TreVeyon Henderson thought he was headed to the NFL this spring.

That’s been the Ohio State running back’s dream since he was a boy in Virginia, and that goal was within reach after his junior season in 2023.

He had booked plans to begin training for the draft following the Buckeyes’ loss to Missouri in the Cotton Bowl. Even in the days after the game, he was leaning toward leaving.

“My dreams were right there,” Henderson said Monday. “That’s what I’ve been working for since I was a little kid.”

But Henderson said God had a higher calling than the NFL for him. Henderson spoke with teammates Gee Scott Jr. and Xavier Johnson, who have been partners in their spiritual journey, and they encouraged him to do what was best from that perspective, not a worldly one.

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But it wasn’t until he went to church shortly after returning from Texas that the pastor’s sermon clinched his decision.

“I felt God was using the pastor to speak to me to get this message across,” Henderson said. “He was telling me, ‘This is where you should be.’ I told Gee in the middle of the church service, ‘I’m coming back.’ It was so much joy, like this weight lifted off my shoulders.”

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Henderson will not be expected to carry the full running load this year. Quinshon Judkins, a two-time All-Southeastern Conference player at Mississippi, transferred to Ohio State. They are expected to form perhaps the top running tandem in the country.

Henderson ran for 926 yards and 11 touchdowns in a bounce-back year in 2023 from his injury-ruined sophomore season, though he still missed three games. The hope is that Judkins’ arrival can keep both players healthier and fresher.

“I’m excited he came here to Ohio State,” Henderson said. “I’m thankful God led me to welcome him as a brother and to love him and treat him with respect, as I should.”

Henderson acknowledged that his strengthened faith made accepting Judkins easier.

“When you hear something like that, you expect jealousy to creep into your heart – hatred and envy – between him or the coaches, but that’s not the kind of guy God has called me to be,” he said. “God has called me to love him and help him, and so that’s what I’m going to do.”

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: TreVeyon Henderson reveals what made him return to Ohio State