Rookie D-Lineman's Dedication, Tenacity Undeniable

Haskell Garrett continued his college career at Ohio State months after he sustained a gunshot wound to the face.

NASHVILLE – Haskell Garrett was walking home after a Saturday night out in Columbus, Ohio with friends two years ago when he witnessed an act of violence he couldn’t ignore.

Then a member of the Ohio State football team, he chose to intervene after he saw a man strike a woman.

It was a decision that nearly cost Garrett his life. The man pulled a gun and shot Garrett in the face, the bullet ripping through both cheeks of the burly defensive tackle.

“I saw another man hit a woman and one of our core values at The Ohio State is Title IX, respect women,” Garrett recently told the NFL Network. “Immediately, my instincts are to go help that woman.

“I went over there, intervened and pushed him away from her. I look towards her and then when I looked back, everything just went black. Next thing I knew, I was picking myself up in a puddle of blood.”

Now a rookie defensive lineman with the Tennessee Titans, the 6-foot-2, 300-pound Garrett, considered one of the top undrafted free agents at his position, faces quite a challenge in the coming weeks as he battles a deep crop of players for a roster spot.

But don’t doubt Garrett’s tenacity or resilience, not after what he displayed following the severe gunshot wound in 2020. Less than two months after undergoing multiple oral surgeries – including a bone graft – Garrett stepped onto the field for Ohio State’s opener against Nebraska.

“I knew I wanted to be there for my team,” he said following a Titans OTA session last week. “I just wanted to be there for my brothers and ultimately, to showcase and have a chance to play football again.”

That’s how close he came to death

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Columbus Police responded to a report of a shooting in the early hours of August 30, 2020, where they followed a trail of blood and found Garrett in his apartment a few blocks away. A teammate, Pete Werner, already had called for an ambulance. Suffering a “through and through gunshot wound to the cheeks,” per the police report, Garrett was taken to Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center.

The following hours after were terrifying -- for Haskell, his family and for those in the Ohio State football community.

Former Titans secondary coach Kerry Coombs, who was Ohio State’s defensive coordinator at the time, recalls getting a phone call from head coach Ryan O’Day around 4:30 a.m. that Sunday morning.

“It made me sick to my stomach,” Coombs told All Titans. “You’re instantly in fear for his life. That’s the first thing you’re thinking. You’re just very fearful that a good kid has found himself in a situation that he is not going to recover from. It’s life-altering.”

Larry Johnson, Ohio State’s associate head coach and defensive line coach, headed straight to the hospital upon hearing the news, praying as Garrett went into surgery. Garrett’s mother, Maria Key, lived out of state and had to wait until the following morning to leave, meaning the coaching staff served as his family.

“You’re scared to death, really, just scared to death,” Johnson said. “Thought that he was not going to make it.

“But he came out of surgery and the doctors did a great, great job putting everything together for him Whether it was just inches left or right, (Garrett) is probably not with us. That’s how close he came to death.”

Never saw him feel sorry for himself

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The bone graft, surgeries and dental work that followed helped Garrett mend from the facial wounds as well as the five teeth he lost. His jaw was wired shut as part of the recovery process, restricting him to a liquid-only diet and limiting his communication.

Playing football again that season? It was hard to imagine considering that, at first, doctors advised Garrett they didn’t even want him to sweat. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t attend preseason practices, where he stood on the sidelines and cheered on his teammates – to the best of his abilities, anyway.

“I never once saw the kid feel sorry for himself,” Coombs, now the University of Cincinnati’s cornerbacks coach and special-teams coordinator, said. “I never saw him hesitate to look for opportunities to work. So whatever he could do, he did do.

"That kind of personality and that kind of kid inspires other kids.”

In time, doctors allowed Garrett to resume practice, where Johnson spent hour after hour working him back into football shape.

All the effort paid off when Garrett was medically cleared to play just days before Ohio State’s COVID-delayed season opener. On Oct. 24, 2020 – 55 days after getting shot in the face – donned his Buckeyes uniform, celebrating his return by posting the Buckeyes’ first sack of the season.

Did he impress himself with such a speedy recovery?

“I’d say not only myself, but I impressed everybody around me,” Garrett said. “It just shows I really love this game and I’ll do anything to be on the field playing it.”

Right up Mike Vrabel’s alley

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Garrett’s 2020 season was memorable for his resiliency, his touchdown against Michigan State – when he deflected a pass to himself in the end zone -- and for a trip to the College Football Playoff championship game.

But in many ways, 2021 was even better. Garrett chose to return to school for his fifth season and was elected a team captain for the first time, a reflection of the example he had set in 2020.

“I feel that my teammates believed in me and they wanted me to lead,” Garrett said. “Ultimately, they could have chosen anybody on our team, but they chose me. I was very thankful for that and honored to have that role.”

Added Johnson: “He came back for the guys because he loved the room and his teammates. To be a captain is a great honor at Ohio State, and he embraced that very wholeheartedly about who he was.”

Garrett posted career-best numbers of 22 tackles, seven tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks for the Buckeyes in 2021, earning first-team All-Big 10 honors.

Most draft analysts figured Garrett would be a third-day draft pick last April, but the NFL never called.

No problem, says Coombs, who believes Garrett has landed in exactly the right place. Titans coach Mike Vrabel, who happens to be a former Ohio State player and coach, loves to work with motivated underdogs like the undrafted Garrett.

“Mike thrives with guys like that,” Coombs said. “That is right up Mike Vrabel’s alley, and (defensive line coach Terrell Williams’). I’m sure they’re going to use that, and I’m sure Haskell is going to use that. … So, I think while (not getting drafted) is disappointing in the immediate, in the long term it’s a very positive situation for Haskell.”

Will Garrett be able to beat out more experienced defensive linemen for a spot on the Titans roster? Or perhaps land a job on the Titans’ 16-man practice squad?

We’ll know that answer in a few months.

It’s easy to believe, though, that Garrett’s mere presence on the football field illustrates the bigger battle he’s already won.

“The shooting was a devastating time, but he survived it,” Johnson said. “That’s why I tell him he’s got a great testimony right now.

“He not only survived, but a couple months later he’s on the field, and then he’s playing again in an All-American season. I’d say that says a lot about him as a person.”