Buckeyes Have Deepest RB Depth In Tony Alford's Ohio State Tenure
The Ohio State Buckeyes used four running backs and even a wide receiver last season in the ground game.
Not only did that highlight the glaring injury issues the Buckeyes had at the position, but it also showed Ohio State has one of the deepest running back rooms in the country. Now with TreVeyon Henderson, Miyan Williams and Evan Pryor back to full health, the Buckeyes have five viable options to carry the rock in what running backs coach Tony Alford said is the deepest "top to bottom" room he has coached.
"It's great to have depth. Everybody wants depth," Alford said. "It's good to have good players and proven players, and, again, how we manage it and how we get guys on the field, that'll play itself out."
Henderson, Williams and running back Dallan Hayden all had at least 100 carries in 2022. Every Buckeyes ball-carrier with at least 10 carries not named C.J. Stroud averaged at least five yards per carry last season, and that was without Pryor who missed all of last year with a torn ACL he sustained in fall camp.
Then when his number was called, Chip Trayanum had 83 yards on 14 carries against Michigan.
"There's just talent everywhere," Williams said. "So just getting each other better. We're all just getting better each and every day."
There were swirling rumors that Henderson, who was disgruntled after last season, or Pryor could enter the transfer portal. Pryor was a top-10 running back in the class of 2021, and entering his junior year, he has just 21 carries to his credit in the scarlet and gray.
Alford said the running backs would have had an opportunity to transfer and play, but their bond kept them from entering the portal.
"It comes back to the locker room. It comes back to the brotherhood. It comes back to the love of one another that they have," Alfred said. "I know it may sound like a cliche but it's real. 'Why do you say it's real?' Because they're all still here, and it has nothing to do with Tony Alford and the coaches. It has everything to do with the love of one another in that room."
While they could have transferred to another Power Five school and started, they will get rewarded in Columbus at one point or another, Alford said.
"Everyone's going to have an opportunity," Alford said. "If you stay the course, you'll get what's coming your way, and the problem is everybody wants things right now. They want instantaneous success. They want instantaneous whatever it is, and I think it's just a testament to say, 'Keep grinding, keep playing and just keep doing your job to the fullest extent and being the best version of yourself every day. And when your time comes, you'll be ready to go.'"
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