‘There’s talent everywhere’: Ohio State RB depth byproduct of loyalty, circumstance

COLUMBUS — As a true freshman, before he even played a single down at Ohio State, running back Evan Pryor described himself as a home run hitter.

More than two years later, despite missing an entire season with a patellar tendon tear, Pryor stands by that assessment.

“I think on any given play, I can go the distance,” Pryor said Saturday after the Buckeyes’ third practice of training camp.

Except, this time, he’s making something else clear, too.

“That’s really all our backs, though, if you really think about it,” Pryor said. “I think we have the best room in the country. So we all bring the same thing to the table. Maybe the scale teeters here or there — bigger and stronger guys, or maybe some of us are better out of the backfield, some of us are better in pass pro — but, all around, when you talk about all five of us, you pick your poison.”

Ohio State returned all five of its scholarship running backs this offseason, including Pryor, who was the only one of the bunch to not lead the Buckeyes in rushing at least one game in 2022.

Pryor was far from the only Ohio State running back with injury issues last year, however. TreVeyon Henderson, the team’s top back as a true freshman in 2021, fractured a sesamoid bone in his foot Week 3 against Toledo. He tried to play through the pain yet his change of direction suffered, and he wound up missing four of the final five games of the season, most notably the Buckeyes’ Peach Bowl College Football Playoff defeat to back-to-back national champion Georgia.

Miyan Williams played just five offensive snaps in that CFP heartbreaker, but one of them resulted in a goal line touchdown. That was kind of the way things went for the bruising Williams last year: He was the Buckeyes’ leading rusher, but he missed the Michigan State game in Week 6 with a knee injury, left the Penn State matchup in Week 9 early with a hand injury and then was sidelined 1.5 games with an ankle injury he sustained against Indiana in Week 11 before registering a mere eight carries versus Michigan in Week 13.

“We just got the same mindset — just trying to get to the natty,” Williams said, when asked if a healthy pairing of him and Henderson are trying prove something in 2023. “Just trying to do what we can do to help the team win.”

Williams added earlier: “There’s talent everywhere. So we’re all just getting each other better.”

While Williams was out with his ankle injury at Maryland in Week 12, and Henderson had to leave the matchup in the first half because of his foot, Dallan Hayden stepped up. Hayden, a true freshman who joined the program last summer, exploded for 143 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the second half, jumpstarting a Buckeyes comeback in College Park. He went on to make his first career start in against Georgia in the CFP and finished the year with 553 rushing yards and five scores.

“Oh yeah, of course,” Hayden said, when asked Saturday if he believes the Buckeyes have the best running back room in the country.

“All five of us are legit.”

Yes, again, five.

Ohio State running back Dallan Hayden rushes for one of his three touchdowns against Maryland during his breakout performance in the 2022 season. (Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK)

The unmentioned back is Chip Trayanum, a one-time Arizona State running back who transferred to Ohio State, switched to linebacker and then returned to the backfield midseason because of the Buckeyes’ injury troubles. A week removed from Hayden’s heroics at Maryland, Trayanum was Ohio State’s top performer on the ground, albeit in a losing effort.

He hasn’t looked back since. Breakaway touchdowns in the Student Appreciation Day spring scrimmage and spring game have affirmed that decision. Most recently, he was named one of eight Iron Buckeyes by the Ohio State strength and conditioning staff for his impressive winter and summer offseason training.

Having so many mouths to feed is a good problem for longtime Ohio State running backs coach Tony Alford. He said, from top to bottom, it’s the deepest backfield he’s had.

“It’s exciting,” said Alford, who’s been at Ohio State since 2015. “It’s great to have depth. Everybody wants depth. Everybody talks about having depth. How that gets dispersed and all that, we’ll figure that out as we go. But it’s good to have depth and it’s good to have guys and it’s good to have good players and proven players. And how we manage it and how we get guys on the field, that’ll play itself out.”

Ohio State didn’t feel the need to sign a running back in the 2023 class because it was returning five scholarship players at the position. Bringing back the haul, especially a group that features NFL talent, is rare in the NIL and transfer portal era.

“It has nothing to do with Tony Alford and the coaches,” Alford said in the third person. “It has everything to do with the love of one another in that room.”

He continued: “They all had opportunities to go do other things in other facets. But they all decided to stay and stay together as a unit and stay bonded. It’s a testament to the type of kids that are in that room and the type of kids that we have in the locker room.”

Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson rushes for one of his two fourth quarter touchdowns in a comeback victory at Penn State during the 2022 season. (Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK)

Alford pointed out that the injury bug hitting the Buckeyes’ running backs last year showed the room the importance of “next man up.”

“Everyone’s going to have an opportunity,” Alford explained. “Now, the key component is, does your opportunity come exactly when you want it? But if you just stay the course — and I think that’s the main thing in life — you’ll get what’s coming your way. And the problem is everybody wants it right now. They want instantaneous success. They want instantaneous whatever it is. I think it’s just a testament to saying, ‘just keep grinding, keep playing and keep doing your job to the fullest and being the best version of yourself every day. When your time comes, you’ll be ready to go.’”

That’s what happened to Hayden at Maryland. That’s what happened to Trayanum against Michigan. That’s even what happened to wide receiver Xavier Johnson, a former preferred walk-on who was called upon as both a receiver and a running back last season.

And that’s why Alford institutes “pitch counts” in training camp practice. He said the load management strategy keeps his players fresh and spreads out reps so “everyone’s going to get theirs.”

But Alford emphasized that he doesn’t owe any one player snaps when the regular season rolls around. Those are to be earned, he said. That can be through position group meeting attentiveness, practice rep maximization or game performance.

Pryor said he’s going to put his blinders on and go to work. Being the best version of themselves is a common goal for the Buckeyes running back room.

Henderson, though, is well aware of the stakes. He has been since he arrived at Ohio State.

“You just gotta compete, man,” Henderson said. “I know when I committed here, I know what I was getting myself into. And that’s why I chose the Ohio State University. Because I know they bring in the best talent, each and every year, and so I’m always just trying to compete and get better.

“Just having that depth in that room, that pushes me harder. Every day, you gotta work. Every day, it’s a grind, man. You can’t take no days off. Can’t get complacent.”

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