C.J. Stroud Honors Dwayne Haskins’ Legacy During Ohio State's Spring Game

“I just thought it would be important for him to go out the right way, so I’m glad his last play at the ‘Shoe was a touchdown.”

Ohio State paid tribute to late quarterback Dwayne Haskins in numerous ways on Saturday afternoon, including holding a moment of silence before the game, wearing helmet decals with his initials – which were also painted onto the turf at Ohio Stadium – and showing a video tribute at halftime.

A look at the Dwayne Haskins decal on Ohio State's helmets for today's spring game: pic.twitter.com/CnjnyEV3lb

— Andrew Lind (@AndrewMLind) April 16, 2022

Redshirt sophomore signal-caller C.J. Stroud took it a step further, though, when he walked onto the field for the first series of the annual scrimmage while wearing “Haskins Jr.” on the back of his jersey.

“He wears the same jersey number, so it’s something that C.J. has thought long and hard about,” head coach Ryan Day said after the game. “I know Dwayne meant a lot to C.J., not that they had a huge relationship, but just that he kind of paved the way for him. I know it was emotional for C.J.”

Stroud then engineered a 10-play drive, which was capped off with a 29-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

“I just wanted to honor maybe his last moment in the ‘Shoe,” Stroud said. “I feel like that’s a big brother of mine and I just wanted to honor him. It wasn’t nothing crazy to me. I just thought it would be important for him to go out the right way, so I’m glad his last play at the ‘Shoe was a touchdown. I’m excited for that.”

Haskins declared for the NFL Draft almost a full year before Stroud committed to the Buckeyes, so their paths never crossed in Columbus. But his record-setting performance in 2018 laid the foundation for Stroud – and Justin Fields before him – to come to and have success at Ohio State.

“He’s just an inspiration. He always has been,” said Stroud, who switched to his own No. 7 jersey after the first drive. “I even watched him when he was in high school. I used to watch the Elite 11 documentaries all the time, and he was one of those dudes on there. So I watched him in that, looked up his highlights after and just went from there and started studying and watching over his career.

“He’s just a big-time player, a big-time dude. Not only on the field, but off, as well. He inspired me … He changed the culture at quarterback here, throwing 50 passing touchdowns (in a season). Definitely, that’s what intrigued me to come here, for sure, and then Justin stamping that the next year, so Dwayne’s legacy will live on.”

Haskins’ impact on the program was especially evident in the aforementioned video, which the players gathered at midfield to watch. It showed some of his greatest highlights and his declaration as an 11-year-old that he would one day play quarterback at Ohio State.

Afterward, fifth-year senior wide receiver and team captain Kamryn Babb led a prayer, which Stroud wanted to remain private.

“I kind of want to just keep that between us,” Stroud said. “It’s a team thing, I don’t really want to talk about it too much, but Babb said a great prayer. Of course, the emotions were flowing, but that’s kind of between us.”

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