Freshman Tracker: Kyle McCord Starts, TreVeyon Henderson Scores Twice and Tyleik Wiliams Gets Two Sacks

Ryan Day took advantage of the Akron matchup as 18 of Ohio State's 23 scholarship freshmen found the field against the Zips. The youngsters made their mark as they helped the Buckeyes in the 59-7 beatdown. 

Williams The Wrecker

Last week against Tulsa, when the Buckeyes defense needed a stop, Tyleik Williams came thru with the game-changing 17-yard sack of Davis Brin. 

This week, Williams followed up with an impressive six tackle and two sack performance. The quarterback bruiser has a penchant for picking the biggest of spots for his sacks. 

Akron's first drive of the fourth quarter had the Zips facing a third and goal from the Buckeyes' 15-yard line. With Ohio State leading by 45 points, fans with a vested interest in the final score were sweating the conclusion of this Zips' drive.

The Buckeyes brought pressure and Williams used a speed rush on Alex Robarge, after knocking the immobile linemen over, Tyleik was at full speed when he destroyed DJ Irons for a 10-yard sack. Tom Arth's field goal kicker, Cory Smigel, promptly missed the 42-yard field goal to the right as many fans exhaled in relief. 

Williams' second sack was the final play of the game. Again, Akron had a third down on Ohio State's 15 yard line. This time, there were only four seconds remaining in the game. With the Scarlet and Gray leading by 52 points, the vested audience was sweating the Zips final attempt for points. On the snap, Williams bowled over the lineman and met Irons in the backfield with a massive bear hug. The clock hit zeroes and the degenerate masses have a new hero, he wears No. 91.  

If you missed Tyleik Williams' last sack here's a video replay pic.twitter.com/83FmJzzLod

— Brandon (@TheHotCorner7) September 26, 2021

Opposing offenses should beware, it is apparent Williams has a taste for blood – and he likes it.

McCord Making History

Kyle McCord's night started shaky as he connected on two of his first five passes. Following Akron's touchdown, the third consecutive time a MAC opponent has scored first on Ohio State, the Pennsylvania native settled in. He hit on 11 of his last 13 pass attempts for 319 yards.

McCord became the first Buckeye true freshman quarterback to throw for over 300 yards in his first start. In fact, he's the only true freshman signal-caller to eclipse the 300-yard mark.

Kyle McCord throws his first Ohio State touchdown to Chris Olave pic.twitter.com/wo69dp5yi1

— Billy Heyen (@BillyHeyen) September 26, 2021

Egbuka's Explosive Play

With Ohio State leading 38-7 early in the third quarter, it was time for Emeka Egbuka to make his first Ohio State reception. Not just a first reception, but the third-longest catch in Buckeye history. 

Not bad for a first career catch @emeka_egbuka #GoBucks https://t.co/UJwEJr6g3I

— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) September 26, 2021

Yes, the connection of McCord to Egbuka is the longest pass play in program history for true freshmen.

TreVeyon Stays On Track

How did TreVeyon Henderson follow-up his 277-yard rushing performance? With two touchdowns and 93-yards on eight carries. Ryan Day might have made a big statement on the pecking order of the running back room by keeping the game-changing back on the sideline seven yards shy of the century mark. 

Although Henderson didn't crack 100 yards, he finished with an eye-popping 11.6 yards per carry. After four games, TreVeyon has 439 rushing yards and is averaging an impressive 9.5 yards a pop. For those of you slow on math, that's just shy of a first down every time Henderson is handed the ball. 

Michael Hall Jr. or Mike Meyers?

Early in the fourth quarter, Akron needed to convert on a third and six. Irons handed the ball to Blake Hester who was promptly stuffed by Michael Hall Jr. for measly 1-yard gain. Upon conclusion of the nice stop, Hall Jr. stood up and made the throat slash gesture.  

Later in the final stanza, Jakailin Johnson also got caught up in the moment of making a nice play. The cornerback from St. Louis, Missouri broke hard on Konata Mumpfield and completed an impressive textbook tackle.

Regrettably, Johnson decided to let Mumpfield know about the hit several times after the whistle. The chirping was flagged for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike which aided Akron on the final drive of the game.

Pryor Plays, Pryor Scores

Henderson isn't the only freshman running back on the 2021 Buckeyes. Evan Pryor made the most of his first snaps of the season and his first collegiate touchdown capped off the contest's scoring.

Blessed many more to come https://t.co/Z2puAICGsT

— Evan Pryor (@evanpryor3) September 26, 2021

Stat Book Stuffers

Denzel Burke led the freshmen with 42 defensive snaps, but Arth's Akron aerial assault did not attack Arizona native. This marked the first game this season Burke did not break up a pass. 

Marvin Harrison Jr. hauled in his first collegiate reception late in the third quarter. The namesake of the Hall of Fame receiver ran a nice out route and picked up nine yards on the pass from Jack Miller. 

Jesse Mirco was called upon three times and averaged 46.3 yards per punt. 

Jack Sawyer was disruptive on the line and finished the tilt with three tackles, a tackle for loss and his first sack. 

Even he knows it. @jacksawyer40 gets his first of many @OhioStateFB sacks. pic.twitter.com/A44VbWHIth

— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) September 26, 2021

J.T. Tuimoloau recorded two tackles in his first career start and attracted much attention from Akron's offensive line. Big things are ahead from the big player from Washington.  

Jayden Ballard started the fourth quarter with a four-yard snag from Jack Miller. Ballard was was called for an illegal block in the back that erased a Miyan Williams 17-yard run late in the third quarter.

Reid Carrico tallied two tackles during the Akron's final drive of the game. The Ironton alum brought down Hester Blake twice on Akron's final drive. Carrico also covered on the last kickoff of the game.

Special Teams And Snaps Spotlight

Donovan Jackson continues to be an anchor on the FG/PAT unit. He protected on the field goal and eight extra points. Jackson also had a season-high 16 snaps with the offensive line.  

Jordan Hancock hit the field for the fist time this season. The North Gwinnett alum helped the punt return unit four times and the kickoff unit twice. 

Andre Turrentine was on Ohio State's last kickoff coverage unit of the game. This was Turrentine's first playing time of the year.

Toby Wilson is not one of the 23 scholarship players in the 2021 class. However, the offensive lineman is a walk-on and a true freshman. The Lewis Center native played the final 16 offensive snaps for the Buckeyes.   

Under the NCAA's redshirt rules, a player can appear in up to four games at any point throughout the season and still count it as his redshirt year. Through the fourth game of the 2021 season, 17 of Ohio State's 23 scholarship true freshmen have seen the field.