Dwayne Haskins Jr. got a phone call from Ohio State coach Urban Meyer last Saturday night, hours after the quarterback bullied Tulane in a performance that turned up the volume of talk about his potential Heisman Trophy candidacy.
Meyer wanted to make sure Haskins was keeping his feet on the ground as the hype around him intensifies.
"I called him driving home with that message — just stay focused," Meyer said this week. "We've had some pretty high-profile guys around here, and I've seen it go both ways. One thing about Columbus, Ohio, is this is the show, and they become bigger than life. But he's a really humble guy, he's a very conscientious guy, comes from a great family. So he's been great so far."
The spotlight on the third-year junior will only get brighter if he can go into a hostile "white out" at Beaver Stadium and lead No. 4 Ohio State past No. 9 Penn State in a nationally televised game Saturday night.
Haskins is second among Division I quarterbacks in touchdown passes (16) and completion percentage (75.7), third in quarterback rating (207) and is in the top 10 in passing yards and yards per attempt. He has been sacked only three times and picked off just once. The only player who has more touchdown passes is Hawaii's Cole McDonald with 20, but he has played in one more game.
"I just want to show how dangerous the offense is, and with me at the helm, a lot of plays can be made," said Haskins, whose default setting is to heap praise on the offensive line and receivers before saying much, if anything, about himself.
Former Longhorn dies
Former Texas Longhorn Julius Whittier died Tuesday at age 68, the school announced Thursday. No cause of death was given, but Whittier had been battling Alzheimer's disease. In 2014, his family sued the NCAA on behalf of college players who suffered brain injuries. The case is still pending.
Whittier was the Longhorns' first black letterman, making his debut in 1970, one season after Texas fielded the last all-white national championship team in the history of college football. He starred for two seasons at guard before switching to tight end as a senior in 1972.
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