QB Room: Haskins, Martell Fuel Offense In No. 4 Ohio State’s Victory Vs. Rutgers
Sophomore starter Dwayne Haskins and redshirt-freshman backup Tate Martell combined to go 30 for 33 (90.9 percent) with 354 yards and five touchdowns in Ohio State’s aerial assault of Rutgers.
Haskins casually completed 20 of 23 passes (87 percent) for 223 yards and four scores, while Martell perfected a 10-for-10 clip with 121 yards and a 51-yard bomb to fifth-year senior wide receiver Terry McLaurin in the second quarter.
Martell, who rushed eight times for 95 yards, also took off for a 47-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to polish off a 52-3 victory for the No. 4 Buckeyes (2-0, 1-0) over the Scarlet Knights (1-1, 0-1).
After the game, OSU’s two signal callers spoke in separate press conferences. How did Haskins and Martell feel about their performances in the Big Ten opener Saturday at Ohio Stadium?
Dwayne Haskins
On the offense…
“It’s a whole lot of fun. I want to run so many series, so many plays that we ran out of time, and up so many points we can’t do what we want. But it’s like every series there’s opportunity to go score, there’s me throwing it, me running it or giving it to somebody else to do something with it. It’s a lot of fun.”
On how comfortable he is in the pocket…
“Probably being here for three years now just being able to see guys like Marshon (Lattimore) and Malik (Hooker) and Gareon (Conley) in practice, and then going to the game and seeing the field, this doesn’t feel — it feels like second nature really. Just whether we call a play, me and Coach (Ryan Day) are on the same page, we want to go with the ball every single time … with coverage and just dialing it up.”
On the offensive line…
“I think they’re doing a great job. Today is a lot of blitzes and trying to pick up protection. So it’s getting ready for TCU, just calling out the IDs out and getting the blitzes picked up, be ready for next week.”
Tate Martell
On his role in the offense…
“I feel Coach Day is going to put me in the best situation when I go out there. And whenever that is, that’s really up to him. I feel they know how to use me and whatever they do is what they do.”
On how he and Haskins complement each other…
“I just want to go out there and just play. That’s just how I go out there. I’ve improved a ton as a passer. And I want to be able to go out there and show that, and I just went out there and made plays with my legs when I had to. And obviously Dwayne is our starter. That’s how it is. And I’ll be there if something goes wrong. Whatever, whatever goes on with the coaches, whatever they want to do.”
On his improvement as a passer…
“That was the first time I really got to go out there and throw the ball and throw in rhythm. I know what I’m doing when I’m out there, which is a huge difference than what it was last year, when I was going out, like in practice, I was kind of second-guessing myself, where this year I know exactly what I’m doing. I know protection and stuff like that, and just a whole different ballgame now. I mean, for me at least.”
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