The Big Ten conference is undoubtedly one of the strongest conferences in all of college football with a bit of a reputation revolving around hard-nosed downfield running game football. This is a reputation that I for one take pride in as an Ohio State football fan, but when I think about the upcoming season in 2022 and the rushing dominance that is usually featured, I can’t help but wonder who is going to carry the torch.
Kenneth Walker III from Michigan State and Hassan Haskins from Michigan have gone to the NFL, but someone always steps up to the plate to contend as a game-breaking running back in the heartland.
Here are the top five returning rushers in the Big Ten for 2022.
We ranked every running back committee in the Big Ten heading out of the spring
If there is one thing the Big Ten is known for, it’s running backs. And there is no shortage of excellent rushers around the conference heading into the 2022 season, even with someone like Michigan State football’s Kenneth Walker III heading to the NFL.
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Below, we ranked every rushing attack in the Big Ten from worst to first, and looked at two running backs from each team due to the committee approach in today’s game.
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An updated look at what the Ohio State two-deep depth chart could be for the Buckeyes this fall. #GoBucks
We’re at it again. Spring is over and the roster is basically set after all the transfer portal shenanigans, so we’re revisiting our projection of the Ohio State football roster when you watch it all unfold on a television or streaming device this fall. Or, alternatively, if you can afford to take your family to a game these days, in person. But that … is for another day.
The Buckeyes are again expected to have one of the most explosive offenses in the country and for good reason. Heisman finalist C.J. Stroud is back to fire lasers through the scarlet and gray air, the wide receiving corps looks primed for the next batch of explosive weapons to be locked and loaded, the offensive line has some big uglies ready to do damage, and TreVeyon Henderson and his running mates should be electric in the backfield.
Yep, sounds like a fun offense to watch this fall.
So, with all that we know from spring and what we observed both in practice and the spring game, here’s how we see things shaking out for the projected two-deep offensive side of the ball for the Ohio State football team in 2022.
A whopping seven Ohio State players on PFF’s best returning at each position in college football.
The Ohio State football team didn’t quite reach its goals last season, but that doesn’t mean the future isn’t bright. In fact, despite being one of the youngest teams in all of the FBS, the Buckeyes came within a whisker again of winning the Big Ten and heading to the College Football Playoff. It ended the season on a high note with an all-time classic, Rose Bowl that we’ll be re-living for a long time.
Now we turn our attention to 2022, and most believe Ohio State will be one of the top two teams in the country with all that it has coming back, and all the changes that head coach Ryan Day made to his staff once the regular season ended.
Pro Football Focus (PFF) seems to be on board with that too because it published its best-returning ten players at each position in college football for next season and has a whopping seven OSU players included.
Here are all the Buckeye players PFF’s Anthony Treash believe are among the best ten returning at their respective positions.
ESPN named three Ohio State players to its way-too-early 2022 college football All-American team. #GoBucks
I know it feels like the 2022 college football season is a long way down the road, but you and I both know that we’ll be talking about all things scarlet and gray on the banks of the Olentangy as quickly as life goes by.
We’ve already started projecting ahead and so has everyone else. Ohio State is expected to be one of the best teams in the country again next fall, and to do that, it’ll need some of the best players to play to their capabilities.
ESPN has tried to identify the best of the best in college football next year and has identified three Buckeyes on its way-too-early All-American team, all on the offensive side of the ball.
Here are the three Ohio State players the worldwide leader in sports programming named as some very early 2022 All-Americans before all the dust even gets stirred up to begin to settle.
Three Ohio State football players made the FWAA All-Freshman team. Can you guess which three? #GoBucks
You may have noticed that the Ohio State football team was a young one this year. One in which a lot of its production came from freshmen. Though it may have been a year that fell short of expectations, with so much young talent, the future looks awfully bright in Columbus.
To that end, the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) announced its 2022 Freshmen All-American team on Monday, and OSU was the only team that had three players named to the squad. But it wasn’t the first time three Buckeyes were named to the squad that has been in place since 2001. In 2016, freshmen Mike Weber (running back), Michael Jordan (offensive line), and Dre’Mont Jones (defensive line), were all named.
