INDIANAPOLIS — Between bites of omelets and waffles, Dwayne Haskins Jr.’s father, mother and sister are telling stories about the young man they love.

They recall when two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Shawn Springs marveled at Haskins’ throwing motion, telling his father, “When the body catches up to the mind, you are going to New York.”

As in, for the Heisman Trophy presentation.

Dwayne was in the seventh grade.

Going back to May 3, 1997, Dwayne Sr. recalls wife Tamara delivering the 7-pound, 11-ounce baby. He looked at little Dwayne’s head and told doctors he was concerned because the shape was “oblong.”

Yes, like a football.

The sport already has made Haskins famous. And one day, likely sooner than Ohio State fans would like, it will make him very rich.

Haskins, a Bullis graduate who once committed to Maryland, enjoyed a historic 2018 season, breaking Big Ten records for passing yards (4,580) and touchdown passes (47). He threw for a program-record 499 yards against Northwestern in the conference championship game, earning MVP honors. Michigan allowed seven touchdown passes in its first 11 games — and six to Haskins in the Buckeyes’ 62-39 romp.

It’s no wonder Big Ten coaches voted Haskins the winner of the 2018 Chicago Tribune Silver Football, awarded annually to the conference’s best player. Illinois’ Red Grange won the first award in 1924, and Penn State’s Saquon Barkley received it last year.

Many of the greats on that list were driven by demanding parents who would “punish” their kids by having them do push-ups or sprints.

That’s not the Haskins family.

As they tell it at Maxine’s Chicken & Waffles in Indianapolis on the morning of the Big Ten title game, Haskins practically stumbled into football. During family Super Bowl parties, he would wander away from the TV after one quarter.

“Dwayne was never really into sports,” his father says. “He was into Power Rangers, Pokemon, Michael Jackson.”

Haskins made great grades, so his parents would reward him and sister Tamia with vacations to places such as Disneyland or Busch Gardens. Sometimes they would drop off Dwayne at a football camp. At the end they would notice a medal hanging from his neck.

“We’d be like: How did that happen? How’d you get that?” Tamara recalls.

Haskins loved math and did an eighth-grade science fair presentation on the aerodynamics of throwing a football, analyzing how one generates the highest velocity.

“He came in, I think, fourth place,” Dwayne Sr. says.

“Third,” Tamia responds.

“It’s been a while,” Dwayne Sr. says.

‘This kid was different’

The food arrives. Tamia, a 17-year-old high school senior and budding actress, asks to say grace.

“Father God, thank you for today. Please let everyone that sits at this table and everyone we encounter today be blessed by you. To know that everything is possible. Please watch over the hands that have prepared this food. Let this food nourish our bodies and our souls. In your name. Amen.”

Christianity is at the core of the Haskins family. At age 3, Dwayne asked for a little sister. Tamara endured a difficult pregnancy and emergency C-section, but the result was a beautiful girl who would become her brother’s best friend.

“Dwayne is so special,” Tamia says. “Everyone should have a Dwayne in their life. If you don’t, I’m sorry.”

Dwayne Sr., an entrepreneur who has developed and produced Christian-themed music and events, says of his son: “God gave gifts to him. He’s like a Stevie Wonder. God gave a gift to him with song. When it comes to football, Dwayne does everything at ease. It comes natural to him. He doesn’t struggle. His comprehension is such, you don’t have to repeat it.”

Tamara calls faith “our foundation.” Before major decisions, the family looks for a sign from God.

They got the equivalent of a lightning strike on Oct. 11, 2015, when Maryland fired coach Randy Edsall after consecutive blowouts by West Virginia, Michigan and … Ohio State.

Haskins had committed to Maryland five months earlier. His family had moved from New Jersey to Potomac, Md., so Dwayne and Tamia could attend prestigious Bullis. Dwayne bonded with Edsall and assistant Mike Locksley and intended to stay near home.

To look back now, how could Ohio State not have been his destination, his destiny?

Tamara’s sister, Trudy Gaillard, earned a Ph.D. at Ohio State, where she held a faculty position in the university’s college of nursing. She encouraged Haskins to attend a football camp there in the spring of 2008, when Haskins was 11.

Coach Jim Tressel took to him, insisting he play quarterback and telling him something along the lines of this: “When you grow up, come back and visit. We might have a scholarship for you.”

A home video from the camp shows Haskins, wearing a white headband and red Ohio State No. 7 jersey, throwing passes and saying he “wants to come to college here.”

Dwayne Sr.: “Now if you come to Ohio State, what position are you going to play?”

Dwayne Jr.: “Quarterback.”

Haskins loved former Ravens quarterback Troy Smith, who won the 2006 Heisman Trophy.

