Snap Counts: 86 Buckeyes Take the Field As Ohio State Plays Deep Into Its Bench Again in 73-14 Win over Maryland

Ohio State’s 73-14 win over Maryland on Saturday was a blowout from the beginning, and as a result, most of the Buckeyes’ starters came out of the game at halftime for the second time this year.

The Buckeyes didn’t end up putting quite as many players on the field against the Terrapins as they did in their fourth game of the season against Miami (Ohio), when a season-high 97 players saw snaps in a 76-5 win, but the outcome of the game was similar. After the Buckeyes took a 42-0 lead into halftime, they put their backups in from the beginning of the second half, continued to play deeper into their bench as the game progressed and still extended their lead in a blowout victory.

In the process, 86 Buckeyes had the opportunity to play – some, potentially, for the last time this year, as Ohio State won’t be able to travel its entire roster to Rutgers and after that, the competition will ramp up for the rest of the year.

We take a look at how much all of them played in this week’s edition of Snap Counts, Eleven Warriors’ exclusive weekly breakdown of how Ohio State splits up its playing time on offense, defense and special teams.

All snap counts were compiled by Eleven Warriors and should be considered unofficial. It is not always possible to see all players on special teams units from TV camera angles for special teams units, so exact snap counts for those units are not listed.

Quarterbacks

Justin Fields: 51
Chris Chugunov: 29
Gunnar Hoak: 17

Fields played all 51 of Ohio State’s first-half offensive snaps, in which the Buckeyes scored six straight touchdowns and he completed 16-of-25 passing attempts for 200 yards and three touchdowns while also running five times for 28 yards and a touchdown. 

Chugunov started the second half and played 29 snaps, the most of his Ohio State career to date, while completing 8-of-11 passing attempts for 103 yards and a touchdown.

Hoak checked in at quarterback for the Buckeyes’ final three possessions in the fourth quarter and played 17 snaps, also the most of his Ohio State career to date, and completed both of his passing attempts for 19 combined yards.

Running Backs

J.K. Dobbins: 40
Master Teague: 40
Marcus Crowley: 10

Dobbins and Teague played an equal number of snaps for the first time this year against Maryland, but that was simply due to Dobbins not playing in the second half. The Buckeyes’ feature back played all but 11 snaps in the first half, while Teague also played the first 29 snaps of the second half.

Crowley played for 10 snaps in the fourth quarter, running for 82 yards and a touchdown on eight carries, before suffering an injury at the end of a 15-yard run that knocked him out of the game. Demario McCall, who played H-back for most of the second half of Saturday’s game, moved back to running back for the final seven snaps to take Crowley’s place in the lineup.

Wide Receivers

Garrett Wilson: 51
Chris Olave: 44 
K.J. Hill: 37
Demario McCall: 35
Jameson Williams: 33
Binjimen Victor: 24 
Sam Wiglusz: 17
Xavier Johnson: 15
Austin Kutscher: 6

With Austin Mack sidelined for a second consecutive game, Olave played all but seven first-half snaps at the Z receiver spot. Hill played all the first-half snaps at slot receiver in three-receiver formations, while Victor and Wilson rotated at the X receiver position.

Wilson continued to play with the second-team offense for the entire third quarter and played a career-high 51 snaps against the Terrapins as a result. Williams, also a true freshman, hit his own career-high with 33 snaps after rotating in for occasional snaps at Z in the first half and playing the entire third quarter opposite Wilson.

Garrett Wilson led all Ohio State wide receivers with 51 snaps played in Saturday's game.

McCall played only in the second half of Saturday’s game, but also played his highest snap count of the season by far, as he played 28 snaps at H-back before moving to running back for the final seven plays of the game. 

Wiglusz, Johnson and Kutscher, all walk-ons, were Ohio State’s wide receivers to finish out the game. 

Tight Ends

Jake Hausmann: 45
Luke Farrell: 25
Jeremy Ruckert: 24
Rashod Berry: 22
Mitch Rossi: 14
Derrick Malone: 2
Brock Davin: 1

Hausmann played a career-high 45 snaps against Maryland as he rotated in with the first-team offense – along with Farrell, Ruckert and Berry – while he also played most of the second half for Ohio State’s offense.

