Ohio State Football: Can TreVeyon Henderson break through?

Running the ball is a fundamental part of the Ohio State football team’s offense. Ryan Day has made it a focal point of his system since he was promoted to offensive coordinator under Urban Meyer. Now as the head coach of the Buckeyes, it’s even more important.

Gone are the designed quarterback runs that were so popular under Meyer. Now, the majority of the running plays go to the running backs that Ohio State has. TreVeyon Henderson is going to get the majority of those carries yet again. This time though, he starts the season as the starter.

Henderson was excellent as a true freshman last year. He ran for over 1,200 yards and had 15 touchdowns on the ground and 4 more receiving touchdowns as well. Quite frankly, he was a great weapon out of the backfield for the Buckeyes and should only be better this season.

But can he break through? What I mean by that isn’t so much about this season but more about next season. Can he perform well enough in the next two seasons to be worthy of a first-round pick? Most teams don’t spend first-rounders on running backs anymore unless they are truly special.

Can Henderson be that special back? Based on what we saw last year behind an uneven offensive line, he absolutely can. He was breaking long runs even when there was no hole to run through. He was a game-breaker and should only have more yards this year under a revamped line.

Henderson is going to be a huge part of this offense this season. We saw his potential last year. Now, we are going to get a full taste of just how good he can be with a good offensive line. His passing game is elite. Now, he has to be elite running it too.