TreVeyon Henderson played in eight games for Ohio State last season, but the Buckeye running back wasn’t himself after Week 3.
Following a record-breaking true freshman season, Henderson fractured the sesamoid bone in his foot on the first drive against Toledo on Sept. 17, 2022. While it was clear Henderson was banged up thereafter, the extent of his injury wasn’t revealed until the decision was made to shut him down before Ohio State’s College Football Playoff matchup with Georgia. Henderson needed surgery to repair his foot, and suddenly the explanation for his inconsistent performance as a sophomore became obvious.
“Basically I couldn't push off that whole last season. Every time I tried to push off I was basically refracturing that bone,” Henderson said during an interview session Wednesday. “And then I tore some ligaments and tendons. So my foot was basically beat up. … It was moments where sometimes I'd be hopping around or it would take me a while to really hit the hole. And that's just because I knew that if I would plant my foot, that I would basically refracture that bone. Even when I was getting tackled, like at the beginning of every game, as soon as I'd get tackled, I'd basically retweak my foot.
“I was just thinking about it all the time. Going into the game, you don't want to be thinking all the time, you just want to go out there and do it.”
Henderson accumulated 961 fewer yards from scrimmage and 12 fewer touchdowns in his second year than in 2021, albeit on 99 fewer touches in five fewer games. Henderson said he wasn’t phased by fans’ criticism of his 2022 campaign, but that didn’t halt the mental anguish he experienced while trying to fight through the injury.
The Virginia native had never battled a serious injury before, which made the process all the more difficult to deal with.
“It was definitely frustrating last season, because I had certain feelings about certain things that evolved around this building. I just thank my teammates for keeping me uplifted, for keeping my spirits high,” Henderson said. “That was my first injury that truly affected my performance. Like, I've never had a long-term injury like that ever before. Any tweaks I ever had, it never affected my performance, like I could still perform. That was my first real injury, me going through my first real injury. So it definitely affected me a lot mentally. But I just thank all my teammates for keeping me motivated and keeping me going each and every day.”
Henderson said he was “barely practicing all last season” and found himself doubting whether he’d be able to run full speed, cut, or “just be myself” when he got on the field.
But 10 practices into Ohio State’s spring schedule, that’s all changed.
"I feel like I'm 100 percent. I'm running full speed, I'm back to cutting, so I'm feeling great now.”– TreVeyon Henderson
Henderson isn’t back to full-contact work with the team, but recently returned to individual drills with the Buckeyes as he continues to defy the recovery timeline initially laid out for him. In fact, Henderson believes he’s capable of doing more than the doctors are letting him right now, saying “I feel like I can definitely play a game” if he had to.
“I feel great. I feel like I'm back to myself. I started doing some individual work, but they still want to keep me out of team work just to be safe,” Henderson said. “When I come back, they want me to come back for good. I feel like I'm 100 percent. I'm running full speed, I'm back to cutting, so I'm feeling great now.”
Henderson’s been so eager to get back in action that Ryan Day said he even snuck into mat drills in the winter before the staff pulled him out. Ohio State running backs coach Tony Alford is glad to see that enthusiasm, but knows it’s in Henderson’s best interest to take things slow until he’s fully cleared.
“He wants to go. He's doing great in the meetings, he's trying to get himself into stuff, so kind of have to pull the reins on him a little bit,” Alford said. “So I think it's great when he's in, kind of gives everybody – for me at least – gives me a more calm feeling with some guys that know what they're doing. His energy's back the way it used to be and his demeanor is back the way it used to be and the way we all want it. He's a competitive guy who wants to play. But he'll get back when the doctors say he can again.”
Alford said “there were some hard lessons learned” for Henderson last season as he dealt with serious adversity at Ohio State for the first time, but with a clean bill of health, he’s hopeful Henderson can put that behind him in 2023.
“The kid was hurting. But with that being said, there's all sorts of things he can do emotionally and mentally that'll help keep him at ease and a calmness about him,” Alford said. “So we went through it and we are where we are and we'll put that behind us and here we go.”
Henderson wishes he was on the field competing with his teammates during every aspect of spring training. But while he’s been sidelined, he’s had to watch Chip Trayanum and Dallan Hayden gobble up many of the first-team reps he’d otherwise receive in practice.
With Trayanum and Hayden holding down the fort and Miyan Williams and Evan Pryor expected to return to full health before the start of the season, Ohio State’s running back room may be more stacked with talent than ever before in Henderson’s tenure.
But Henderson is anything but discouraged by the extra competition.
“We definitely have a lot of options. Bringing Chip in from the linebacker room for good, I love it,” Henderson said. “I love competition, man. I'm glad we got him along. He's a he's a great person, he's a great player. it don't phase me at all. I tell Coach Alford, I don't care who he brings in. Like, I want him to bring in the best competition because that's not gonna do nothing but bring out the best in everyone else. So the competition is never a thing for me.”
Regardless of the injury, Henderson views his 2022 season as a disappointment. Once the restraints are taken off of him this preseason, though, he plans on reminding anyone who forgot about his talents of exactly what he’s capable of at full strength in his third year.
“I got a lot of expectations for myself. I hold myself to a high standard, and I definitely didn't play up to that standard, my standard, last year,” Henderson said. “So this year, I just want to play up to my standard again. I feel like I'm back to myself and I'm ready. I'm ready, whenever the coaches and the trainers let me free, I'm gonna do whatever I can.”