Farrell and Ruckert, the Buckeyes’ top two tight ends, both played only in the first half of Saturday’s game, while Berry – who also played four snaps on defense against the Terrapins – saw playing time into the third quarter. Walk-ons Rossi, Malone and Davin played only in the second half.

Ohio State continued to use a healthy dose of multi-tight end looks against Maryland; the Buckeyes had at least two tight ends on the field for just over a third of their offensive plays (33 of 96) against the Terrapins.

Offensive Linemen

Thayer Munford: 51
Jonah Jackson: 51
Josh Myers: 51
Wyatt Davis: 51
Branden Bowen: 51
Harry Miller: 46
Gavin Cupp: 46
Nicholas Petit-Frere: 46 
Dawand Jones: 36 
Matthew Jones: 30
Enokk Vimahi: 16
Kevin Woidke: 10
Max Wray: Special teams only

The starting offensive line of Munford, Jackson, Myers, Davis and Bowen played the entire first half of Saturday’s game, while three second-team offensive linemen – Miller at center, Cupp at right guard and Petit-Frere at right tackle – each played every snap of the second half.

Dawand Jones started the second half at left tackle. He was replaced by Woidke for two series after getting beat by Maryland (and former Ohio State) linebacker Keandre Jones for a strip sack that resulted in a turnover, but came back to finish out the third quarter and the entire fourth quarter for a career-high 36 snaps.

Matthew Jones started the second half at left guard, but left the game with an apparent leg injury in the fourth quarter. True freshman Enokk Vimahi took his place and played the first 16 snaps of his Ohio State career to finish out the game.

Defensive Ends

Zach Harrison: 19
Tyreke Smith: 18
Noah Potter: 16
Tyler Friday: 15
Aaron Cox: 13
Javontae Jean-Baptiste: 13
Alex Williams: 9
Rashod Berry: 4

With Chase Young suspended and Jonathon Cooper also out for Saturday’s game, Harrison made his first career start opposite Smith against Maryland. Friday and Jean-Baptiste also rotated in for first-half snaps against the Terrapins, and all four defensive ends – who were listed as co-starters on the depth chart for Saturday’s game – continued to play into the third quarter.

Berry, in his first playing time on defense since 2016, checked in for four snaps at defensive end, all in third-down pass-rushing situations. The first two came in 3-4 alignments for Ohio State’s defense, while he lined up as a traditional defensive end in a four-man front on his latter two snaps.

Potter, Cox and Williams saw all of their playing time in the second half, with Potter playing a career-high 16 snaps in his fourth game appearance of his freshman year.

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Defensive Tackles

Jerron Cage: 21
Antwuan Jackson: 18
Jashon Cornell: 12   
Davon Hamilton: 12
Zaid Hamdan: 11
Robert Landers: 9
Haskell Garrett: 8
Tommy Togiai: 8
Jaden McKenzie: 4

Hamilton and Cornell started Saturday’s game at defensive tackle while Landers and Garrett were the first to rotate in off the bench. Because Ohio State played only 25 first-half defensive snaps against Maryland, however, all four of them played season-low snap counts.

Jackson and Togiai finished out the first half and started the second half, while Jackson played the entire third quarter – first at 3-technique next to Togiai, then at nose tackle next to Cage. Cage’s 21 snaps, all of which came in the third and fourth quarters, were a career high for him, while Hamdan and McKenzie also mixed in for some second-half playing time.

Linebackers

Malik Harrison: 25
Tuf Borland: 23
Pete Werner: 18
Brendon White: 18
Dallas Gant: 17
K’Vaughan Pope: 16
Jahsen Wint: 14
Teradja Mitchell: 10
Craig Young: 7
Ben Schmiesing: 7 
Justin Hilliard: 5
Baron Browning: 1
Cade Kacherski: Special teams only
Trayvon Wilburn: Special teams only

Harrison played all 25 of Ohio State’s first-half defensive snaps at weakside linebacker on Saturday, while Borland played all but two snaps on which the Buckeyes went to their 3-4 pass-rushing package at middle linebacker. Werner played 18 of Ohio State’s first 25 snaps at strongside linebacker, but White also mixed in for some first-half playing time at that spot before continuing to play some snaps in the second half.

