Three Stars of the Game: Quinshon Judkins, TreVeyon Henderson and Emeka Egbuka Earn Top Honors for Their Performances Against Marshall

While Ohio State’s 49-14 win over Marshall was far from perfect, some individual Buckeyes deserve praise for their standout performances against the Thundering Herd. Our staff thinks the three who stood out the most were Quinshon Judkins, TreVeyon Henderson and Emeka Egbuka.

This week, Judkins, Henderson and Egbuka earn top honors as the Eleven Warriors Three Stars of the Game, with Judkins as the first star, Henderson as the second and Egbuka as the third. Judkins is now a two-time recipient of the first star through three games with the Buckeyes, while Henderson and Egbuka make their debuts for the award.

First Star: Quinshon Judkins

Judkins carried the ball 14 times for 176 yards and two touchdowns against Marshall, improving his season totals to 36 carries, 336 yards and five scores in three games for Ohio State.

On his second attempt of the afternoon, Judkins followed some well-executed blocks from Seth McLaughlin, Donovan Jackson and Austin Siereveld and zoomed 86 yards to the house.

Quinshon Judkins pic.twitter.com/vTEISqCZfZ

— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 21, 2024

He would later collect a couple more explosive runs, but perhaps his most explosive moment of the game came when he spiked 240-pound Marshall linebacker Landyn Watson into the turf with a stiff arm before bouncing into the end zone for his second score.

Quinshon Judkins put a Marshall defender in the dirt on this touchdown run pic.twitter.com/jirE9b5Szm

— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 21, 2024

"I just appreciate how hard he plays, his pad level when he runs," Day said of Judkins. "He's got home run ability, but you can see he gets behind his pads and runs physical. He's got a great attitude. You can coach Quinshon hard, and he looks you in the eye. He almost appreciates the fact that when you coach him hard, you're trying to get him better. That's a great sign for somebody who hasn't been in the program for multiple years. Says a lot about who he is as a person."

Second Star: TreVeyon Henderson

Yes, both the first and second stars were in Ohio State's backfield against Marshall. That's because the Buckeyes have the best running back duo in college football. But don't just take our word for it, as Egbuka also called Judkins and Henderson "probably the best college football duo I've ever seen" on Saturday.

While Judkins paced the running backs with his 14 carries, 176 yards and two scores, Henderson also shined against Marshall — albeit in a smaller sample size — with six carries for 76 yards and two touchdowns.

Henderson's best run of the afternoon came on a 40-yard dash to the end zone. Like Judkins, Henderson also shoved Watson to the ground as he sprinted past blocks from Will Kacmarek, Josh Simmons, Jackson and Egbuka and toward the scarlet-colored paint.

Another look at TreVeyon Hendersons stiff arm on his second touchdown of the game pic.twitter.com/VQAPBIDpiB

— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 21, 2024

"I thought TreVeyon ran hard, and I thought Quinshon and even James (Peoples), James had some good runs," Day said. "All three of them, I have to give them credit. They all have special abilities. They play well off each other. They're unselfish, which is the biggest thing you can say about a bunch of guys. They don't care who gets the credit. They're all running downhill and playing really fast."

Third Star: Emeka Egbuka

As Dan Hope pointed out in the Notebook, Egbuka scored his first touchdown of the season and recorded his first 100-yard receiving game since 2022.

Coming off a year where he suffered a high-ankle sprain from which he never fully recovered in the regular season, Egbuka has returned to form for Ohio State in 2024. He didn't find the end zone against Akron or Western Michigan, but the senior receiver made sure he reached paydirt in the Buckeyes' third game. And when he did, he did it in style.

EMEKA EGBUKA pic.twitter.com/RHGmBzA2dX

— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 21, 2024

Egbuka ended the game with five catches for 117 yards and one touchdown. While he was pleased to end his touchdown drought and 100-yard receiving drought against Marshall, Egbuka said he never worries about statistics as long he does what helps Ohio State win.

"It's fun to be able to perform at a very high level, but I never really try to hang my hat on the statistics,” Egbuka said. “If I had zero catches today but I still ran all the right routes and did all the right things, it doesn't make me any less of a player. I could have gone for 300 yards today, but that's just because the ball came my way. So I try to do what I can with the opportunities that I'm presented. If the ball comes my way, make the play, and if it doesn't, it's not really something I can control.

“At the end of the day, there's a responsibility deeper than just statistics. We're trying to make a legendary run this year, and you can't have that selfish mentality.”

As the season continues, we will track the stars (or points) each Ohio State player receives in 2024. Here's how we'll do it: Each time a Buckeye earns the first star of the game, that Buckeye will add three points to their season total. Then, the second star and third star will add two points and one point to their totals. Here is the total after three games: