Ryan Day shares conversations with TreVeyon Henderson, Quinshon Judkins about pairing

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has been active in the Transfer Portal this offseason. That included bringing in running back Quinshon Judkins to pair with TreVeyon Henderson.

At a recent press conference where Day spoke to the media about the offseason, he shared the conversations he had with both running backs ahead of pairing them up and bringing in Judkins.

“When it first happened and Quinshon went into the portal, the first thing was talking to TreVeyon,” Ryan Day said. “And what are your thoughts? He was unbelievable. ‘If you think it helps the team, Coach, then let’s do it.'”

Much like Henderson, according to Day, Judkins was excited about the opportunity to play with another excellent running back.

“Then, talking to Quinshon, saying TreVeyon is here and he’s coming back, ‘Well, I’d love to go play with him.’ I think he said that to the media last week and so I just think that both of their approaches are that they can get each other better.”

Quinshon Judkins was a star running back at Ole Miss and it was a surprise to many that he decided to hit the Transfer Portal. After all, he’d been Ole Miss’ primary back and in 26 games there he rushed for 2,725 yards and 31 touchdowns. He joins TreVeyon Henderson, who in 31 games over his first three seasons rushed for 2,745 yards and 32 touchdowns.

“But it all started with TreVeyon and I think that TreVeyon’s leadership so far this year as he’s transitioned into his fourth year has been tremendous. The way that he’s gone about his work. The way that he’s holding guys accountable. He’s got a different look in his eye and I think that’s important. He’s been in these games before, he knows,” Day said.

“But I’ll give Quinshon credit. He also has embraced our culture in the last couple of weeks and we’ll see as it grows but all the reports are he’s done a great job assimilating. But the whole running back room…that’s a heck of a room and there’s a lot of depth there.”

Another key point for Ryan Day is that the schedule is only getting longer. Having depth matters and both running backs will get plenty of opportunities.

“And when I think about next season, you have your 12 game regular season. You have the Big Ten Championship Game and then the Playoff. You’re talking about maybe 16, 17 games, So, that’s a long run. That’s an NFL schedule. So, your roster needs to reflect that. Having depth at running back will be very, very important. There will be a lot of carries to go around.”

Ryan Day explains what made Bill O’Brien the right hire at Ohio State

There are a lot of changes on offense for Ohio State, including having Bill O’Brien take over as offensive coordinator. It’s a fit that Ryan Day recently explained.

“I think at the end of the season, you look hard at what kind of changes need to be made,” Day said.

“And as we know at Ohio State, we’re chasing that one or two percent. We’re chasing that last couple drives of a game, or whatever that is. I felt like in that particular situation, for me to really be able to hand over a lot of the duties that I was doing — I really was looking for somebody who had great background in the NFL, the SEC, he’s a former head coach, he had been a head coach in the league. And the experience of developing quarterbacks was there. So I just, and then the fit, culturally, was the right fit.”