Dwayne Haskins Anticipates Game vs. Joe Burrow, Bengals

Competitors for Ohio State quarterback job in spring of 2019 to play Nov. 22

Bruce Hooley | May 13, 2020

Dwayne Haskins Anticipates Game vs. Joe Burrow, Bengals /

It's advance billing has focused on to what will be a match up of the top two selections in the most recent NFL Draft, but the Nov. 22 Washington Redskins' game in Cincinnati will have a different focus to Ohio State fans.

Just about the time appetites start heating up for the OSU-Michigan game to follow in six days, former Buckeyes Dwayne Haskins and Joe Burrow will be squaring off -- if all goes according to plan -- in their first battle as NFL quarterbacks.

Haskins, the 15th overall pick in Washington in 2019, and Burrow, the No. 1 overall pick after winning the Heisman Trophy and leading LSU to a national championship this past season, contested the Ohio State quarterback job in the spring of 2018.

Haskins, who entered the competition with a slight lead off his performance in 2017 as J.T. Barrett's backup, stayed ahead of Burrow and thus set the wheels in motion for Burrow's transfer to LSU.

Haskins passed for 4,831 yards and 50 touchdowns in his only season as a starter, finishing third in the Heisman balloting and winning Big Ten and Rose Bowl MVP honors.

Burrow topped those numbers as a senior at LSU, passing for 5,671 yards and 60 scores.

“I went to school with Joe for two years, so it’s just crazy to think how far we all came since high school," Haskins told the Redskins Talk podcast. "Now we all get to compete against each other on the biggest stage. Looking forward to it.”

Both Haskins and Burrow are getting to play in the NFL for the team closest to where they played high school football.

Burrow grew up in Athens, while Haskins played for the Bullis School in Potomac, Md.

Former OSU defensive end Chase Young, the No. 2 pick in the draft behind Burrow, is likewise from the D.C. area, from Upper Marlboro, Md.

Late in the 2019 season, the New York Giants defeated the Redskins to assure Washington the second pick in the Draft.

The game was dubbed, The Chase for Chase.

"I was rooting for (the Redskins to draft) Chase," Haskins said. "It's funny because I remember leaving to go to the NFL and Chase was like, 'You think the Redskins are going to pick me next year?' I was like, 'I don't know. We'll see.' And then, ironically, it happened. So God works in mysterious ways. I'm really excited, having him on my team."