Haskins thought it was important enough to make the Feb. 25 trip to Central Michigan for a visit with Frye, thus further preparing himself for the draft on April 25.

Projected as one of the top quarterbacks to be selected, Haskins went through mock draft interviews with CMU's staff and threw at Frye's command – snap after snap, drill after drill.

Ball State graduate Corey Lacanaria and Ferris State graduate Malik Taylor, two wide receivers currently pursuing the NFL, entered the Indoor Athletic Complex at 1 p.m. in search of Haskins after receiving an invite just a day prior.

"We got changed in the same locker room as Dwayne," Taylor said. "We went down to the indoor field and, five minutes later, Dwayne walked in and started stretching with us. It turned out to be pretty fun."

After warming up, the trio of Haskins, Lacanaria and Taylor did short, intermediate and long passes with one-step and three-step drop-back throws.

Then, Lacanaria and Taylor ran routes for Haskins in front of Frye and McElwain.

"We ran the basic routes – digs, posts, slants, speed outs, quick outs, fades – we hit on them all," Lacanaria said. "He's a great quarterback. It was good to be around his talent level and his caliber."

Taylor said Haskins was "down to earth" and helped him with route running. He enjoyed training with one of the best quarterbacks in the country.

"In the little bit of time with him, he made it seem like we've been throwing together for years," Taylor said. "It felt like we were already on-pace with each other. He would explain how he was going to throw it, but other than that, we connected."

Most of the conversations Haskins had occurred with Frye, who was setting up each drill to train the future NFL quarterback. After a successful career at Akron, Frye played in the NFL for the Cleveland Browns (2005-07), Seattle Seahawks (2007-08) and Oakland Raiders (2009).

Frye, now the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Chippewas, threw for 4,154 yards in the NFL, along with 17 touchdowns and 29 interceptions. In college for the Zips, he accumulated 11,049 passing yards and 83 total scores.

The exposure Lacanaria received by being around Haskins and Frye helped him understand the culture and demands of the NFL, he said.

"We talked a little bit," Lacanaria said of Haskins. "He gave me tips here and there. He knew route running and the quarterback position pretty well, so he gave me some things he wanted me to do specifically."

Why Lacanaria and Taylor?

Both Lacanaria and Taylor are training in preparation for the NFL draft with Jim Kielbaso at Total Sports in Wixom.

"I started to getting some texts from coaches in high school and they just asked me," Lacanaria said. "(Haskins) was looking for receivers in general and I was referred, so I just went with it."

Even though Lacanaria and Taylor heard about the opportunity just a day prior, the Ball State pass catcher said it was one he "absolutely could not" pass up.

While many CMU receivers were available, NCAA rules would not allow both coaches and players from the Chippewas to work out in the same room. If CMU had allowed its receivers to catch passes from Haskins, it would have been considered a "spring practice."

McElwain said CMU is not starting up spring practice until March 19, so letting receivers participate in front of coaches would have eliminated of one full day of team practice.

At Ball State in 2018, Lacanaria caught 49 passes for 524 yards and three touchdowns. For his five-year career with the Cardinals, he managed 1,525 yards and eight receiving scores.

Taylor, who battled injuries in the 2018 season for Ferris State, caught a team-high 61 passes for 906 yards and six touchdowns as a junior in 2017.

"With me being hurt my senior year, I know route running is something (scouts) are going to want to see me do," Taylor said. "To be able to throw with Dwayne was the best thing that could've happened with me."

Lacanaria's Ball State Pro Day is set for April 3, while Taylor will attend CMU's Pro Day on March 14 and Eastern Michigan's Pro Day on March 22.

Draft day approaches

In the 2018 season for Ohio State, Haskins' only as a starter, he completed 373-of-533 passes for 4,831 yards, 50 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He added 108 yards and four scores on the ground.

Taylor believes the most underrated quality of Haskins is his ability to gel with his receivers regardless of previous time spent with them.

"That's something (the scouts) need to check out," Taylor said. "We were worried about (connecting) going into it, but he has that in his package."

Most NFL mock drafts have Haskins and former Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray as the first signal callers off the board come late April.

Above all others in the business, for one day, Haskins chose Frye.