When healthy, Tony Alford thinks his 2023 running back room is the deepest he’s ever had.
Only, it’s far from fully healthy this spring. TreVeyon Henderson said he feels “back to myself” after undergoing foot surgery after the regular season, but he hasn’t received full medical clearance just yet. Banged up for much of last season, Miyan Williams didn’t participate in Ohio State’s scrimmage reps last weekend. Evan Pryor is expected to be back in action by the start of the season, but he’s still recovering from a preseason ACL tear suffered last year.
That leaves Ohio State’s two healthiest scholarship running backs, Chip Trayanum and Dallan Hayden, with the most opportunities to gain ground on their talented stablemates during spring ball. And by all accounts, they’ve taken advantage so far.
In Ohio State’s latest scrimmage this past Saturday, both had standout moments in which they got to the second level against the Buckeyes’ first- or second-team defense. Afterward, Ryan Day said Trayanum and Hayden have proven “they're guys that you can count on,” and with the spring game coming up next week, they’ll have a brighter spotlight to put their skills on display.
“I feel like the reps have gone pretty good. Everybody's getting reps,” Hayden said Wednesday. “And I just live out a motto like you got to make every rep count. And all the coaches have emphasized this spring saying every rep matters. So that's been my mentality this whole spring.”
Injuries in the Buckeye running back room necessitated that Hayden play much more than expected as a true freshman in 2022, and he wound up taking the second-most carries on the roster (111) by season’s end. Hayden had three 100-yard performances, including a 146-yard, three-touchdown showcase against Maryland in Ohio State’s penultimate regular season game, and was also the Buckeyes’ leading rusher in the Peach Bowl.
Hayden defied expectations in his first season, but perhaps he could’ve earned even more playing time late in the year had his pass protection been up to par. Hayden said improving in that department has been his No. 1 priority this offseason, and he’s also packed on extra weight since last year.
“I think that Dallan has grown, he's maturing every single day. Again, this is still his first spring. He's never been through that,” Alford said. “He played some in the fall, but he's still maturing, he's changing his body. He's finally learning the game. I think he's starting to understand just how important it is to study the game. And I say study the game, I don't mean watch highlight videos. I mean actually study the game and what's going on, and taking care of his body. Dallan's a tough kid and you can watch him, he's gained 8, 10, 12 pounds, whatever it is. So he's been really good in the meetings as well. He's answering things very affirmatively and the way he's playing, so he's growing up, as he should be. And he's maturing.”
Hayden felt like he “did some good things” in 2022, but readily admits he was “nowhere near where I need to be.” This offseason, though, he hopes to build on the positive he took away from his freshman season.
A running back at Arizona State, Trayanum transferred to OSU to play linebacker, but the Buckeyes’ injury issues at RB enabled him to return to the position he began his college career at. Trayanum only ran the ball 15 times in 2022, and 14 of those attempts came against Michigan alone. But his 83-yard performance, along with the athletic prowess that coaches and teammates have raved about since he entered the program, speak to his potential at the position.
Whether or not Trayanum would become a full-time running back at Ohio State wasn’t clear at the end of the season, but Alford said there wasn’t a whole lot of conversation on the matter before a final decision was made.
“Chip's a grown man. He's a pro, he's a grown man in the way he handles his business, his approach to life and very mature,” Alford said. “So he brings a lot of maturity to the room. He said, 'This is what I want to do,' and there wasn't a lot of veering. If you ask him a question, which I love about him – I'm a guy that you ask a question, I'm gonna answer the question. If you don't like my answer, that's something you can deal with. If you ask a question you'll get an answer, and Chip's the same way so I love that about him.”
In the foremost highlight play for any Buckeye running back across the program’s two open scrimmages this spring, Trayanum turned on the afterburners to beat every Buckeye defender to the end zone on a 70-yard touchdown last week. North of 230 pounds at 5-foot-11, Trayanum’s combination of size and speed might have caught Alford off guard at first, but he said he’s quickly come to expect such exploits from the Akron native.
Chip Trayanum breaks a 70-yard touchdown run during Ohio State's practice Saturday. pic.twitter.com/F8JLzvhYLb
— Lantern Sports (@LanternSports) April 1, 2023
“At first we were (surprised), but not now. I mean, we've been seeing it now,” Alford said. “But yeah, the kid can run. He can run and he's got good top-end speed and he's 230, 234 pounds, whatever it is. And so dude's competitive, Chip's a competitive kid and we're excited to have him in our room.”
As for Henderson, who still figures to be the frontrunner as Ohio State’s RB1 if he resembles his freshman form by the start of the season, all competition is welcome.
“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.”
Given all the talent in his position room, Alford’s biggest problem may be trying to find playing time for all of them come fall. Considering how things happened last year, though, it may be naive to expect all five to remain healthy for a full season.
Still, Trayanum and Hayden can make the strongest impressions of all as the freshest running backs in the stable this spring, even if their roles end up being mostly situational in the season to come.
“There's some things that if we're in a short-yardage situation and in 3rd-and-1, maybe I don't want Evan in the game. Maybe I want Miyan or Chip in the game,” Alford said. “And so I think a lot of it's just game situation and where we're at and what we're doing, and once again, it goes back to a lot of health issues as well and who's healthy and who's available.”
