Ohio State officially has its highest-ranked running back since Beanie Wells as part of the program.
Beast Mode is about to be redefined with @TreVeyonH4 Welcome to #ToteNation #GoBuckeyes #NationalSigningDay pic.twitter.com/Ll0IyneFyT
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 16, 2020
TreVeyon Henderson, the No. 1-ranked running back and No. 24-ranked overall prospect in the 2021 class out of Hopewell (Virginia) High School, has sent in his signed national letter of intent and the five-star has cemented himself as a Buckeye.
The Henderson File
- Class: 2021
- Size: 5-foot-11/195 lbs.
- Pos: RB
- School: Hopewell (Hopewell, Virginia)
- Composite Rating: ★★★★★
- Composite Rank: 24 (1 RB)
So much for those Oklahoma flip rumors.
The 5-foot-11, 195-pound tailback committed to Ohio State on March 27 as part of the Buckeyes' smoking-hot spring recruiting run that brought them six commitments in the 2021 class in March and April.
He committed to Tony Alford and Co. despite never having visited Columbus or Ohio State's campus before, which spoke to the job that Alford, Ryan Day and Al Washington, Henderson's area recruiter, had done in building a relationship with him.
Henderson finally got the opportunity to take a trip to Columbus in late October as part of the Buckeye Bash, and he told Eleven Warriors that the entire weekend experience completely cemented his commitment, taking it from about a 99 percent chance (or higher) that he would be a Buckeye to 100 percent.
Henderson, the state of Virginia's second-ranked prospect, is now the third-highest ranked running back the Buckeyes have ever signed, in rankings that date back to 2000. He passes both Wells (No. 7 overall; No. 1 RB in the 2009 class) and Sam Maldonado (No. 9 overall; No. 2 RB in 2000), and he ranks higher than Maurice Clarrett (No. 35 overall; No. 5 RB in 2002), Ezekiel Elliott (No. 69 overall; No. 5 all-purpose back in 2013) and J.K. Dobbins (No. 46 overall; No. 2 APB in 2017).
So, naturally, there are massive expectations for Henderson as he hits a freshman season in which he believes he has the talent to earn a starting spot in the Buckeyes' backfield. But he isn't putting any of his first-year goals out there for public consumption. He just wants to hit the ground running when he gets to campus as an early enrollee. Pun intended.
“I don’t want anything out there that’s crazy. I just wanna go in there and work hard,” Henderson told Eleven Warriors in a recent interview. “I have goals, but for real I wanna just go in there and work out. I don’t wanna put anything out there yet, I just wanna go in, work hard and hope I accomplish my goals.
“Really just trying to focus on school, focus on workouts and things like that (in the spring). Focus on getting the playbook down and things like that, coming in to compete and work hard and show them what I came here to do.”
For today, as Henderson and his family take in the emotion of him officially signing, it's a celebration before the real work gets put in starting the first week of January.
“It’s gonna be a special moment with (my mom) seeing me sign and then seeing me go away, it’s gonna be a special moment for her and my family,” Henderson said. “It feels great. I can’t wait. This is what I’ve been waiting for since I was younger to get out of the city and just go somewhere new and (to) get a new start is a good feeling.”
Photo: Andrew Ivins/247Sports
