Haskins redshirted his first year at Ohio State in 2016. The following year, he was the backup to J.T. Barrett. He finished the season completing 40 of 57 passes for 565 yards and four touchdowns. Haskins then went on to have a record-setting campaign in his sophomore season in 2018, which was his lone starting season at the school. He claimed the single season passing and touchdown records for Ohio State and the Big Ten by eclipsing the 4,000-passing yards mark and throwing 50 touchdowns, making him just one of six NCAA quarterbacks to ever achieve the latter in a single season. Additionally, he claimed school records in total offense in a season, total offensive yards in a game and total passing yards in a game. In all 12 of his starts, he threw for more than 225 passing yards, including eight games of more than 300 yards, and four games of more than 400. He threw for 499 yards and five touchdowns in the 2018 Big Ten Football Championship Game, while throwing three touchdowns in the 2019 Rose Bowl, winning the MVP award in both games for his performance. His performance also earned him first team All–Big Ten honors, as well as six Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week awards, the Graham–George Offensive Player of the Year, the Griese–Brees Quarterback of the Year, the Chicago Tribune Silver Football, and the Male Ohio State Athlete of the Year awards. He was also named as a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award, and finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting. In January 2019, Haskins announced that we would forgo his remaining two years of college football and enter the 2019 NFL Draft. As a student, he majored in journalism.
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Professional career
2019
Haskins was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the first round, 15th overall, of the 2019 NFL Draft. Despite his high school and college jersey number of 7 being unofficially retired by the Redskins in honor of quarterback Joe Theismann, whose career ended with a leg injury in 1985, Haskins requested and was granted permission from him to wear it. Haskins signed his four-year rookie contract on May 9, 2019. He saw his first action with the team in a Week 4 game against the New York Giants in relief of Case Keenum, who was benched for poor performance. In the game, Haskins also struggled, throwing for 107 yards and three interceptions, including a pick-six, as the Redskins lost 24–3. During a Thursday Night Football game against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 8, Haskins again replaced Keenum, who left the game due to a concussion, finishing with 33 passing yards and an interception as the Redskins lost 19–9. The following week, Haskins made his first career start against the Buffalo Bills, finishing with 144 passing yards as the Redskins lost 24–9. In Week 11 against the New York Jets, Haskins threw for 214 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in the 34–17 loss. During Week 12 against the Detroit Lions, Haskins finished with 156 passing yards, 28 rushing yards, and an interception as the Redskins won 19–16, giving Haskins his first career win as an NFL starter. In a Week 15 loss against the Philadelphia Eagles, Haskins threw for 261 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a 75-yard touchdown to Terry McLaurin. For his efforts, he was named the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week, his first professional honor. In Week 16 against the Giants, Haskins threw for 133 yards and two touchdowns before being carted off the field due to an ankle injury he suffered on the first play of the third quarter. Haskins would later sit out the Week 17 regular season finale.
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Personal life
A New Jersey native, Haskins grew up a New York Giants fan. Haskins goes by the nickname of Simba, which was taken from the protagonist of the 1994 filmThe Lion King. He adopted it as a child due to him having an afro at the time that reminded his mother of a lion's mane. He uses the nickname and the film's coming-of-age story as motivation, and incorporates it into his personal clothing brand, Kingdom of Pride. His mentor during high school and college was NFL wide receiver Mohamed Sanu, whom he met through Mohamed Jabbie, one of his best friends and Sanu's nephew.
