Buckeyes RB Henderson ‘good to go’
After absorbing a big hit in Saturday's win at Rutgers, freshman running back Treveyon Henderson was held out of the second half as a precaution.
Ohio State has not disclosed what Henderson's injury was, but coach Ryan Day said Tuesday that Henderson will be “good to go” against Maryland on Saturday, ensuring the Buckeyes will be able to lean on one of the country's most explosive backs.
Through five weeks, Henderson has rushed for 510 yards, the 18th most in the Football Bowl Subdivision. They've come on only 54 carries, an average of 9.44 yards per attempt.
Since breaking the school's freshman rushing record in a win over Tulsa on Sept. 18 with 277 yards on 24 carries, Henderson has seen a bit of a lighter workload with eight carries in each of the following games against Akron and Rutgers.
The drop-off came largely due to the circumstances. Like most of the starters, Henderson sat out the second half of the blowout against the Zips. In a similarly lopsided game against the Scarlet Knights, the Buckeyes sought to rest him, keeping him healthy.
“If we find ourselves in a situation where we're up comfortably like that, we're not going to be foolish and put him in a bad spot if he's not 100%,” Day said. “That's just the way it was.”
New role for Craig Young
Craig Young will no longer be splitting time with fellow redshirt sophomore Ronnie Hickman at the “Bullet” position, a hybrid linebacker-safety spot.
Hickman, who continues to start and is the Buckeyes' leading tackler, has rarely come off the field, playing the second-most snaps of any player through five games, according to Pro Football Focus' tally.
“Ronnie's done a very good job,” Day said. “He's obviously been very, very productive, and we're moving Craig into a little bit of a different role.”
Day said putting Young elsewhere in the secondary would allow for them to play simultaneously.
He didn't specify a new position for
Young, saying only that they were trying him out in a “couple different spots.” Cover safety or free safety are among the possibilities.
Through five games, Young has eight tackles and a pass break-up. Five of the tackles were at Rutgers, where he saw a season-high 25 snaps.
Linebacker depth
Day said the Buckeyes are hopeful to have linebacker Palaie Gaoteote “back in the fold” after he missed last week's game at Rutgers.
Gaoteote appeared close to playing. He was listed as a game-time decision on the pregame status report, but was ruled out during warmups.
His absence left the Buckeyes thin on depth at the position. Only five scholarship linebackers were available against the Scarlet Knights. Walk-ons Ryan Batsch and Cade Kacherski rotated in during the second half.
“It's not something where we feel great about,” Day said. “I wish we had more depth there right now.”
Since the start of the season, the Buckeyes lost two scholarship linebackers in Dallas Gant, who entered the NCAA portal, and K'vaughan Pope, who was dismissed from the team following a sideline outburst against Akron.
Offensive line movement
The shuffling of the offensive line at Rutgers was due to some linemen being nicked up, Day said.
It also allowed the Buckeyes to give playing time to Matt Jones, one of the backups who has filled in well in recent weeks.
To start the second against the Scarlet Knights, Jones came in at left guard, prompting Thayer Munford to return to left tackle and Nicholas Petit-frere to right tackle.
But Day said it didn't hint at any impending changes to the starting lineup.
"We have six or seven guys we feel confident we can put into a game," he said. "While you typically don't do that with the offensive line, we felt like it was appropriate based on the situation of the game and what was going on."
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Contact him at jkaufman@dispatch.com or on Twitter @joeyrkaufman.