Ohio State's offense couldn't do much better in 2021.
The Buckeyes led the country in scoring offense (45.5) and total offense (551.4), averaging 7.78 yards per play with 64 total touchdowns.
As Ohio State prepares to wrap up its season in Pasadena, Calif. against Utah in the Rose Bowl, here are a few players to watch that could play a major role in making sure the Buckeyes end their season the right way.
OT Nicholas Petit-Frere
The last time he took the field in an Ohio State uniform, Nicholas Petit-Frere was as bad as he's ever been.
After allowing 16 hurries and 18 pressures in 11 games prior, the redshirt junior offensive tackle was manhandled on the outside by Aidan Hutchinson, allowing six hurries and eight pressures along with his second sack and his second quarterback hit allowed during 2021.
Without a Big Ten Championship to play for, it was not a very good last impression for NFL scouts, looking at a player who seemed destined to sit in the late first or early second round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
What does Petit-Frere have to prove against Utah?
The redshirt junior has one more chance to go up against the best defense in terms of sacks in the Pac-12, trying to emulate the back-to-back top-tier performances he had against Purdue and Michigan State.
Petit-Frere does have a chance to come back to Ohio State if he wants to. But if it is his last game for the Buckeyes, he will have to make sure it's on a high note.
RB TreVeyon Henderson
TreVeyon Henderson has already done a lot for the Ohio State offense in 2021.
As a freshman, he was the No. 1 back in the fourth-best rushing offense in the conference, finishing the season with 7.02 yards per carry — second most in the country behind Wisconsin freshman running back Braelon Allen. The running back set a school freshman record 19 touchdowns, rushing for 1,165 yards in his first season with the Buckeyes.
A lot of times, Henderson was the offense, scoring at least one touchdown in 10 of the 12 games he played.
But as Ohio State's offense begins to transition out from one headlined by Chris Olave and, likely, Garrett Wilson, Henderson has the opportunity to garner the attention from the get go.
Henderson averaged nearly 16 touches per game, mostly on the ground, while also serving as a check-down option for redshirt freshman quarterback C.J. Stroud, especially against Michigan, Nebraska and Maryland.
The narrative of Henderson being the top returning running back in the Big Ten could start as soon as Jan. 1 against Utah: the No. 1 rush defense in the Pac-12.
WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Speaking of a new narrative, Jaxon Smith-Njigba said he's already starting to feel like "the guy" in the Ohio State offense.
The sophomore wide receiver will likely be the lone wolf left of a trio that terrorized the Big Ten in 2021 of him, Wilson and Olave. The pieces will be around him to recreate that again, with highly ranked prospects like Emeka Egbuka and Julian Fleming waiting in the wings. However, Smith-Njigba's really the only one who has anything proven.
In his second year with the program, Smith-Njigba led the team in both receptions (80) and receiving yards (1,259), averaging 104.9 receiving yards per game.
Smith-Njigba's set to get a lot more attention from opposing receivers in 2022, maybe even starting in the Rose Bowl against Utah depending on if Olave and Wilson play or not.
Jan. 1 could be a preview of what Ohio State's offense could look like in the fall, especially with Smith-Njigba leading the way in the passing game.
