TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State running backs dedicate season to Evan Pryor

The Ohio State running back room was devastated to hear that up-and-coming tailback Evan Pryor would miss the entirety of his redshirt freshman season following a severe knee injury that took place over the course of fall camp.

While TreVeyon Henderson is still expected to lead the Buckeye rushing attack this season, he took a moment before Ohio State’s season opener to dedicate his season to his sidelined teammate.

“My dog Evan [Pryor] went down, so just praying for a speedy recovery for him,” Henderson said. “And yeah, this season is dedicated to him. The running back room, what we’re ready to do is dedicated to him … It was very disappointing to me, I mean, I was down for a while just seeing that happen to him and seeing how hard he worked, man. Us as a whole, as a team like we were just down and sad to see that.”

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Coming out of high school, Pryor was a four-star prospect and the No. 95 player overall in the 2021 signing class, per the On3 Consensus, and was the No. 6 running back overall.

Before his injury, Pryor was looking at a significant role in the run game this season alongside Henderson and vet Miyan Williams. Pryor would appear in four games last season, maintaining his redshirt and totaling 98 yards and a touchdown. His most productive game came on Oct. 23 versus Indiana. The Buckeyes won 54-7 with 11 carries, 48 yards and two receptions from Pryor.

So who will step up as the third running back in Ohio State’s lineup this season? True freshman Dallan Hayden has made strides since arriving on campus, according to head coach Ryan Day. The Buckeyes headman also mentioned DeaMonte Trayanum, a junior linebacker who played tailback in high school, has come over to work with he running backs following Pryor’s injury.

If Ohio State can maintain its typical dominance over its regular season opposition, Day won’t hesitate to throw Hayden into the game more often than not, which will be invaluable experience for a freshman thrust in a role that was slated for Pryor just weeks before.