—honestly—wasn't very good that year. He had to score 40+ points just to keep them in games like the Maryland overtime thriller. In that specific game, he actually showed he could run when it mattered, accounting for 6 total touchdowns.
Why 2018 Matters Right Now
If you want to understand why Ohio State recruits the way it does today, you have to look at the Haskins effect. He proved that Columbus was a place where a "pure" passer could flourish. He wasn't just a stats machine; he was a bridge to the NFL-style offense the Buckeyes run today.
👉 See also: NCAA Tournament Bracket Locations Explained: Why Your Team Is Playing There
His final game in the 2019 Rose Bowl against Washington was the perfect exit. Three touchdowns. MVP honors. A win for Urban Meyer in his final game.
Dwayne Haskins didn't just play for Ohio State; he redefined what it meant to be an Ohio State quarterback. He turned a "three yards and a cloud of dust" program into a vertical threat that the rest of the country still hasn't figured out how to stop.
What to do next:
If you want to see the evolution of the Buckeyes offense yourself, go back and watch the 2018 Big Ten Championship highlights against Northwestern. Watch his footwork in the pocket. It’s a masterclass in how to manage pressure without leaving the tackle box. You can also check out the current Ohio State passing records to see how many of his marks still stand despite the high-powered offenses that followed.