A total of 54 Ohio State players saw the field in the Buckeyes’ 31-16 loss to Oklahoma on Saturday night.
The Buckeyes only played 15 total players on offense, but 19 Ohio State players saw the field on defense while an additional 20 Buckeyes saw action on special teams only.
While Ohio State wasn’t able to get quite as many players into the game as it did in its season-opening win at Indiana, when 59 Buckeyes saw snaps, two Ohio State players made their season debuts. Running back Mike Weber, who missed the season opener with a hamstring injury, returned to the field Saturday. Walk-on offensive lineman Kevin Woidke, who was not chosen to the travel roster for Indiana, was chosen to play with the field goal unit against Oklahoma.
As we will be doing after every Ohio State game this season, Eleven Warriors went back to the film and reviewed every play from Saturday’s game to track how snaps each Buckeye played. We’ll also keep track of how many total snaps each Buckeye has played over the course of the season.
Those numbers, along with analysis on who played, where they lined up and who didn’t play on Saturday, are below.
Author’s note: All snap counts listed in this article should be considered unofficial, as Ohio State does not release its official snap counts. The players listed with each special teams unit are the players who were on the field with those units most frequently, but exact special teams snap counts are not included because it is not always possible to identify all 11 players on a special teams unit from TV camera angles.
QUARTERBACKS
J.T. Barrett: 71 snaps
Two weeks into the season, Barrett is the only quarterback who has taken a snap for the Buckeyes. While a large portion of Ohio State’s fanbase would like to see at least some playing time for other quarterback, there has been no indication that any other quarterback will play until the Buckeyes are in a game (potentially their upcoming game against Army) where they have a comfortable lead and are able to take their starters out of the game.
RUNNING BACKS
J.K. Dobbins: 44
Mike Weber: 27
Dobbins, a true freshman, started his second consecutive game to begin his Ohio State career and was on the field for most of the first three quarters of Saturday’s game. Weber, who said after the game that his hamstring was still not "100 percent," was worked into the game to spell Dobbins at times but played the majority of his snaps on the final two drives of the fourth quarter, on which he took every snap at running back. Dobbins was split out as a wide receiver for one passing play, while Weber was split out wide for two passing plays.
Antonio Williams, who played 12 snaps and ran for two touchdowns in the season opener, did not see any playing time on Saturday.
WIDE RECEIVERS
K.J. Hill: 55
Binjimen Victor: 43
Terry McLaurin: 41
Johnnie Dixon: 39
Parris Campbell: 38
Austin Mack: 19
Elijaah Goins: Special teams only
As was the case in the season opener, Ohio State rotated each of its top six receivers in and out of the lineup regularly. Hill led the wide receivers in snaps played for a second week in a row, but Victor, McLaurin, Dixon and Campbell were each on the field for more than half of the Buckeyes’ offensive plays. Mack’s night came to an early end when he suffered an injury in the process of making a 31-yard catch in the third quarter of the game.
K.J. Hill leads Ohio State wide receivers in snaps played through two games.
TIGHT ENDS
Marcus Baugh: 49
Rashod Berry: Special teams only
While the Buckeyes had a tight end on the field for most of their plays until the last couple drives, Baugh was the only tight end who saw playing time on offense in Saturday’s game. Luke Farrell did not see the field after playing 11 snaps in the season opener. Berry, who got in for four snaps of offense at Indiana, was limited to special teams work on Saturday.
OFFENSIVE LINE
Branden Bowen: 71
Jamarco Jones: 71
Michael Jordan: 71
Billy Price: 71
Isaiah Prince: 71
Matthew Burrell: Special teams only
Demetrius Knox: Special teams only
Malcolm Pridgeon: Special teams only
Kevin Woidke: Special teams only
Ohio State did not make any substitutions to its offensive line over the course of Saturday’s game. Jones played every snap at left tackle, Jordan played every snap at left guard, Price played every snap at center, Bowen played every snap at right guard and Prince played every snap at right tackle.
DEFENSIVE ENDS
Jalyn Holmes: 48
Nick Bosa: 47
Tyquan Lewis: 43
Sam Hubbard: 43
Jonathon Cooper: 1
The snap counts for Holmes, Bosa, Lewis and Hubbard remained close to equal to one another throughout Saturday’s game, as each of the Buckeyes’ top four defensive ends rotated in and out of the lineup, per usual. The four defensive ends were all on the field together for 14 plays – eight times in the traditional nickel defense, and six times in the Buckeyes’ new five-man front.
Cooper, who played 16 snaps in the season opener, was on the field for only one snap on the Buckeyes’ final defensive series on Saturday, though he was also on the field goal unit. True freshman Chase Young, who played 13 snaps at Indiana, did not see any time playing time on Saturday.
