ROSE BOWL GAME PRESENTED BY CAPITAL ONE VENTURE X: OHIO STATE VS UTAH

December 29, 2021

Treveyon Henderson

Ohio State Buckeyes

Press Conference

Q. Just this whole bowl experience, how has it been for you so far? The first time going on a bowl trip and everything, just what's your overall thought about it?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: It's been good. Just being able to, like, come out here. I've never been out to California before. So it's a good experience.

Q. What's the mindset you feel about this team? Do you feel like there's something you guys need to prove going into this game or what's your thought?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: Yeah, I always feel like we got something to prove. Because -- this is a great team, too. It's not like we're just playing anybody. This is a great team, man. They're going to put up a fight.

Q. Your season, you set a record at Ohio State for the most touchdowns by a freshman. That says a lot right there. Can you just -- I don't know, was it more than you thought it would be, was it everything you thought it would be? For you individually, what did you think?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: It was more than I thought it would be. I didn't know I would have a big season like this, like, breaking the record, like you said. So yeah.

Q. In terms of just your game, what are the areas that you want to continue to build as you go forward and, I guess, beyond just playing this game? What are the things that you want to concentrate on and becoming an even better player your second year?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: I want to work on everything. But, mostly, pass blocking. Because I think pass blocking is very important for running backs. You got to do more than run the ball, catch the ball out of the backfield. Pass blocking is a big role, too.

Q. The other guys in the room, how have they kind of responded? It seemed like it was a up and down year. Like, Miyan was in one week and Master was in one week. And just kind of -- it was a weird play, I guess. Just how did you guys deal with all that this year, guys coming and going throughout the season?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: We just supported each other. We were all happy for each other. No matter who was in, we supported each other.

Q. How are you, sir?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: I'm good how are you.

Q. Good. Happy New Year.

TREVEYON HENDERSON: Appreciate it.

Q. So what does it mean to play in the Rose Bowl? I mean, I never thought of this as a consolation prize. What does it mean to this team going in?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: It means a lot to be able to play in the Rose Bowl. It's a blessing. I mean, I don't know much about it.

But, like, getting here and stuff, and the buildup to getting here, I heard a lot about it and I heard how important it is. So it's a blessing to be able to play in this Rose Bowl.

Q. And the team you scored 42 against the team up north, is the offense clicking?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: Is our offense clicking?

Q. Yeah.

TREVEYON HENDERSON: Yeah, our offense is clicking.

Q. Tell me about the new guy -- not new, but what receivers got to step up in the place of Garret and Chris, may be a star on Saturday?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: Yeah, we got some good receivers stepping up; Marvin Harrison, Julian Fleming, they're all great guys who can make great plays. So it's going to be exciting to see them play and see them spread their wings.

Q. (No microphone.)

TREVEYON HENDERSON: Yeah, everybody is into it. Practice's been physical. So everybody's into it. Everybody's practicing with a chip on their shoulder. Like, we're all hungry.

Q. Have you ever been to LA?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: No, this is my first time.

Q. How goes it?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: It's all right. It's a big city, though. But it's all right. Yeah.

Q. Yeah. Are you more of a small town guy?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: Yeah, I'm from a small city. But being in big cities, I mean, it's kind of good because there's a lot to do. So...

Q. Does it kind of open your eyes?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: Oh, yeah, definitely. Yep. Definitely.

Q. Every time I come here, I'm like you, I'm more of a small town guy.

TREVEYON HENDERSON: Yeah.

Q. And C.J., great first year. How do you think he'll play in the spotlight? He's now used to it, right?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: Yeah. Yep. Yeah, I'm happy for C.J. I mean, he did great this season and how he handled everything. It was great for him. But, yeah, I'm happy to play beside him, though.

Q. You'll miss Garrett and Chris, right? I mean, that's --

TREVEYON HENDERSON: Oh, yeah.

Q. -- some of the best out there.

TREVEYON HENDERSON: Yeah, it was great playing alongside them, too, man. The plays that they made, they were crazy. They made some crazy plays. But they were also great people. Yeah, I'm going to definitely miss them, though.

Q. Tre, I know Master's battled injuries throughout the season. When we were at practice yesterday, he looked pretty healthy. Just to have him going for a game like this, I know you guys do some rotations and stuff, what does it mean to have a veteran like, you and Miyan, you guys having to rotate in at running back?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: Yeah, I'm happy for him. He's been through a lot this season. So I'm happy to finally see him healthy again. I can't wait to see him play.

Q. What does the Rose Bowl mean in terms of you as a player, just a chance to kind of showcase yourself and the other people?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: It's exciting. I mean, I haven't really heard about the Rose Bowl before I, like, got into the Rose Bowl. But hearing about it and how important it is, it's going to be exciting.

Q. When you look at kind of -- looking back at this season and this team, is there any real one moment that stands out as, Hey, this is what brought us all together, this is what defined us?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: Really, just the work we put in the offseason. Like, winter trainings, summer training. Especially summer training, it was hard and, like, that's when we call came together, for real.

When the -- when the runs get hard, when the lifts get hard, we lean on each other and, like, pick each other up. So that's what helped us.

Q. Being able to go through all those workouts and seeing how the progress get you to a place like a Rose Bowl, is there any sort of advise that you have for a younger player that's kind of getting into the college ranks and has to go through that grind?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: Yeah, just keep working hard, for real. And, you know, stay humble. Like -- and your time will come soon. As long as you put the work in and trust in yourself and don't listen to what others got to say, your time will come.

Q. And kind of from a locker room vibe, who's the person who really controls the playlist in the locker room?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: Playlist? I don't know who be on the playlist most of the time. But, like -- you'll know sometimes when a certain person is on the playlist. So yeah (laughing.)

Q. Can you talk about how Master been through with his time here and especially this year? What has it been like to have the value of a guy like that to have a guy to talk to maybe when you're not feeling the right way, stuff like that?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: Yeah, having Master in the room helps out a lot. Because you always need somebody in the room or on the team, like, you can be able to talk to if something's wrong.

And Master, he's definitely that guy, man. He's a great person. And he always, like -- he's always open. And, like, if you want to talk to him, whenever, you can hit him up and he'll give you some great words and some great advice.

Q. What stands out about Utah's defense?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: They got a great defense. They got some great linebackers. And they got an old defense, too. They look old. But, yeah, I can't wait to play them, though. They're a great defense, though.

Q. All right. So you're one of the young guys on this team. So what do you know about the Rose Bowl, what have you heard and what do you expect?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: I don't know much, but I heard it's the Granddaddy of them all. I think that's what they call it. But, yeah, I heard how exciting it is to play in this bowl game. So I can't wait.

Q. So you got a couple wide receivers out. Is this a running back game now? Are you going to have to run the ball a little bit more with a couple receivers out?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: Shoot, I'm not sure what the game plan is yet. We'll see Saturday, thought. I think -- we play on Saturday, right?

Q. Yeah.

TREVEYON HENDERSON: (Laughing.) Yeah, we'll see Saturday when we play, though.

Q. As far as being physical, we heard a lot of guys talk about it. That's your job, that's the line's job. How do you feel about the physicality of this team going into this game?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: I think we're a physical team. Yeah, I think we play hard.

Q. You're the running back, you're the game breaker on this team. Do you feel like this is a chance -- and we all know you in Columbus. But around the nation, this is a chance for you guys to really put it out there and show this nation what you're all about.

TREVEYON HENDERSON: Yeah, we've been practicing hard. So when we step out there, I'm sure we'll do what we need to do and get the job done.

Q. Practice this week, is it laid back, is it more intense? I mean, is it the case here? Is this a business trip? What's the vibe here at practice?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: No, it's been intense lately. Practice, it's been physical. Every practice's been physical. Even with no pads on, it's been physical. So I can't wait to see what we do Saturday.

Q. What are you expecting? You say you can't wait. What are you expecting?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: I'm expecting us to go out there and have a good game. I think we're going to do great.

Q. Is there a desire to kind of show, like, the Michigan game -- not that it was a fluke, but that's not who you are? How much of that talk has it been?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: I mean, that loss hurted a lot. But we're pretty much past that. We're focused on Utah. But that loss, it still hurts, though. Regardless, though, losing against that team, like, it hurts us a lot. And we're not supposed to lose against them.

