COLUMBUS, Ohio — It looked — well, let the coach explain how it looked as Dwayne Haskins took the field Wednesday and threw the football in front of a hoard of NFL general managers, coaches and scouts:
“It looked natural,’’ Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “It didn’t look forced. Sometimes when you watch a quarterback, it’s, ‘How is he going to throw?’ Dwayne threw the way Dwayne throws.’’
The way Dwayne throws is enticing enough to interest the Giants, who own the No. 6 selection in next month’s NFL draft, and certainly are considering making Haskins that pick and grooming him as Eli Manning’s successor.
The Giants brought a huge group of their most important eyes and ears to take in as much of Haskins as possible.
“He’s an impressive young man,’’ coach Pat Shurmur told The Post.
Shurmur and offensive coordinator Mike Shula were in attendance at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Among the others making the trip for the Giants were Chris Mara, senior vice president of player personnel; Kevin Abrams, vice president of football operations and assistant general manager; and Chris Pettit, director of college scouting.
General manager Dave Gettleman prefers to learn about the player via film study and will get to get some personal time with Haskins when he comes to the team facility as one of the Giants’ allotted 30 player pre-draft visits.
The Giants’ travel party arrived Tuesday evening and proceeded to spend quality time with Haskins, getting a grasp of his football acumen in the classroom then winding down with some socializing during dinner.
“It was excellent,’’ Shurmur said. “We obviously have spent a lot of time evaluating him, and this is one piece of it. We got the chance to work with him on the board and take him to dinner, and he certainly is an accomplished and impressive young man.’’
Haskins has noticed the Giants “definitely have shown interest.’’ He grew up in Highland Park, NJ, before his family moved to suburban Maryland.
“To be able to even be considered by New York, as a kid growing up as a fan, it just an extreme blessing,” Haskins said.
The Giants have the advantage of some special intel, as Shurmur and Day worked together in 2015 on Chip Kelly’s staff with the Eagles — Shurmur as the offensive coordinator, Day as the quarterbacks coach. Day ran the Ohio State offense this past season and takes over for Urban Meyer as the Buckeyes’ head coach in 2019.
“He’s been able to share a great deal with me about Dwayne,’’ Shurmur said of Day. “It’s all great stuff.’’
There is evidence of Haskins’ ability from his one record-breaking year as a starting quarterback at Ohio State. Shurmur, as a former quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator, likes to get a sense of things by being in the building.
“Just watch him throw,’’ Shurmur said. “The important thing about Pro Days in general is you come to his school, you get to see how he interacts with his teammates, get to talk to the people that have worked with him.’’
No doubt Shurmur noticed how Haskins stopped the throwing session for a moment after receiver Parris Campbell came up gimpy after running a route, checking out how Campbell was feeling before returning to the drill.
Haskins, sweat accumulating on the front and back of his dry-fit jersey, put on display his powerhouse right arm and impressive physical presence. He rated his performance as “solid.’’ Of the 50 or so throws he made, there were two he missed on.
“It pisses me off,’’ Haskins said. “But I think I did pretty well.’’
Haskins threw from under center and also out of the shotgun, and at times was asked to get out of the pocket. His movement has been questioned by scouts, but he looked fluid and his arm can get the ball anywhere it needs to go.
He opted not to partake in the 40-yard dash after he clocked in a slow 5.04 last month at the scouting combine in Indianapolis and explained the poor time was the result of a leg cramp.
Haskins did not promote himself much at the combine, but perhaps being back on campus emboldened him some. Asked if he should be a top-five pick in the draft, Haskins said, “It’s up to the team that wants to pick me. I feel like I’m the best player in the draft.’’
Haskins seems at ease in the spotlight, though he does not give off any vibes that he enjoys being the center of all the attention. The quarterback of the Giants receives a ton of attention.
“Well, I’m a homebody, so that helps,’’ Haskins said. “New York media is New York media. I grew up around it, so it’s nothing different for me. Definitely being in the spotlight is something I’m used to, and I think I’ll handle it pretty well.’’
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