Browning, who typically rotates in with Borland at middle linebacker, played only one snap in Saturday’s game as an outside linebacker the first time the Buckeyes deployed their 3-4 package. Pope also played one first-half snap in that package, then started the second half at weakside linebacker.

Gant started the second half at middle linebacker. Mitchell rotated in at weakside linebacker and Hilliard and Wint rotated in at strongside linebacker in the third and fourth quarters, while Young finished out the game at Will linebacker and Schmiesing – in the first defensive playing time of his career – finished out the game at middle linebacker.

Cornerbacks

Amir Riep: 28
Shaun Wade: 25
Jeff Okudah: 23
Sevyn Banks: 21
Marcus Williamson: 21
Damon Arnette: 17  
Tyreke Johnson: 15
Cameron Brown: 9
Kevin Dever: Special teams only

Okudah and Arnette started at outside cornerback while Wade started at slot cornerback, per usual, and Wade played all 25 first-half defensive snaps while Okudah played all but two. Arnette played Ohio State’s first 17 snaps of the game before being replaced by Banks, while Brown replaced Okudah for two snaps before Okudah returned to the lineup to finish the second quarter.

Banks and Brown also started the second half at outside cornerback; Williamson eventually replaced Brown and Johnson eventually replaced Banks to finish out the game at those spots. Riep played the entire second half at slot cornerback.

Safeties

Jordan Fuller: 25
Marcus Hooker: 15
Josh Proctor: 13
Ryan Batsch: Special teams only
Owen Fankhauser: Special teams only
Bryson Shaw: Special teams only

The Buckeyes kept their substitutions simple at deep safety in Saturday’s game: Fuller played the entire first and second quarters, Proctor played the entire third quarter and Hooker played the entire fourth quarter.

Field Goals/Extra Points

Blake Haubeil or Dominic DiMaccio (kicker)
Drue Chrisman or Zack Hoover (holder)
Liam McCullough or Bradley Robinson (long snapper)
Luke Farrell or Mitch Rossi (wing)
Harry Miller (rocker)
Wyatt Davis or Matthew Jones or Max Wray (tackle)
Gavin Cupp (guard)
Jerron Cage (guard)
Dawand Jones (tackle)
Kevin Woidke (rocker)
Jeremy Ruckert (wing)

Jones became a starter on Ohio State’s place-kicking unit for the first time against Maryland, replacing Nicholas Petit-Frere at the right tackle spot. The rest of the unit remained the same from the Buckeyes’ previous game against Wisconsin.

DiMaccio, who had missed the only previous extra point attempt of his Ohio State career against Miami, attempted the final two extra points of Saturday’s game for the Buckeyes and made them both.

Kickoffs

Blake Haubeil or Dominic DiMaccio (kicker)
Jameson Williams or Kevin Dever (gunner)
K’Vaughan Pope or Trayvon Wilburn (gunner)
Amir Riep or Owen Fankhauser (gunner)
Sevyn Banks or Tyreke Johnson (gunner)
Dallas Gant or Cade Kacherski (gunner)
Marcus Williamson or Chris Olave or Sam Wiglusz (gunner)
Marcus Hooker or Bryson Shaw (gunner)
Josh Proctor or Xavier Johnson (gunner)
Jahsen Wint or Ryan Batsch (gunner)
Craig Young (gunner)

Williams and Young became starters on the kickoff coverage unit for the first time against Maryland, replacing Brendon White and Justin Hilliard from previous games. In the second half, the Buckeyes turned to mostly reserves to cover kickoffs, including seven walk-ons: Dever, Wilburn, Fankhauser, Kacherski, Wiglusz, Johnson and Batsch.