DEFENSIVE TACKLES
Dre’Mont Jones: 59
Tracy Sprinkle: 34
Robert Landers: 27
Jashon Cornell: 10
Davon Hamilton: Special teams only
Jones led all Ohio State defensive linemen in snaps played on Saturday, as he was on the field at defensive tackle for more than 83 percent of the Buckeyes’ snaps in their 4-3 base defense, while he is also the lone non-defensive end in the five-man defensive line package. Sprinkle and Landers split snaps with the base defensive front, while Cornell saw the field on the rare occasions that Jones rotated out of the base defense.
LINEBACKERS
Jerome Baker: 77
Chris Worley: 77
Dante Booker: 46
Malik Harrison: 17
Baron Browning: Special teams only
Tuf Borland: Special teams only
Justin Hilliard: Special teams only
Keandre Jones: Special teams only
Zach Turnure: Special teams only
Baker and Worley were both on the field for every one of Ohio State’s defensive snaps. Booker played the majority of snaps at strongside linebacker in the Buckeyes’ base defense, but Harrison rotated in at that position for the second game in a row, with most of Harrison’s snaps coming in the first half of Saturday’s game.
CORNERBACKS
Damon Arnette: 66
Denzel Ward: 59
Kendall Sheffield: 39
Jeffrey Okudah: Special teams only
Amir Riep: Special teams only
Arnette, Ward and Sheffield continued to rotate as the Buckeyes’ outside cornerbacks, with Arnette moving inside to play slot cornerback in nickel packages. Somewhat surprisingly, Arnette played more snaps in the cornerback rotation this week than Ward, who led the cornerbacks in snaps played in Week 1, though Arnette missed some snaps in the season opener due to cramps.
SAFETIES
Damon Webb: 77
Jordan Fuller: 51
Erick Smith: 26
Isaiah Pryor: Special teams only
Jahsen Wint: Special teams only
Webb was on the field for every defensive snap in Saturday’s game. Fuller and Smith alternated series at the second safety spot for most of the game, but Smith was removed from the defensive rotation after he was caught out of position on two Oklahoma touchdown passes in the third quarter.
FIELD GOALS/EXTRA POINTS
Sean Nuernberger (kicker)
Drue Chrisman (holder)
Liam McCullough (long snapper)
Rashod Berry (blocker)
Matthew Burrell (blocker)
Branden Bowen (blocker)
Jonathan Cooper (blocker)
Davon Hamilton (blocker)
Demetrius Knox (blocker)
Malcolm Pridgeon (blocker)
Kevin Woidke (blocker)
The only change to the field goal unit from Week 1 to Week 2 was the addition of Woidke, who replaced fellow offensive lineman Brady Taylor as a blocker up front.
KICKOFFS
Blake Haubeil (kicker)
Elijaah Goins (gunner)
Malik Harrison (gunner)
Justin Hilliard (gunner)
Keandre Jones (gunner)
Austin Mack or Baron Browning (gunner)
Isaiah Pryor (gunner)
Amir Riep (gunner)
Erick Smith (gunner)
Zach Turnure (gunner)
Jahsen Wint (gunner)
Ohio State played the same 11 players on its kickoff unit from the season opener until Mack left the game with his injury, at which point he was replaced by Browning. The Buckeyes also sent out a different group of players for its final kickoff, when the Buckeyes unsuccessfully attempted an onside kick.
KICKOFF RETURNS
Parris Campbell (returner)
Tuf Borland (blocker)
Johnnie Dixon (blocker)
Jordan Fuller (blocker)
Elijaah Goins (blocker)
Malik Harrison (blocker)
Justin Hilliard (blocker)
K.J. Hill (blocker)
Keandre Jones (blocker)
Austin Mack or Jeffrey Okudah (blocker)
Zach Turnure (blocker)
Dixon and Hilliard were added to the kickoff return unit this week, replacing Jonathon Cooper and Okudah from the season opener. Okudah returned to the kickoff return unit when Mack exited the game. Hill lined up as the secondary kickoff returner but did not return any kicks for the second week in a row, rendering him to be a blocker for Campbell.
PUNTS
Drue Chrisman (punter)
Liam McCullough (long snapper)
Tuf Borland (upback)
Sam Hubbard (upback)
Malik Harrison (guard)
Zach Turnure (guard)
Jerome Baker (wing)
Chris Worley (wing)
Parris Campbell or Johnnie Dixon (gunner)
Denzel Ward or Elijaah Goins (gunner)
Terry McLaurin (gunner)
Ohio State used the same primary group of players on its punting unit on Saturday as it did in the season opener. Jeffrey Okudah also saw at least one snap on the punt team in place of Baker.
