Ohio State football to be without running back Miyan Williams against Michigan State
Joey KaufmanAfter tying a school record with five rushing touchdowns in last week’s win over Rutgers, running back Miyan Williams will be sidelined at Michigan State on Saturday.
Williams was among 11 players who were listed as unavailable on the Buckeyes’ pregame status report released seven hours ahead of kickoff in East Lansing.
No reason was immediately given for Williams’ absence. The program does not typically release injury information.
Star receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba will also be out. He's missing a third straight week with an injured hamstring. He has appeared in only two games this season after he was hurt in the opener against Notre Dame.
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TreVeyon Henderson available
To replace Williams in the backfield, the Buckeyes will have running back TreVeyon Henderson available after he was held out with an apparent foot injury last Saturday against the Scarlet Knights.
Coach Ryan Day said earlier this week that he expected Henderson to be available, noting he was further along in practices, and the sophomore was not included on the unavailable list.
Henderson started the first four games before Williams took the first carry in his place a week ago to rush for 189 yards and five scores.
Over the first month, Henderson ran for 318 yards and three touchdowns. The running backs have split carries with each of them averaging about 13 per game.
Ohio State’s banged-up secondary will have a few more healthy bodies this week.
Cornerback Cameron Brown, who had missed the last two games, as well as safeties Cameron Martinez and Tanner McCalister, are set to return.
Brown was starting at the cornerback spot opposite Denzel Burke.
Wide receiver Kamryn Babb, defensive end Tyler Friday, cornerback Jordan Hancock, linebacker Teradja Mitchell and tight end Joe Royer all remain out. Offensive lineman Enokk Vimahi is a game-time decision.
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Contact him at jkaufman@dispatch.com or on Twitter @joeyrkaufman