How TreVeyon Henderson makes a potent Ohio State offense even stronger

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – TreVeyon Henderson walked into his postgame news conference and sat close to Marvin Harrison Jr.

They’d just helped propel Ohio State’s offense to a 24-10 victory over Wisconsin. They accounted for 330 of Ohio State’s 407 total yards and all three touchdowns.

Henderson’s performance, unlike Harrison’s, came as a surprise. Not due to a lack of ability, but because he had been sidelined for a month before to Saturday’s game.

He didn’t give into much detail regarding the injury, alleging only that he took a “cheap shot” at the start of the Notre Dame game that kept him out. But he showed no signs of rust on the field, and his comeback was a significant boost for the Buckeyes. It demonstrated that Ohio State, which had relied on Harrison for much of its offensive productivity due to a number of severe injuries, had another playmaker on which to rely.

A player who can help a sluggish offense get going. Harrison referred to him as “the best running back in football.”

“He’s the most explosive back in the country,” stated Harrison. “He puts a lot of pressure on the defense.”

On Saturday, Henderson wore a bible scripture on his face: 2 Corinthians 5-7.

“I will walk by faith, even when I cannot see,” Henderson paraphrased.

It was a symbol of what Henderson had been through in the last month and what he had learned going back to last year’s injury frustrations.

Last season, Henderson played on a fractured foot for much of the season. Instead of sitting out for extended time, he rehabbed during the week, didn’t practice and played on Saturdays. This year was different.

After being injured against Notre Dame, he rested until he was 100 percent. It was a moment of growth for the Virginia native who said his faith in God helped him.

“It’s been rough not being able to be out there for my teammates,” he said. “God just had me look back to last year, what happened when I went my own way. Keep going with dealing with the injury and go out there. I just put my trust in him even though I couldn’t see where he was leading me. I knew it was going to be somewhere special. Today it showed.”

Henderson looked every bit as healthy as he did when the season began against Indiana. There was the same explosiveness — he averaged 6.8 yards per carry and had an angry feeling when he ran the ball.