PUNT RETURNS
K.J. Hill (returner)
Damon Arnette (blocker)
Rashod Berry (blocker)
Dante Booker (blocker)
Johnnie Dixon (blocker)
Keandre Jones (blocker)
Terry McLaurin (blocker)
Jeffrey Okudah (blocker)
Isaiah Pryor (blocker)
Kendall Sheffield (blocker)
Denzel Ward (blocker)
The above 11 players were on the field for Oklahoma’s only punt of the game. Pryor took Austin Mack’s place on the punt return team due to Mack’s injury.
| POS | PLAYER | @ IU | OU | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | J.T. BARRETT | 88 | 71 | 159 |
| RB | J.K. DOBBINS | 76 | 44 | 120 |
| RB | MIKE WEBER | DNP | 27 | 27 |
| RB | ANTONIO WILLIAMS | 12 | DNP | 12 |
| RB | DEMARIO MCCALL | ST | DNP | ST |
| WR | K.J. HILL | 58 | 55 | 113 |
| WR | BINJIMEN VICTOR | 47 | 43 | 90 |
| WR | TERRY MCLAURIN | 49 | 41 | 90 |
| WR | PARRIS CAMPBELL | 47 | 38 | 85 |
| WR | JOHNNIE DIXON | 39 | 39 | 78 |
| WR | AUSTIN MACK | 41 | 19 | 60 |
| WR | C.J. SAUNDERS | 7 | DNP | 7 |
| WR | ELIJAAH GOINS | ST | ST | ST |
| TE | MARCUS BAUGH | 49 | 49 | 98 |
| TE | LUKE FARRELL | 11 | DNP | 11 |
| TE | RASHOD BERRY | 4 | ST | 4 |
| OL | BRANDEN BOWEN | 88 | 71 | 159 |
| OL | MICHAEL JORDAN | 88 | 71 | 159 |
| OL | ISAIAH PRINCE | 88 | 71 | 159 |
| OL | BILLY PRICE | 83 | 71 | 154 |
| OL | JAMARCO JONES | 82 | 71 | 153 |
| OL | MATTHEW BURRELL | 6 | ST | 6 |
| OL | BRADY TAYLOR | 5 | DNP | 5 |
| OL | DEMETRIUS KNOX | ST | ST | ST |
| OL | MALCOLM PRIDGEON | ST | ST | ST |
| OL | KEVIN WOIDKE | DNP | ST | ST |
| K | SEAN NUERNBERGER | ST | ST | ST |
| K | BLAKE HAUBEIL | ST | ST | ST |
| POS | PLAYER | IU | OU | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE | NICK BOSA | 62 | 47 | 109 |
| DE | JALYN HOLMES | 59 | 48 | 107 |
| DE | SAM HUBBARD | 51 | 43 | 94 |
| DE | TYQUAN LEWIS | 48 | 43 | 91 |
| DE | JONATHON COOPER | 16 | 1 | 17 |
| DE | CHASE YOUNG | 13 | DNP | 13 |
| DT | DRE'MONT JONES | 54 | 59 | 113 |
| DT | TRACY SPRINKLE | 34 | 34 | 68 |
| DT | ROBERT LANDERS | 25 | 27 | 52 |
| DT | JASHON CORNELL | 14 | 10 | 24 |
| DT | DAVON HAMILTON | 6 | ST | 6 |
| DT | HASKELL GARRETT | 6 | DNP | 6 |
| LB | JEROME BAKER | 89 | 77 | 166 |
| LB | CHRIS WORLEY | 87 | 77 | 164 |
| LB | DANTE BOOKER | 48 | 46 | 94 |
| LB | MALIK HARRISON | 19 | 17 | 36 |
| LB | BARON BROWNING | 6 | ST | 6 |
| LB | KEANDRE JONES | 6 | ST | 6 |
| LB | TUF BORLAND | ST | ST | ST |
| LB | JUSTIN HILLIARD | ST | ST | ST |
| LB | ZACH TURNURE | ST | ST | ST |
| CB | DENZEL WARD | 77 | 59 | 136 |
| CB | DAMON ARNETTE | 63 | 66 | 129 |
| CB | KENDALL SHEFFIELD | 62 | 39 | 101 |
| CB | JEFFREY OKUDAH | 7 | ST | 7 |
| CB | AMIR RIEP | ST | ST | ST |
| S | DAMON WEBB | 89 | 77 | 166 |
| S | JORDAN FULLER | 54 | 51 | 105 |
| S | ERICK SMITH | 42 | 26 | 68 |
| S | ISAIAH PRYOR | 6 | ST | 6 |
| S | JAHSEN WINT | ST | ST | ST |
| P | DRUE CHRISMAN | ST | ST | ST |
| LS | LIAM MCCULLOUGH | ST | ST | ST |
