One year ago Monday, tragedy struck Ohio State graduate defensive tackle Haskell Garrett.
Garrett was shot in the face, with a bullet traveling through one cheek and out the other, while trying to break up an altercation in Ohio State’s off-campus area. The incident put his season in jeopardy, but Garrett recovered quickly and played in all eight games for the Buckeyes in 2020.
Defensive line coach Larry Johnson said he saw Garrett dive head first into football following the incident.
“I think he came back with some resilience. I think he came back and really went to work after what happened to him,” Johnson said. “I think he really refocused himself and really concentrated on being a really great football player. That’s the way he practices and that’s the way he plays. It’s kind of neat to see him do that. He’s really a smart player, but he gets it. He understands how to play the game.”
The Las Vegas native impressed throughout the 2020 season, racking up 20 tackles, two sacks and an interception while garnering NFL draft buzz throughout his breakout year. Despite CBSSports All-American honors in 2020, Garrett elected to stay at Ohio State for his fifth season.
The 6-foot-2, 300-pound tackle pointed to the tight knit nature of the Ohio State program as a reason that drove him to stay in Columbus.
“I really came back for The Brotherhood. I felt like there was more I could do as a leader. I didn’t want to leave the guys yet,” Garrett said. “There is a lot of talk about when you go to the league, it’s a business, which I know it is. Ohio State is special, and I didn’t want to leave yet.”
Heading into the 2021 season, Garrett was selected to be a team captain by his teammates. Fellow captain and junior defensive end Zach Harrison pointed to a growth in maturity that has extended to Garrett’s demeanor and leadership style.
“I feel like he’s matured a lot. I can tell by the way he talks to the room and talks to the unit and talks to the team,” Harrison said. “His goals got realigned once he saw what he wanted to do. He went and got it. I’m proud of Haskell.”
Harrison added that he and Garrett “gel together” on the defensive front.
Having spent much of his 2020 season at nose, Garrett said he’s worked at both the three-technique and the nose this preseason.
Pointing to his versatility, Garrett emphasized that his ability to move around the defensive line could wreak havoc on opposing offenses.
“I feel like a lot of offenses will dictate their offenses off of me,” Garrett said. “I feel that it will free up a lot of guys, me being able to move around on the D-line.”
Garrett is likely to line up next to junior Taron Vincent, who expressed excitement to play next to the Outland Trophy, Chuck Bednarik Award and Bronko Nagurski Award preseason watch list member.
“I think we’re a crazy duo. Me and Haskell, that’s my guy,” Vincent said. “We know how to play off each other, so we’ll be great.”
As Ohio State looks to return to the National Championship this season, head coach Ryan Day said they’ll need Garrett’s veteran leadership to carry them.
“We’re going to need his leadership and his veteran play,” Day said Tuesday on his radio show on 97.1 The Fan. “I think that’s one of the things, the teams that we’ve had in the past years that have won championships and gone on to play for national championships, the veteran guys have played veteran. Just because they’ve been here before, they actually played that way and they produced and they led and so we’re going to need that out of Haskell.”
