Former Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins has all the tools to be the face of the Washington Redskins. But he’s not quite there yet, at least according to some sound bites and observations coming out of Redskins camp.
USA TODAY ran a piece on Haskins today that highlighted how simply learning the terminology is an obstacle in Redskins’ head coach Jay Gruden’s offense. At Ohio State, the play-calling consisted of less complex terminology and a hand clap to snap the ball.
“Ohio State, they never called plays and they just clapped for the snap count,” Gruden said. “There’s a lot of things to work on but he’s getting more comfortable. It’s just time out there and reps.”
In our Nation’s Capital, it’s a whole new ball of wax with long and important cadences that determine things like protection, blocking, and first and second reads on the play. What comes out of a quarterback’s mouth can be ten to fifteen words long.
According to the article, for Haskins, it has been a steep learning curve.
“Just the way you call a play can make a big difference in how hard the offensive line blocks or not,” Haskins explains. “Just how confident you sound, walking to the huddle, guys will want to follow you – but not some guy who doesn’t know what he’s doing.”
For now, it appears as though Haskins is behind both veterans Colt McCoy and Case Keenum. Not because of physical talent, but because school is still in session for the former Buckeye.
Haskins reminds as confident as ever that he’ll be the starter, but there’s still work to do.