So we play them -- we always play with a chip on our shoulder, but especially with this game, we got to go out there and prove a point.

Q. What do you see from Utah's defense?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: Oh, they got a great defense. They got some players who can move around the field, make a lot of plays. Especially the linebackers. So it's going to be a physical game, it's going to be a hard game. But yeah.

Q. I know you came into this season with goals, expectations. Did you think you'd be -- I know you wanted to be in the playoffs. You're going to be the starting running back in the Rose Bowl. What's that mean to you?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: It means a lot. I mean, I always believe in myself. I don't doubt myself, for real. Like, I knew my time was going to come. I stayed patient, stayed the course. And always keep working. Working hard. That's how you get to where you want to be, work hard. And that's what I did.

Q. Have you lived up to your own expectations this year?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: Oh, yeah, definitely. I have some big expectations for myself. And I'm always trying to prove myself wrong. That's what I'm always trying to do. And I always end up proving myself wrong.

Q. What are your thoughts on Utah's defense? You know, they have some pretty solid linebackers and all that. As you watch tape on them, what really stands out?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: Yeah, like I said, they're physical. And they can move around a lot. They can move around pretty good. So I think it's going to be a good game, like, going up against them. It's going to be tough.

Q. Tre, did you ever sense that Master was frustrated that he wasn't getting maybe the same sort of success early that you were? I know you guys wanted to come in, play together, and share the load and all that.

TREVEYON HENDERSON: Yeah.

Q. How did he handle this year, do you think?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: I think he handled it pretty good. I mean, he's happy for us, like, the other running backs who's playing and stuff.

I mean, he supports us a lot. I mean, everybody got their own path, though. Everybody don't have the same path. But he does a good job, man, of just, like, cheering us on, like, when he's seeing other people getting the rock and stuff.

Q. When he has a chance, maybe to get out there -- or heading into next season, what can he bring to that backfield alongside?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: I mean, he's a great running back. He can do a lot of dangerous things. And I think he's going to be a -- he's going to be a great player. Like, when he gets a chance to shine, I think he's going to do great.

Q. If you had to pick how many carries you got per game, what would it be?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: Shoot. (Laughing.) I don't even know, for real. It all depends on the game and who we playing. We have some teams where we just blow them out early, and then we have some teams where we put up a dogfight.

But it don't really matter, for real. Whatever amount of carries I get, I know I'm going to take it -- like, use the best out of them.

Q. I know there were games, like, in the middle of the season where you're getting eight or five carries, and it's a blowout. (No microphone.)

TREVEYON HENDERSON: Yeah.

Q. I'm sure that you wanted them. You were one of those guys, Leave me in there, let me work.

TREVEYON HENDERSON: Yeah. I mean, it's tough. But it is what it is. I'd rather -- like, whenever my team needs me, that's when they can use me. But, like, in a situation like that, you can -- I don't mind just getting taken out.

Because I don't want to put myself at risk of getting injured just to, like, put up some more stats and things like that. It's all about getting a team win at the end of the day.

Q. After this game, what's your offseason going to be like? What goes into your offseason? What do you plan on doing?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: For my offseason, I'm going to go home for a little bit. Probably do a little track with my coach -- my track coach in high school that I used to do track with before I came up here.

And then, like, once I get back up here, let Coach Mick get me right. And I'm going to keep doing my workouts on the side, too, my running back workouts and stuff like that, working on every part of my game.

Q. What's the expectation, the reason you're working with your track coach? A lot of speed stuff?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: Yeah, he does -- he did a great job -- before I got up here, he did a great job of me helping get explosive, faster, and powerful.

And I just love working out with him. He always gets me right. He knows what I need and stuff like that. So...

Q. Weren't you, like, one of the top-ranked guys, even as a freshman or sophomore, in Virginia?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: Yeah, my junior year, I won the 50 -- the state champion in the 55-meter dash.

Q. How much do you keep up with that, that kind of training? Is that just in the offseason?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: Yeah, mostly in the offseason. Because once I'm up here, I'm doing Coach Mick's workouts and things like that. But, like, once I get a chance to work on my own, I'm doing his workouts or some of my workouts.

Q. Which do you prefer?

TREVEYON HENDERSON: They don't matter. They both -- they both get me right (Laughing.)