Ohio State running back Miyan Williams will miss the remainder of the 2023 season. Buckeyes coach Ryan Day revealed during his Tuesday press conference that Williams had a procedure done to fix lingering issues, meaning Ohio State will have to navigate its final four games of the season without the No. 2 rusher on its depth chart.
The 5-foot-9, 226-pound Williams missed an Oct. 14 win against Purdue but returned a week later against Penn State, rushing for 62 yards and a touchdown on a season-high 24 carries. He was ruled out ahead of Week 9's win against Wisconsin for undisclosed reasons. In six games this season, Williams rushed for 158 yards and three touchdowns. He was Ohio State's leading rusher and contributed a whopping 14 touchdowns on the ground season last when star TreVeyon Henderson missed several games with injury issues of his own.
With Williams sidelined, the Buckeyes have just two healthy running backs with at least 50 carries on the year. This comes at a time when 8-0 Ohio State is pushing for the College Football Playoff, and will have its hardest test of the year against Michigan in the regular-season finale if it hopes to keep those CFP hopes alive .
Revolving running back door
Dealing with a hit to the running back room is nothing new for the Buckeyes this season. As mentioned before, Williams already missed two games before officially shutting things down the rest of the year. In fact, all three of Ohio State's top running backs have incurred an injury at some point.
Henderson, a former freshman All-American, was sidelined for three games with a lower body injury. He returned against Wisconsin and immediately made a huge impact on Ohio State's offense, rushing for 162 yards and a touchdown.
Converted linebacker Chip Trayanum has played in all eight games, but he got banged up early against Purdue and was on the sideline for the final three quarters. Sophomore Dallan Hayden, who played a big role late in the 2022 season, has only played in two games so far and has largely been absent from the game plan.
Henderson healthy at the right time
This makes Henderson's return against Wisconsin infinitely more important. It's a promising sign that he was able to handle 24 carries against the Badgers, by far his biggest workload of the year in his first game back from injury.
Henderson is, without a doubt, Ohio State's most important player in the backfield. He is the only legitimate home run threat and has the ability to take the ball to the end zone anytime he gets into space. He ranked third on the team in carries while missing three games and still led the Buckeyes in rushing prior to the Wisconsin game. That lead got even larger with his stellar performance.
Without Henderson, Ohio State rushed for fewer than 2.0 yards per attempt twice and managed 3.2 yards per carry overall. Henderson, a former five-star prospect, has more total yards on the ground (457) than Ohio State's next two leading rushers combined. The only holdback here is the fact that Henderson is a bit of a glass cannon with an extensive injury history. While he managed a huge workload against Wisconsin, it remains to be seen whether he can sustain that over four regular-season games and an expected postseason run.
Where else can Ohio State turn?
Someone else is going to have to step up and take some of the load from Henderson. Chip Trayanum is the top candidate to step into a No. 2 role, especially seeing as he brings power to Henderson's flash with a 5-foot-11, 233-pound frame.
Though he's second on the team with 66 carries, Trayanum only has one game this year in which he rushed more than nine times. He had 20 attempts for 61 yards and a touchdown against Maryland, stepping up with Henderson out and Williams exiting the game with injury.
A third option emerging would be helpful, too. Dallan Hayden is healthy, but Day said after the win against Maryland that the plan is to redshirt him. He has already played in two games, which means he has two more before he reaches the eligibility threshold. Day might want to rethink that plan, however.
The Buckeyes could also continue to give wide receiver Xavier Johnson work out of the backfield. The speedster has lined up more as a running back in recent weeks with injuries mounting, and he has a respectable 16 attempts for 101 yards. At the very least, a healthy Henderson gives Ohio State's offense an effective crutch as it pushes for the Big Ten championship and beyond.
