COLUMBUS, Ohio –– TreVeyon Henderson entered the Ohio State program with certain intangible abilities and technical skills that are rare to see in a true freshman running back.

Position coach Tony Alford said as much Wednesday when he described what makes the Hopewell, Virginia, native different from some of the other running backs in his room.

“He’s got some innate stuff about him,” Alford said. I’d like to say I coach it all, but I can’t.”

Even with that admission, there’s no guarantee of significant carries for Henderson this season, given that he’s one of five running backs in Alford’s room competing for a spot at or near the top of the depth chart.

But based on what he's shown so far, Henderson may have the brightest future of the bunch, and especially if he begins exhibiting in games what he has on the practice field at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.

“He’s got some different skillsets that can get guys off-balance a little bit,” Alford said. “Just by a lean here or a lean there, a little jab here, jab here, that he can get defenders off-balance just enough that he can squirt by them, because he’s got a nice burst about him. Just before attacking a defender for a tackle, he does a good job of being able to level his pads off, get himself squared off. You're not going to get real clean shots at him. You’re not gonna catch him off-guard. He gets behind his pads really nice for a young guy.”

External expectations for Henderson certainly seem loftier than the rest –– a group that includes redshirt junior Master Teague, redshirt sophomore Marcus Crowley, redshirt freshman Miyan Williams and true freshman Evan Pryor –– even if they don’t manifest in his very first season.

Internally, Henderson has his sights set on high bars at Ohio State. He’s just not willing to define exactly what those are quite yet.

“I got a lot of expectations for myself. I got big expectations,” Henderson said. “I don’t want to put that out there, but I got big expectations for myself.”

Alford isn’t setting any markers for Henderson to clear as a true freshman either. The seventh-year Buckeye assistant coach may have them tucked away in his head, but Alford said Henderson will achieve everything he is supposed to as long as he focuses on himself and maximizes his opportunities.

“I don’t want to put those expectations out like that,” Alford said. “The expectation for TreVeyon and Master and Marcus and Miyan is the same as it is for Mike Hall; to be the best version of them that they can be every single day, and to try to help this football team be as successful as it can be every single day. But to put some outside influences and pressures on them, I just don’t think that’s fair. But I think you can get what you want –– again, it goes back to being the best version of yourself. That’s gonna be good enough.”

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Don’t think a lack of clearly defined goals from Alford takes any pressure off of Henderson though.

To find his niche in the Buckeye offense in 2021, he’ll have to prove just as reliable –– if not more so –– than the incumbent starter in Teague, a promising former four-star talent in Crowley and an overachieving in-state prospect in Williams, who has already come up big in a couple postseason moments for the Buckeyes.

“Whatever it takes to win games, that’s what we’re gonna do,” Alford said. “We’re not into making guys happy, this isn’t a happy camp. We’re gonna do whatever we need to do to win football games, whatever that looks like. We haven’t solidified exactly how that’s gonna go yet as far as rep counts, but that’ll play itself out.”

What does Henderson need to do to set himself apart? Far more than just stand out on the field, Alford said, although that won’t hurt his case to get opportunities early in his career.

“You have to continually make plays. Continually show the staff and the football team that you can be trusted,” Alford said. “We talk about competitive excellence, when your number is called, are you going to deliver? As a young guy, you have to be able to deliver. And that’s in special teams, that’s in meetings, if we ask you a question in a meeting, it’s everything. It’s not just on the field. It’s everything. Are you accountable in the weight room? Are you accountable in meetings? Are you accountable to get to where you’re supposed to be on time? They tell you to weigh in, did you weigh in? Did you do all the little things correctly that are gonna eventually evolve into doing the big things?”

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Henderson said the biggest adjustment thus far has been the speed of the college game, and it appears as though he’ll face it in more phases than one as he has taken reps as the Buckeyes’ first-team kick returner this fall.

He isn’t shying away from competition at either spot though, and Henderson said he actually thrives in such an environment.

“It’s all about competing, getting better each and every day,” Henderson said. “You can’t take a day off, you can’t waste a day because if you waste a day, that next running back, he’s not wasting a day. He’s trying to get better.”

Alford has come to no final conclusion in terms of a running back pecking order, although he said he has begun formulating his own opinions on the matter at this stage of the preseason.

It may be unlikely to think Henderson will take the very first snap for Ohio State in 2021, but the Virginia native is hoping for a chance to show what he can do nonetheless.

“Hopefully I get to make an immediate impact,” Henderson said. “That’s all I’m hoping for.”