Kyle McCord, TreVeyon Henderson make history as freshman starters

COLUMBUS – The youth movement for Ohio State will take another step tonight.

True freshman quarterback Kyle McCord and true freshman running back TreVeyon Henderson have earned starts for the Buckeyes. The two five-star Ohio State signees were headliners of the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history, and they made history by getting the nod in the Horseshoe on Saturday night against Akron.

This was the first time in Ohio State history that it has started a true freshman quarterback and a true freshman running back in the same backfield.

C.J. Stroud started for the Buckeyes in their first three games, but an ailing shoulder has prompted Ryan Day to give the redshirt freshman a rest. That gives McCord an opportunity to learn, develop and showcase the skills that made him one of the country’s best quarterback recruits in his signing class.

“I mean, it was the same situation we had with C.J. in the first game,” Day said. “That’s the case when you have young quarterbacks, and that’s going to be how it works. At some point you have to get them out there and let them play, let them learn from their mistakes.

“We just trust what we see in practice, and it’s all about their preparation. They’re going against really good players every day in practice, and it’s time to get let these other guys possibly get some action — probably this weekend. That’s a good thing.”

Henderson, meanwhile, gets the nod one week after an explosive, star-turning performance in which he set the freshman single-game rushing record with 277 yards – and three touchdowns. That performance against Tulsa was enough to break Archie Griffin’s previous record of 239 yards. Henderson was the top-ranked running back in his class, and he has already showcased what he can do. Now Ohio State gets to see what he will do for an encore.

McCord and Henderson are not the lone Buckeyes true freshmen who will get a chance to develop and possibly break out tonight.

Ohio State opened as a 53-point favorite over the Zips, and it should get plenty of snaps for its other talented first-year players. That includes cornerback Denzel Burke, who has exploded this season into a starring role as the Buckeyes best cornerback.

J.T. Tuimoloau is another one of the freshman defensive talents who earned his first start, and Cameron Martinez – a redshirt freshman – also logged his first career start.

Freshman Tyleik Williams was one of the pleasant surprises with his production against Tulsa last week. Others such as Jack Sawyer, Emeka Egbuka, Mike Hall and Jakailin Johnson – the latter two of whom lost their black stripes this week – may see plenty of snaps as well.

Ohio State’s 2021 class was one of the most loaded, star-studded hauls the Buckeyes have ever had. It tied Alabama with the most five-star signees (seven) in the composite rankings and a 94.98 average player rating trailed the Crimson Tide by 0.01 point. It was arguably the most anticipated group of talent the program has brought in under a single class.

And now it’s here. Maybe a little bit earlier than expected, but the future of the Buckeyes will be on display under the lights tonight.