All told, there were two from offense and one player from the defensive side that got the nod from FWAA voters this season. Here are the three players that received the recognition for being the best freshmen at their positions.
We rank our top 10 plays from the 2021 football season. What’s your top play?
The roses are all wilted by now and there is a new college football national champion. With the season officially over, we thought it might be fun to take a look back at the 2021 football season and take a look at some of the highlights of a record-breaking season.
Yes, it may have been disappointing not to be in the College Football Playoff, and I do think it would have been interesting to see how Ohio State’s offense matched up against Georgia’s defense. However, the Rose Bowl wasn’t a bad consolation prize and gave us what was probably the most exciting football game of the year.
So let’s take a look back at some memorable moments that will leave lasting impressions on Buckeye fans for years to come.
Do you think one of the two should win the award? #GoBucks
Most of the 2021 individual college football awards have been spoken for, but there are still a few out there. In fact, Ohio State has two of the five finalists up for the fourth annual Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award. Those two players are, of course, quarterback C.J. Stroud and running back TreVeyon Henderson. OSU is the only school with more than one finalist named.
Besides being named a Heisman Trophy finalist, Stroud threw for 3,862 yards and 38 touchdowns in the regular season as a redshirt freshman in 2021. He ranks in the top 10 nationally in eight major statistical categories, including passer efficiency (second, 182.2), yards per game (fourth, 351.1), touchdown passes (fifth, 38), and completion percentage (sixth, 70.9).
As a true freshman, Henderson rushed for 1,165 yards and scored a school freshman-record 19 touchdowns. Against Tulsa on Sept. 18, he broke Archie Griffin’s 49-year-old single-game freshman rushing record when he finished with 270 yards on 23 carries and three touchdowns. A native of Hopewell, Virginia, Henderson also added 23 receptions for 285 yards and four touchdowns.
Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) hands off to running back TreVeyon Henderson (32) during the first quarter of the NCAA football game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021. Credit: USA TODAY Sports
The award will be presented at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala in January. Winners will be chosen from Stroud, Henderson, and three other finalists: Brock Bowers, a tight end at Georgia; Xavier Worthy, a wide receiver at Texas and Braelon Allen, a running back at Wisconsin. Past winners of the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year award include Trevor Lawrence (Clemson, 2018), Kenneth Gainwell (Memphis, 2019)) and Will Anderson Jr. (Alabama, 2020).
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Three (count ’em) Buckeyes are among the 14 semifinalists for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award. #GoBucks
We always knew Ohio State was a young team this season, but still a talented one. The Buckeyes may have fallen short of their ultimate goals of winning the Big Ten and making the College Football Playoff, but the future is still bright.
Look no further for proof than the fact that Ohio State leads all programs with three semifinalists for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award.
On Thursday, the Maxwell Football Club of Philadelphia announced the fourteen semifinalists and a trio of Buckeyes make up more than 1/5 of the list. The Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award has been presented to the College Freshman Player of the Year since 2018 and is named in honor of Shaun Alexander, a former standout at the University of Alabama and with the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL.
No Buckeye has ever won the award. Three finalists for the award will be unveiled on December 21, 2021. From there, the winner of the award will be announced on Monday, January 10, 2022, with a formal presentation taking place at Harrahs Hotel & Casino Atlantic City on March 18, 2022.
Here are the three Ohio State finalists for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award with bios of each thanks to a release from the Ohio State football program.
TreVeyon Henderson goes 57 yards untouched for the score. #GoBucks
Purdue gifted Ohio State with a turnover after a miscommunication caused a fumble with Jerron Cage falling on the rock. When that happens, the offense has to capitalize. And that’s just what they did.
TreVeyon Henderson took the handoff from C.J. Stroud on the very next play and went untouched for 57-yards to the endzone. Henderson displayed his incredible speed pulling away from everyone. It was the freshman phenom’s second touchdown of the day.
Watch Henderson take it to the house courtesy of 247 Sports Twitter account.
That makes 17 touchdowns for Henderson on the season. He now is just one score away from tying Maurice Clarett’s record for touchdowns by a true freshman.
Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion.
