Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with the media yesterday as Ohio State readies to take on Northwestern this Saturday in the friendly confines known as Wrigley Field.
This weekend's expected layup comes after Saturday's easy 45-0 victory over lowly Purdue. When you win by 45 points, there's plenty of praise to go around and one player in particular who shined against the Boilers was TreVeyon Henderson.
The senior tailback totaled 128 yards on 14.2 per touch and scored his first touchdown since September 21 against Marshall.
Day expanded on not just Henderson's production but his team-first attitude as he's paired with Quinshon Judkins to give the Buckeyes a formidable running back combo.
I think he's running very well. I think he's running with power. I think he's playing well without the football. You know, he's shown that he can do damage around the edge. He can do damage up the middle. Great in pass protection. So I think he's playing at a high level.
I think that he and Quinshon are a great example of what it means to be unselfish. And that's a big part of our run here in November.
And at the end of the season, not worrying about touches and those types of things, just knowing that, the number one goal is to win. usually when you have that attitude, you find a way to win.– Ryan Day on TreVeyon Henderson
After missing five games as a sophomore and three last year, managing Henderson's workload and hits taken more effectively was a focus immediately following the season and Day addressed that concern in spades by landing Judkins through the portal. Henderson has yet to miss a game in 2024.
With Judkins taking on his fair share of carries and quarterback Will Howard having the ability to carry the football as well, Henderson is thriving on a per touch basis while his overall workload has lessened considerably.
A season ago, Henderson averaged 17.5 touches per contest including 15.6 rushing attempts across 10 games. Through nine games so far this season, Henderson is logging just 10 touches per game including 8.7 carries. That's a drop off of 6.9 rushing attempts and 7.5 overall touches per game.
With Henderson fresher on a series-by-series and game-by-game basis, he's averaging 7.5 yards per carry so far this season, good for a noticeable uptick of 1.6 per carry versus last year. With his average yards per catch essentially on par with his rushing output, he's netting 7.5 per touch this year versus 6.6 in 2023.
To further quantify his diminished workload, last season Henderson had at least 12 touches in every game except a matchup with FCS Youngstown State in week two and his season high was 28 at Wisconsin. Through nine games this year, his season-high is 13 touches versus Iowa and last Saturday was the third time he's had less than 10.
Everyone knows a healthy Henderson is a deadly Henderson and Ohio State is now poised to have him at 100% for the stretch run. He's not only better as a ball carrier, he's been exceptional in pass blocking whether picking up a blitz, chipping or simply winning a one-on-one assignment.
Beyond that, while he was always noted as a great teammate, he's kicked that up a notch this season too. He welcomed Judkins with open arms and is constantly cheering guys on from the sidelines.
There's still a long way to go to determine the ultimate success or failure of the 2024 Buckeyes but having Henderson fresh, fast and focused should be huge factor down the stretch.
