Ex-Buckeye Paris Johnson Jr. Honors Late Dwayne Haskins Before NFL Debut
On April 9, 2022, former Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Dwayne Haskins was hit and killed on a highway in Florida.
No matter how many days go by he will always be remembered within the Buckeyes' program and their past and present players, as Arizona Cardinals offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr. wore a Haskins-themed t-shirt when walking into FedExField before his NFL debut against the Washington Commanders Sunday. Haskins played for Washington in his two NFL seasons.
The shirt has a variety of photos of Haskins during his Ohio State career in which he set the single-season passing yards and touchdown records with 4,831 and 50, respectively, in 2018.
His face is graced with the words "Long Live Simba" — Haskins' childhood nickname after having an afro that looked like the protagonist of "The Lion King."
Johnson was doing spring football work after his sophomore season, trying to improve on his sophomore season in which he and the Buckeyes brought home a Rose Bowl victory and the Cincinnati, Ohio, native was named a Second Team All-Big Ten honoree by the conference's coaches.
Haskins' death rocked the Buckeyes' football program, and afterward memorials were held in his honor, headlined by a candlelight vigil at the Rotunda at Ohio Stadium.
During the Buckeyes' spring game, Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud wore his regular No. 7 jersey number, but instead of "Stroud" being draped across the name plate, it read "Haskins."
Both Stroud and Johnson grew into top-10 NFL Draft picks, getting selected No. 2 and 6, respectively. Now, both are set to make their NFL debuts Sunday.
