Ohio State's Dallan Hayden Named Big Ten Co-Freshman Of The Week

Hayden becomes the first Buckeye running back to capture the honor since TreVeyon Henderson last season.

Ohio State running back Dallan Hayden has been named the Big Ten's co-freshman of the week for his performance in Saturday's 43-40 win at Maryland, sharing the honor with Penn State running back Kaytron Allen.

Meet the #B1GFootball Freshmen of the Week:@OhioStateFB's Dallan Hayden@PennStateFball's Kaytron Allen

👉 https://t.co/7QOjKyGTYj pic.twitter.com/XwARFOAO4E

— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) November 21, 2022

Hayden rushed for a career-high 146 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries with Miyan Williams unavailable and TreVeyon Henderson sidelined by injury in the second quarter.

"When you hand somebody that football, you’re putting the whole team in their hands," head coach Ryan Day said after the game. That’s something we talk about a lot, and so we trusted that Dallan was going to do that. 

"He’s had a couple spots this year, but this was big. For him to get this game under his belt, I think it’ll build some confidence for him."

Hayden wasn't expected to have much of a role as a true freshman, but with Williams and Henderson in and out of the lineup and Evan Pryor suffering a season-ending knee injury in fall camp, things obviously changed.

He's now carried the ball 100 times for 503 yards and five touchdowns this season, and could very well play a significant role in this week's game against third-ranked Michigan, even if Williams and Henderson are available.

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That said, this marks the ninth game this season that a Buckeye has taken home a weekly honor, joining Williams (Rutgers), quarterback C.J. Stroud (Toledo, Michigan State and Indiana), wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (Arkansas State), linebacker Tommy Eichenberg (Wisconsin), kicker Noah Ruggles (Iowa) and defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau (Penn State).

Hayden is the first Ohio State player to share or be named the conference's freshman of the week since Stroud captured the award a school-record-tying seven times last season on his way to being named the freshman of the year.

He's also the first Buckeye running back to earn the honor since Henderson rushed for 277 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-20 win over Tulsa on Sept. 18, 2021. Allen, meanwhile, rushed for 117 yards in a 55-10 win at Rutgers.

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