Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson’s big day against Tulsa did not go unnoticed by the Big Ten front office, The freshman back was named not only the league’s freshman of the week but also split the honors for offensive player of the week.
Henderson would rush for 277 yards on 24 carries and three touchdowns in Ohio State’s 41-20 win over the Golden Hurricane of Tulsa. That would amount to a staggering 11.5 average per rush. 207 of those yards would come in the second half of the game including touchdown runs of both 52 and 48 yards.
The 277 yards would break the standing Ohio State freshman single-game rushing record of 239 yards by two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin. That make was set back in 1972, a record that stood for 49 yards.
Additionally, the 277-yard outburst now stands No. 3 all-time in Ohio State single-game rushing performances only behind Eddie George’s 314-yard game against Illinois in 1995 and Trey Sermon’s 331-yard game last season against Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship Game.
The Big Ten Freshman of the Week award marks the third time of the season that an Ohio State Buckeyes player grabs that award with quarterback CJ Stroud earning that award both the weeks of September 6th and September 13th.
This is the first Offensive Player of the Week award for Ohio State for the 2021 football season. Henderson splits the honors with Michigan State’s Payton Thorne who led the Spartans to a 38-17 win over Miami (Fla.) over the weekend. The last Ohio State player to win the award was Justin Fields in 2020 in the Big Ten Championship Game.
