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Ohio State: Young running back tandem makes waves in opening win over Minnesota

Joe Cox

By Joe Cox

Published:

Coming out of Ohio State’s 45-31 win over Minnesota on Thursday, much of the post-game talk was about the tandem. Everybody knew about the OSU tandem, right? Sure, Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson. Can’t pick up a preseason magazine without seeing them on the cover. Both future pros, both legitimate All-Americans.

No, not those guys.

Ohio State’s running back tandem of Miyan Williams and TreVeyon Henderson were the guys who couldn’t be contained in Week 1. Not that Olave and Wilson exactly took the week off. In fact, if you combine the top wide receiver combo in the country with the top running back combo in the country … well, you might be looking at the Buckeyes.

Thursday was a big night for Williams, the 5-foot-8 redshirt freshman bruiser who was a rare 3-star recruit for the Buckeyes in 2020. He had 10 carries last season, but found himself with the starting job after an impressive fall camp. It carried over — on OSU’s first possession, Williams shot off tackle, burst into the clear, and raced 71 yards for his first OSU touchdown. Williams wasn’t exactly chopped liver aside from that big play. He gained 54 yards on his other 8 carries, picking up first downs on 3 of those. Williams showcased the versatility as a runner that earned him the job.

When OSU went for a change-up, the Buckeyes brought in true freshman TreVeyon Henderson, a 5-foot-10 5-star recruit out of Virginia. Henderson was solid on his first 2 rushing attempts, picking up 15 yards. However, once Minnesota trimmed the OSU lead to 31-24, Henderson showed his skill set. On a 3rd-and-5 play, OSU QB CJ Stroud flipped a screen pass to Henderson, who simply turned on another gear, racing 70 yards for a game-clinching touchdown. Henderson only saw the ball on those 3 plays, but averaging nearly 30 yards per touch will stand out, even in Columbus.

https://twitter.com/BuckeyeVideos/status/1433627173370355715

This isn’t even mentioning OSU’s other running backs. Veteran Master Teague (6 carries, 29 yards) and sophomore Marcus Crowley (6 carries, 19 yards) would be standouts for any other program. But on this night, the accolades and attention went to Williams and Henderson.

Ohio State has an embarrassment of offensive riches. Stroud was fairly sharp in his starting debut. Olave and Wilson are, to steal the phrase, who we thought they were. For Williams and Henderson, the challenge might be making a regular impact in a game like this, when they only got a dozen combined touches. That said, turning those touches into 210 yards and a pair of massive touchdowns raised eyebrows.

Ryan Day and the Buckeyes don’t want to be your father’s Big Ten. They’ve got a bevy of receivers and want to look like a proto-NFL team on offense. But let’s not kid ourselves. The Big Ten invariably features its fair share of games on muddy, frozen fields in places like Evanston and Madison. If Williams and Henderson showed this much sizzle in early September, just wait until the Buckeyes need to play ground and pound down the B1G stretch run. It could end up being “Chris and Garrett Who?” — OSU might just end up being Miyan and TreVeyon’s team in 2021. Woody Hayes may have just smiled.

Joe Cox

Veteran college writer Joe Cox covers Ohio State and college basketball for Saturday Tradition.