Ohio State’s TreVeyon Henderson upgraded to questionable vs. Penn State as Buckeyes weigh backfield options

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State football’s backfield situation has officially started to feel very familiar.

For the second year in a row, injuries have rendered the week-to-week availability of the team’s best running backs impossible to predict. And for the second year in row, TreVeyon Henderson is the most unpredictable factor of all.

Henderson is dressed for pregame warmups against Penn State. However, he took pregame snaps with the No. 2 offense. Chip Trayanum and Miyan Williams took snaps with the 1s.

Henderson stretched out before the Maryland game two weeks ago but did not play. Ryan Day terms his absence precautionary.

Henderson even traveled to Purdue last week and again stretched out, but did not pad up. Day has not given any other indication as to the nature or severity of the injury.

Saturday against Penn State, Henderson was ruled our prior to arriving at Ohio Stadium. Then 40 minutes later, he was upgraded to

questionable. Something positive apparently happened for the third-year back.

If he plays, he’ll attempt to extend a successful career history against the Big Ten East rival.

One of the biggest games of Henderson’s freshman year — 152 yards and a touchdown — helped beat the Nittany Lions 33-24. Last season

he ran for 78 yards and two touchdowns and aided the Buckeyes’ fourth-quarter rally.

Trayanum took a hit to the head and stumbled while trying to leave the field last week against Purdue. He did not return. Williams has battled nagging injury issues dating back to preseason camp.

As recently as last week, Day said the plan was to redshirt Hayden because of the depth in the room. By running for 76 yards and a

touchdown on 11 carries against Purdue, Hayden renewed the debate as to whether he is one of the two best options in the backfield right

now. If the other backs this week are physically limited in any way, that debate intensifies.

 

Penn State allows a mere 2.4 yards per carry — third among all teams in FBS football and second among Power 5 teams. Even when you remove a Big Ten-leading 27 sacks from that yardage, the per-carry average only rises to 3.88. Ground gains could be harder to come by than in any game all season, and this OSU offensive line’s inconsistency when blocking the run is well-documented.

Ohio State also can use Xavier Johnson in the backfield, but he may be needed in an extended slot receiver role with Emeka Egbuka, who is also questionable.

Day said earlier this week, Hayden’s usage would be based on what OSU needed to do to win each game. If Henderson cannot play, and Trayanum and Williams are still compromised, the debate on Hayden’s role may end quickly.

If Henderson c

an’t go after testing his injury, the Buckeyes must again dip into their depth. Who gets the first call, though, is a matter of pregame speculation.

Last season, when either Henderson or Williams could not play, the other one tended to step up. When neither could play, then-freshman Dallan Hayden stepped up.