COLUMBUS, Ohio — The tragic news of a former Ohio State quarterback’s death sparked condolences on social media from teammates, colleagues and fans nationwide.
Dwayne Haskins died Saturday morning after he was struck by a dump truck while crossing a Florida highway on foot.
During his time at Ohio State, he led the Buckeyes to a Big Ten Championship and a victory over Washington in the Rose Bowl as well as being named a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2018.
Among those expressing grief over the loss of Haskins was former Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer.
"He's a beautiful kid. Beautiful family. Beautiful soul. He was very strong in his faith," he said.
In an interview with 10TV sports anchor Dom Tiberi, Meyer said he couldn't imagine what Haskins' family is going through.
"My thoughts and prayers go toward the parents and the sister," he said. "The parents' life revolved around their daughter and their son. They sent them to the best possible high school they could to get a great education. It's just tragic."
Meyer recalled when he worked with Haskins when coaching the Buckeyes in 2018.
"[Haskins] was probably the highest-rated quarterback to come to Ohio State in quite some time," he said.
Meyer remembered the video of Haskins as a kid saying he wanted to be a Buckeye. The former Ohio State football coach got to know the quarterback during his freshman and sophomore years of high school
When it came time to commit to schools, Haskins chose Maryland. However, fate had something else in store for Haskins.
Ohio State had an opening and the quarterback wanted to reconsider. The day Haskins committed to the Buckeyes, Meyer knew the team had something special.
"I happened to go to his workout one day. His workout that year was the best I've ever seen from a quarterback his age," he said.
Haskins completed 370 passes on 530 attempts for 4,843 yards and 50 touchdowns as a Buckeye.
Five times during the season, Haskins threw for more than 400 yards in a game and threw for over 300 yards in nine games.
He was the Big Ten offensive player of the week a record six times and awarded the Silver Football Award, given to the conference’s best player. Haskins was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy in 2018 and finished third behind Oklahoma's Kyler Murray and Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa.
Along the way, Haskins broke several school and conference records including the single-season passing and touchdown records.
Haskins was selected by Washington in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers last year.