Ohio State football running back TreVeyon Henderson set to return at Maryland
Ohio State is moving closer toward having a full complement of healthy running backs.
That includes TreVeyon Henderson and Chip Trayanum who are set to return for Saturday’s game at Maryland, leaving the Buckeyes with three scholarship running backs available, though Miyan Williams will remain out against the Terrapins.
Williams, who has led the team in rushing through the first two and a half months of the season, is among the nine players on the team’s pregame unavailability list. He went down late in the second quarter in last week’s rout of Indiana when he landed awkwardly on his right foot and was later walking on crutches.
A foot injury has also nagged Henderson, who was first hurt in a non-conference win over Toledo in September and aggravated the issue against Penn State a month later. He had missed the Buckeyes’ last two games as a result and was wearing a walking boot on his left foot.
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In seven games, Henderson has rushed for 552 yards and six touchdowns, while Williams has 783 yards and 13 touchdowns appearing in two more games. They have not gone through a full game together as a tandem since a win over Iowa on Oct. 22.
The reason for Trayanum’s absence last week was not known. He was listed as a game-time decision on Ohio State’s pregame availability report, but did not go through warmups before kickoff and was never in uniform.
Buckeyes coach Ryan Day had been optimistic earlier in the week about the health of the banged-up position group, mentioning at his weekly news conference on Tuesday that he was hopeful to have at least two backs return this weekend.
Depth loomed as a potential issue for the Buckeyes, who were left with only one scholarship back for the second half against Indiana last week. That was Dallan Hayden, a freshman who would end up with 19 carries, rushing for 102 yards and a touchdown against the Hoosiers.
Xavier Johnson, a former walk-on receiver, was then in the position of backing him up. Johnson had some past experience at the position, but had not been taking any reps at running back in practice until late last week, he said. He ran for a 71-yard touchdown against Indiana.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba remains out for Ohio State football
The Buckeyes’ high-scoring offense will continue to be without star slot receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba due to a hamstring injury that has lingered for most of the season.
Day said Thursday that he had no update on Smith-Njigba’s status and was not emphatic about a return, saying only that he was hopeful for him to come back, not that he was expecting him to be available.
Maada Smith-Njigba told The Dispatch earlier this month that the best-case scenario for his son’s return was for next week’s clash with archrival Michigan, the final game of the regular season.
If pushed back further, Smith-Njigba could look to return for the Big Ten championship or College Football Playoff should the Buckeyes make either of them.
Dawand Jones, Denzel Burke return for OSU vs. Maryland
But starting right tackle Dawand Jones will be back after he was held out last week, as will cornerback Denzel Burke.
With Burke’s return, the Buckeyes will have all six of their scholarship cornerbacks available for the first time this fall.
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Contact him at jkaufman@dispatch.com or on Twitter @joeyrkaufman.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: TreVeyon Henderson to return for Ohio State football vs. Maryland
