Ohio State's T.C. Caffey plays against Toledo during an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

COLUMBUS — In a blowout 77-21 victory over Toledo, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day began emptying his bench.

The Buckeyes had already cycled through running backs TreVeyon Henderson, Miyan Williams and Dallan Hayden, but with just under nine minutes remaining in the game, out trotted walk-on true freshman and Hubbard native T.C. Caffey.

Hayden said Caffey was nervous before the drive, but he told him “to run through something.”

His first two carries in his collegiate career were a 1-yard gain and a 5-yard loss, respectively, but his third carry — a 49-yard touchdown run — was something Day said “nobody expected,” but it fulfilled Caffey’s lifelong dream.

“It was really just keeping my feet going. Mainly, the thing that coach Alford preaches on is like, ‘Keep running until you’re down, and don’t ever stop your feet,'” Caffey said. “Once I got out of the pile, I just tried my best to make people miss. And then, after I got in the end zone, it was just unreal to me because that was one of my biggest dreams growing up.”

Caffey’s moment in the spotlight against the Rockets didn’t come without hard work, though.

Entering his senior season at Hubbard High School, Caffey’s only offer was from Youngstown State.

During the summer of 2021, Caffey began going to camps that Buckeyes running backs coach Tony Alford was at, which led to some serious looks from Ohio State.

Caffey said his goal between his junior and senior seasons was to improve his ability to cut and break off big runs, and the big runs started to come.

His senior season was one for the ages, rushing for 2,638 yards and 37 touchdowns, which notched him Trumbull County Player of the Year and Division III All-Ohio First Team honors.

Alford said the main thing he looks for when recruiting a player is if he’s a “tough guy,” and Caffey’s 5-foot-10, 218-pound frame showed enough toughness for him to get offered a preferred walk-on spot after an Ohio State home game in 2021.

“I remember standing outside the locker room with him and his mother, and I remember saying to him, ‘I want you here,'” Alford said. “‘I’m not offering you a scholarship. I don’t have one, but I do want you here. I do want you in our room, I think you’d be a great fit for what we’re trying to do as a program.'”

Caffey put the lid on his 4,659-yard, 57-touchdown high school career and joined the Buckeyes in June, achieving a goal he set for himself when he was 10 years old.

When he initially arrived on campus, Caffey said he struggled balancing time between being at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, in the classroom and for himself to relax.

In addition to making a daily schedule, he leaned on his teammates and coaches to help him adjust to life as a college football player.

“I would say mainly the coaches like coach Alford, coach Reilly (Jeffers) and then some of the other running backs like Miyan and TreVeyon,” Caffey said. “Even Dallan. Me and him talk a lot about the plays and different things we need to do.”

The Buckeyes running backs coach of seven years said he was initially impressed with how well Caffey could “retain information,” asking questions in walkthroughs and always wanting to learn more about the position.

However, Alford said Caffey has gone through the same learning curve all freshmen go through with learning the playbook and how to pass block — something that wasn’t asked of him as a dominant high school feature back.

Alford’s message to Caffey has been to “play faster.”

“When you’re apprehensive as to what you need to do, you don’t play very fast. You’re walking on eggshells,” Alford said. “We finally had to get to him, ‘Hey, I don’t care if you make mistakes, just go play. Play really, really fast, and if you make a mistake, we’ll fix it.'”

Caffey has made waves in preseason camp, impressing Alford during the Buckeyes’ inside run period at practice and losing his Black Stripe Sept. 14 — signifying he earned his spot on the Ohio State football team.

“That’s like a rite of passage for everybody and once you get that off, you’re accepted into the team,” Caffey said. “Hard work that I’ve been putting in has really helped me get to that point, and it’s a big achievement for me.”

Just three days later he rumbled for the 49-yard score against Toledo and the sidelines “went nuts for the kid.” Williams said he was “very excited” for him.

“I was just proud of him, you know. I feel like everybody else was, too,” Williams said Sept. 21. “He runs hard in practice too, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see it in the game.”

Caffey said “determination and what I need to do” has gotten him to the point he is at in his collegiate career, thanking the Youngstown area for the support in his journey because “it helps my thinking process” knowing he has “people back home” who support him.

Alford is proud of the growth Caffey has shown, calling the true freshman a “damn good football player,” while realizing he still has more to show.

“He’s a great kid, but I mean, he’s just a young kid,” Alford said. “I’m proud of him. I’m sure his mom and dad are exceptionally proud of him. I talk to them all the time. And this guy, he’s got a great future ahead of him.: