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TreVeyon Henderson, Will Shipley and 10 college football freshmen that will be instant stars

By Cody Williams

Clemson running back Will Shipley(1) runs during football practice in Clemson, S.C. Friday, March 5, 2021.Clemson Spring Football Practice
Clemson running back Will Shipley(1) runs during football practice in Clemson, S.C. Friday, March 5, 2021.Clemson Spring Football Practice /
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TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State Buckeyes. Mandatory Credit: USA Today Sports/Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch /

1. TreVeyon Henderson, RB, Ohio State

We saw Ohio State deploy two talented running backs last season from the backfield with Justin Fields. Trey Sermon came on extremely strong at the end of the year and Master Teague III was a solid veteran. Teague is back in the fold as Sermon is now in the NFL, but now joining the former is freshman TreVeyon Henderson. And if we’re looking purely at talent, Henderson is immediately the best back on the roster.

247 Sports analyst Bud Elliott said last year that Henderson would’ve been the best running back on the roster last season when he was a high school senior. That’s the type of player we’re talking about and it’s not hard to see where that line of thinking comes when you look at what the 5-star prospect has to offer.

Henderson has the total package out of the backfield with speed, vision, quickness and agility, along with a nice 5-foot-11, 195-pound frame, that allow him to be dangerous as a pure runner. Where he stands out immensely, though, is an already developed ability as a pass-catching back, which has value for a Buckeyes team that will be breaking in a new quarterback.

For my money, Teague has been good but not great whenever given chances at Ohio State. More importantly, there’s no one on the Buckeyes’ running back depth chart that has the overall ability of Henderson. He should be starting Week 1 but, even if he doesn’t, talent should win out sooner rather than later and he’ll be the lead back in the prolific Ryan Day offense by season’s end.

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