On top of all that, Springs entered the picture when Haskins was in middle school. The former Ohio State All-American and 13-year pro was in New Jersey to visit his son, Skyler, a friend of Dwayne’s. Springs sized up Haskins at a football camp and was floored.

“My kid throws it about 20 yards and this kid throws it like 50,” Springs recalled. “They were the only two black kids there, so I look into the stands and say to Dwayne (Sr.): ‘Hey, man, that’s got to be your kid because we’re the only two brothers here.’ ”

Every time Springs returned to New Jersey, he would visit the Haskins home. They lived in Highland Park near the Rutgers campus.

“This kid was different,” Springs said, referring to his diligence. “He’d do his workout, then do his homework. We’d have a conversation about football, and it was like talking to a pro. I’ve been in enough locker rooms and been around enough quarterbacks to know.”

Springs encouraged the family to move to the DMV area — D.C./Maryland/Virginia — where Dwayne could play against better competition and get more attention from recruiters. They chose Bullis, a small private school, mainly because it was Tamia’s first choice. (It has a great theater department.)

Haskins had every intention of enrolling at Maryland. Had he done so and stayed, his 2018 season would have been wrecked by scandal and more firings, not filled with victories and touchdown passes.

Haskins didn’t seem like a perfect fit at Ohio State because Urban Meyer offenses thrive on dual-threat quarterbacks such as Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett. In November of his senior year, Haskins reopened his recruitment and texted Meyer, asking to visit campus.

“Who is this?” Meyer replied.

“7,” Haskins shot back.

Haskins sat for two seasons behind Barrett and then had the greatest season in the history of Ohio State quarterbacks: His 4,580 passing yards and 47 touchdowns lead the nation, and his 70.2 percent completion rate ranks sixth.

“He’s blessed,” Buckeyes receiver Parris Campbell said. “He is touched with the physical ability to be able to throw the ball.”

Meyer, by the way, still calls him “Seven.”

Doesn’t get overwhelmed

During a midweek phone interview, Haskins said he was not surprised by Meyer’s decision to step down from Ohio State.

“Coach has been going through a lot the last couple of years with health issues,” Haskins said. “I’m happy for him; he still has his health.”

Haskins did become a Heisman finalist, venturing to New York as Springs had predicted.

“Now it’s etched into history,” he said, “so I can show that to my kids one day and say: ‘Daddy was a pretty good football player.’?”

He’ll make a final decision after the Rose Bowl on whether to turn pro. But let’s get real. ESPN’s Mel Kiper wrote this week that Oregon’s Justin Herbert is no longer the clear-cut No. 1 draft-eligible quarterback. Haskins, listed at 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds (his father says he’s at least 6-4), is “breathing down his neck.”

“Things are looking good right now,” Haskins said of his pro prospects, “but I’ll let it play out.”

Haskins is two semesters shy of earning a degree in journalism. His post-NFL ambitions include opening a quarterback training facility; becoming a studio or game analyst on TV; creating a clothing line; helping Tamia with her acting career; and assisting girlfriend Savhana Cousins with her fashion endeavors. (Savhana Cousins is related to NBA star DeMarcus Cousins; in fact, they are cousins.)

Told that the Giants will need a quarterback and that New York would be a great landing spot for his career, Haskins replied, “I’m hoping for that too.”

Reminded of the eighth-grade science project, Haskins spoke in technical terms beyond the capacity of a mere sportswriter. He compared throwing motions of celebrated quarterbacks such as Drew Brees, Tim Tebow (don’t laugh), Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. His takeaway: An over-the-top motion produces the cleanest release, tightest spirals and highest velocity. He got an A on the project.

“Finished third,” he said.

Springs can envision Haskins shattering stereotypes of African-American quarterbacks. He will use his mind more than his feet.

“He is closer to Peyton Manning,” Springs said, “than he is to Cam Newton.”

Haskins’ parents have the utmost faith their son is ready for whatever comes next.

About 12 hours before he threw the last of his 34 completions against Northwestern, Tamara says: “He is a leader and understands his role. He is a distributor. He is a servant. Everybody wins and looks good together.”

Dwayne Sr. puts it like this: “He is well-mannered. He loves people. He loves the Lord. He has so much to offer. … He is an alpha male of alpha males. He doesn’t overwhelm you or try to manipulate you to believe in what he does. He will say two or three words and then he goes out and represents it. Then you follow him and you want to respond to him.

“He doesn’t need to kick over a Gatorade cooler. Doesn’t need to throw his helmet down. If you watch his mannerisms when he quarterbacks, it’s with confidence. He has been around it. He has NFL friends that mentor him. He is not your average college football player. He does not get overwhelmed. He is emotionally intelligent. He is built for this moment.”

tgreenstein@chicagotribune.com

Twitter@TeddyGreenstein