Ohio State Running Back TreVeyon Henderson “Good To Go” Against Maryland

The freshman suffered an apparent injury late in the first quarter of Saturday’s game at Rutgers.

Author:
Andrew Lind
Oct 5, 2021 1:26 PM EDT

Ohio State freshman running back TreVeyon Henderson was well on his way to another breakout game when he suffered an apparent head injury in the first quarter of Saturday’s 52-13 win at Rutgers.

Henderson, who scored a 44-yard touchdown on his first touch and was up to 71 yards on the day, took a hard hit on his eighth carry of the game. He was then escorted to the medical tent by the training staff and emerged without his helmet a few minutes later.

The Buckeyes were up 24-6 at the time, so there was really no need to put a less than fully healthy Henderson back into the game. But that said, they’ll have him back for Saturday’s game against Maryland.

“He’s good to go,” head coach Ryan Day said during his press conference at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on Tuesday afternoon.

Coming into the year, it wasn’t clear what kind of role Henderson would have with Master Teague, Miyan Williams and Marcus Crowley all returning. It’s been difficult to keep him off the field, though, given his ability to turn any run into six points.

“I thought it would take a little bit longer than it has because he didn’t play his senior year of high school,” Day said of Henderson, who has rushed for a team-high 510 yards and seven touchdowns on 54 carries. “Stepping into this situation is a lot. But I also saw a guy in the spring who was very serious about his work, very mature, takes care of his body. If he makes a mistake, he’s the hardest person on himself.

“He still has a ways to grow and build, but you can see the ceiling there.”

After rushing 24 times for a freshman single-game school record 277 yards and three touchdowns against Tulsa last month, Henderson has carried the ball a combined 16 times in victories over Akron and Rutgers.

The Buckeyes would have liked to get him more involved on Saturday, especially since he’s still a freshman and every carry is a valuable experience. On the other hand, keeping him healthy for a stretch run is equally important.

“It’s a long year and he’s young,” Day said. “I don’t think it’s a bad thing (to keep him fresh), but you also want to get him the reps. I also think he’s learning a lot and getting those things in practice in practice, but we have depth at that position and so we’re going to use that as a strength.

“If we find ourselves in a station where we’re up comfortably like that, we’re not going to be foolish and put him in a bad spot if he’s not 100 percent. That was just the way it was. We’ll just take each week as it comes because these things take twists and turns. We’re going to do everything that’s best for him at the time, but the more he plays, the better he’s getting.”

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