The most interesting wrinkle of the day for the kickoff team, though, came on the Buckeyes’ third kickoff of the day. Olave substituted into the game and lined up along the sideline, and Haubeil kicked the equivalent of a perfect pass to Olave that he caught for an onside kick 22 yards downfield, catching Maryland off-guard and keeping possession for the Buckeyes.

For their cumulative efforts, Ohio State named its entire kickoff unit as the special teams player of the game for Saturday’s win. In addition to the onside kick, the Buckeyes’ kickoff unit also had four tackles inside the 20-yard line and forced two fair catches.

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Kickoff Returns

Demario McCall (returner/blocker)
Marcus Crowley (returner/blocker)
Xavier Johnson (blocker)
Mitch Rossi (blocker)
Jeremy Ruckert or Jake Hausmann (blocker)
Dallas Gant or Marcus Williamson (blocker)
Teradja Mitchell or Sam Wiglusz (blocker)
Amir Riep (blocker)
Tyreke Johnson (blocker)
Jahsen Wint (blocker)
Josh Proctor (blocker)

Crowley, Mitchell, Johnson and Proctor joined the kickoff return unit against Maryland, replacing K.J. Hill, K’Vaughan Pope, Marcus Hooker and Jaylen Harris (who did not play at all against the Terrapins) from the Buckeyes’ previous game against Wisconsin. Both McCall and Crowley had opportunities to return kickoffs against the Terrapins; McCall had returns of 32 and 31 yards, while Crowley gained 17 yards on his lone return.

Punts

Drue Chrisman (punter)
Liam McCullough (long snapper)
Jake Hausmann (upback)
Mitch Rossi (upback)
Jeremy Ruckert (wing)
Justin Hilliard (guard)
Dallas Gant (guard)
Jahsen Wint (tackle)
Xavier Johnson (tackle)
Marcus Williamson (gunner)
Cameron Brown or Sam Wiglusz (gunner)

Chrisman’s only two punts against Maryland came in the second half of Saturday’s game, so the starters who typically line up on the punting unit were not on the field. Rossi played in place of Tuf Borland, Ruckert in place of Luke Farrell, Wint in place of Malik Harrison and Johnson in place of Jordan Fuller. Williamson, Brown and Wiglusz all took snaps as gunners, where Chris Olave and Jeff Okudah usually get the first reps.

Punt Blocks/Returns

Garrett Wilson (returner)
Jameson Williams (rusher/blocker)
Xavier Johnson (rusher/blocker)
Sevyn Banks (rusher/blocker)
Dallas Gant (rusher/blocker)
Jahsen Wint (rusher/blocker)
Shaun Wade or Tyreke Johnson (rusher/blocker)
Brendon White (rusher/blocker)
Cameron Brown (rusher/blocker)
Marcus Hooker (rusher/blocker)
Justin Hilliard (rusher/blocker)

After making a “strong push” for the starting job with his performance in previous weeks, in the words of Ryan Day, Wilson finally replaced Demario McCall as Ohio State’s lead punt returner against Maryland. He didn’t have any returns for positive yardage against Maryland but showed flashes of big-play ability in that phase in previous weeks, including a 52-yard return against Miami and a 23-yard return against Wisconsin.

Other new additions to the punt block unit from the previous game were Hooker and Williams, replacing Jaylen Harris and Marcus Williamson.

Extra Point Block

Alex Williams (blocker)
Antwuan Jackson (blocker) 
Tommy Togiai or Jaden McKenzie (blocker) 
Noah Potter (blocker) 
Javontae Jean-Baptiste or K’Vaughan Pope (blocker)
Teradja Mitchell or Dallas Gant (blocker)
Justin Hilliard or Brendon White (blocker) 
Amir Riep (blocker)
Sevyn Banks or Tyreke Johnson (blocker) 
Marcus Williamson (blocker)
Josh Proctor or Marcus Hooker (blocker)

Maryland only kicked two second-half extra points and no field goals on Saturday, so the Buckeyes didn’t have to do anything crazy with their kick-blocking unit against the Terrapins. For the most part, the players on the field for each of Maryland’s two players were the players who had just been on the field on defense.