Pair of Buckeyes star tailbacks land on Doak Walker Award preseason watch list

COLUMBUS — Ohio State returns all five running backs from a season ago, including its two stars at the position.

That pair of Buckeyes ball carriers are being recognized as two of the top running backs in the country entering this season.

Both junior back TreVeyon Henderson and senior Miyan Williams have earned a spot on the preseason watch list for the Doak Walker Award, which is given out annually to the top running back in college football.

Henderson and Williams are among the 75 backs included on the list. They are two of the 13 running backs from the Big Ten on the preseason watch list, and they are one of a handful of tailback duos to be honored this preseason. Michigan running back Blake Corum won the award last season, and he will be back for the Wolverines this fall, as well.

Only one Ohio State running back — Eddie George in 1995 — has won the award in its history.

After tallying more than 1,200 rushing yards and 19 total touchdowns as a freshman in 2021, Henderson struggled through a foot injury and had a disappointing sophomore campaign, rushing for 571 yards and seven total touchdowns. He said last week that he feels better than he ever has.

Williams led the Buckeyes in rushing last year, totaling 825 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns in his third season with the program. He was second on the roster in rushing in 2021. He will be a major part of the tailbacks equation this season alongside Henderson.

Of course, Henderson and Williams are just two of the five backs on the Buckeyes roster who are fighting for carries. The others, senior Chip Trayanum, third-year back Evan Pryor and sophomore Dallan Hayden, make this the deepest tailback room position coach Tony Alford has entered a season with since he arrived at Ohio State in 2015.

It certainly has the Buckeyes ready to see how good this tailback room can be.

“It’s exciting,” Alford said last week when asked about the depth at running back at Ohio State. “It’s great to have depth. Everybody wants depth. Everybody talks about having depth. How that gets dispersed and all that, we’ll figure that out as we go. But it’s good to have depth and it’s good to have guys and it’s good to have good players and proven players. And how we manage it and how we get guys on the field, that’ll play itself out.”

Henderson and Williams are the obvious headliners of that room. They’re both on the preseason watch list for the Doak Walker Award heading into this year.