The Recap: Everything we learned from Lettermen Row Running Backs Week

The summer offseason is in full swing, and Lettermen Row is trying to survive it with our annual Position Week breakdowns. By the time all nine units and coaching staff at Ohio State have been covered, training camp and media days will nearly have arrived, and the return of football in the Horseshoe will be just around the corner. We’re continuing our positional weeks with the second group up: the Buckeyes running backs.

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COLUMBUS — Ohio State’s wide receivers take center stage as the Buckeyes’ most stacked position group. But, for how deep Tony Alford’s running backs room is, the Ohio State backfield flies more under the radar than it probably should.

The Buckeyes are returning their 2021 leading rusher and their 2022 leading rusher: TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams, respectively.

Both dealt with injuries last year, with Henderson missing four of the final five games with a fractured sesamoid bone in his foot that he had suffered in Week 3 but had been trying to play on since.

The sky’s the limit for a healthy 1-2 punch from Henderson and Williams, though. They could give Michigan’s duo of Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards and Penn State’s tandem of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen a run for their money in the race for best Big Ten running back pairing.

RELATED: With Buckeyes RB depth comes luxury of choice, valuable insurance

But what makes the Buckeyes’ backfield special is the depth beyond Henderson and Williams. Dallan Hayden showcased bell cow potential as a true freshman, and Chip Trayanum — who transferred in from Arizona State last offseason to play linebacker — returned to running back and led the Buckeyes in rushing against Michigan. Plus, Ohio State is hoping to get back Evan Pryor, who continued his recovery from last year’s season-ending ACL tear this spring.

So whoever is taking over for quarterback C.J. Stroud will not only have a top-tier receiving corps but also a battle-tested running back group that can lighten the load, too.

Lettermen Row is recapping everything that was written, talked about and learned from a busy “Running Backs Week.” We are reviewing our deep dive on the Buckeyes in the backfield before moving on to next week’s analysis of Ohio State’s crowded wide receiver room.

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Included is a synopsis of some of the content from Running Backs Week, in addition to other must-knows for the Buckeyes’ well-stocked running back group.

Projected depth chart

Projected starters: TreVeyon Henderson, Miyan Williams

Henderson — rated as the No. 1 running back in the 2021 class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking — couldn’t perform to the best of his ability down the stretch of last season, as his foot fracture hindered his change of direction. It’s easy to forget how great he was in 2021. The dynamic 5-foot-10, 214-pound back broke through for 1,248 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground as a true freshman. But his injury issues last season often thrust Williams into the spotlight, where he shined, like in his five-touchdown performance against Rutgers. Williams led the Buckeyes in 2022 with 825 rushing touchdowns and 14 scores while averaging 4.37 yards after contact per attempt, good for ninth nationally among all FBS running backs with at least 100 attempts last season, according to Pro Football Focus. The combination of a healthy Henderson and Williams offers an effective blend of speed and power.

For the full projected depth chart, go here.

Top-five running back performances since Ryan Day became head coach

Since Ryan Day became the Buckeyes’ full-time head coach in 2019, Ohio State running back records have been tied and reset. Over the last four years, the program has ranked fifth (2019), eighth (2020), 47th (2021) and 32nd (2022) in rushing offense. J.K. Dobbins eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark in 2019, Trey Sermon was practically unstoppable in the 2020 postseason and Miyan Williams matched a program mark last year that hadn’t been touched since 1984.

With that in mind, Lettermen Row decided to take a crack at ranking the top-five Buckeyes running back performances since Day replaced Urban Meyer.

Check it out here.

Full coverage of Running Backs Week at Lettermen Row

• READ: Five Questions for deep, loaded Ohio State running back room

• READ: Tale of the Tape: Knowing the basics of Buckeyes running backs

• READ: How they got here: Mapping out career path of each Buckeyes RB so far

• READ: Examining 2023 Ohio State running back NIL valuations

• READ: Top-five running back performances since Ryan Day became head coach

• READ: Projecting Buckeyes running back depth chart

• READ: Making three predictions for Buckeyes running backs

• READ: With Buckeyes RB depth comes luxury of choice, valuable insurance

• WATCH: Taking closer look at state of Buckeyes running backs room