Ohio State football's TreVeyon Henderson held out in second half at Michigan State

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Sophomore running back TreVeyon Henderson was sidelined for nearly all of the second half of Ohio State’s 49-20 win over Michigan State.

Henderson did not return following a hard hit from Spartans cornerback Charles Brantley on the first play of the third quarter.

“If it was a different game, he probably would have come back in,” Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said. “Out of an abundance of caution, we decided to hold him out. We didn’t feel like we needed to use him at that point.”

Ohio State vs. Michigan State: Ohio State dominant in first road game, beats Michigan State 49-20

Buckeyes: Ohio State joins Michigan as Big Ten programs to score 45 points in five-straight games

The Buckeyes, who were holding a three-touchdown lead over Michigan State at halftime, benefited from the return of Henderson, who missed the previous week’s rout of Rutgers due to lingering effects from the apparent foot injury suffered in the non-conference against Toledo. Day did not say if the injury issue against the Spartans was related.

Their backfield was without Miyan Williams, who was unavailable after rushing for a school-record five touchdowns. ABC’s broadcast of Saturday’s game reported that Williams had re-aggravated a knee injury. He was seen by reporters leaving practice on Wednesday with a brace on his right knee.

Without Williams, Henderson saw a heavy workload, rushing 18 times for 118 yards and a touchdown before intermission. Henderson had surpassed 100 rushing yards only once in his first four games

“I thought he ran hard,” Day said. “It was good to see him back after last week.”

Left as the only healthy scholarship running back for the second half, freshman Dallan Hayden finished with 70 rushing yards on 14 carries.

Wide receiver Xavier Johnson, who began his career as a walk-on running back, also helped to spell Henderson, running for 23 yards on three carries.

“We tried to be a little creative going into this game with some of the things that we did,” Day said, “and I thought Xavier ran the ball hard. He did a nice job with some of those runs.”

Mike Hall makes impact for Buckeyes

Though defensive tackle Mike Hall didn’t start at Michigan State, and he estimated he played fewer than a dozen snaps, he made a significant impact.

Hall led the Buckeyes with 2.5 sacks, swarming quarterback Payton Thorne as he rotated in on the defensive line on select pass rushing packages.

Ohio State football analysis: Here are 5 things we learned from the Ohio State Buckeyes' xx-xx win over Michigan State

Ohio State football: Move over Justin Fields. C.J. Stroud is now No.2 on Ohio State all-time TD passing list

“Just coming in third down, fresh legs, there’s no better feeling than that,” Hall said.

At the midpoint of the season, Hall’s 4.5 sacks are the most on the team.

His workload has been managed since he suffered an apparent shoulder injury against Arkansas State and missed the following week’s game against Toledo.

“Really you just got to make the most out of the opportunities that are presented to you,” Hall said.

Jerron Cage started in place of Hall alongside fellow defensive tackle Taron Vincent.

Cameron Brown returns for Ohio State football

Cameron Brown returned against the Spartans after missing Ohio State’s last two games with an undisclosed injury, starting at the cornerback spot opposite Denzel Burke.

But he had some difficult moments and was replaced by JK Johnson for a stretch during the second quarter.

Brown was twice flagged for pass interference, and a penalty for a horse-collar tackle prompted him to be sidelined.

Day went over to offer encouragement when Brown was seated on a bench.

“He's very competitive, and he wants to be great and be the best corner of the country,” Day said. “So he's a little frustrated. He's got to calm down and play with emotion, don't let emotion play with you and get yourself back on track.”

Want to keep up with Ohio State? Don't miss a single Buckeyes story. Get a great deal by subscribing to the Dispatch today at www.dispatch.com/subscribenow/.

Gee Scott catches touchdown against Michigan State

Tight end Gee Scott caught his first career touchdown late in the third quarter.

With the Buckeyes facing a fourth-and-goal at Michigan State’s 2-yard line, quarterback C.J. Stroud rolled outside the pocket and found Scott in the corner of the end zone.

Scott landed inbounds and maintained possession as a defender attempted to jostle it loose. Teammates then surrounded him in celebration.

One of four blue-chip wide receivers the Buckeyes signed in their 2020 recruiting class, Scott switched positions to tight end last year.

Through the first five weeks, he had caught two passes for seven yards and finished last fall with five receptions for 42 yards.

Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Contact him at jkaufman@dispatch.com or on Twitter @joeyrkaufman

Get more Ohio State football news by listening to our podcasts

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: TreVeyon Henderson leaves after hard hit in Ohio State vs. MSU