Snap Counts: Ohio State Plays 57 Buckeyes, Including 26 Players on Defense, in Second-Game Loss to Oregon

In the week leading up to Ohio State’s second game of the season against Oregon, Ryan Day and Kerry Coombs suggested that the Buckeyes could shorten their rotations on defense. Instead, they played even more defenders against the Ducks than they did in the season opener against Minnesota.

Even though the Buckeyes trailed for most of the game in a contest they ultimately lost 35-28, Ohio State utilized 26 different defensive players in Saturday’s home opener against Oregon. Tyleik Williams and Palaie Gaoteote made their Ohio State debuts, Cameron Brown played his first game of the season and K’Vaughan Pope saw his first snaps of the season at linebacker, while Jacolbe Cowan, Ryan Watts and Demario McCall were the only defenders who played against Minnesota that didn’t play any defensive snaps against Oregon.

While more did not prove to be better for Ohio State’s defense on Saturday, as the Buckeyes gave up five touchdowns on 505 yards, Ohio State did shorten its running back rotation and played just 15 total players on offense. Including special teams, one fewer Buckeye played against Oregon as Ohio State utilized 57 total players against the Ducks; 58 total Buckeyes saw game action at Minnesota.

As we do every week here at Eleven Warriors, we’ve rounded up the snap counts that every Buckeye played on offense, defense and special teams against Oregon.

All offensive and defensive snap counts are courtesy of Pro Football Focus’ premium statistics. Special teams snap counts were accumulated by Eleven Warriors data analyst Matt Gutridge, and all analysis is our own.

Quarterbacks

C.J. Stroud: 86

Although he revealed after the game that he was playing hurt, Stroud took every snap at quarterback for Ohio State against Oregon, and he threw passes on well over half of them. Stroud attempted 54 passes, the second-most ever for an Ohio State quarterback in a single game behind only Dwayne Haskins’ 73 passing attempts against Purdue in 2018 (a game that the Buckeyes also lost). He completed 35 of those passes for 484 yards; both of those numbers also rank as the second-most ever for an Ohio State quarterback in a single game.

Running Backs

Miyan Williams: 48
TreVeyon Henderson: 38
Marcus Crowley: Special teams only

After using four running backs in the season opener at Minnesota, Tony Alford shortened his rotation to just two running backs against Oregon. Williams and Henderson both made their case for being the Buckeyes’ best running backs with touchdowns of 70-plus yards against the Gophers, and they were rewarded with all of the running back snaps against the Ducks.

Williams started for a second consecutive game to begin the season and ran for 77 yards on 14 carries while Henderson came off the bench and ran for 54 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.

Master Teague, who started the Buckeyes’ first six games at running back in 2020, did not play a single snap against Oregon.

Wide Receivers

Garrett Wilson: 85
Chris Olave: 81
Jaxon Smith-Njigba: 80
Julian Fleming: 5
Marvin Harrison Jr.: 1
Chris Booker: Special teams only
Xavier Johnson: Special teams only

Ohio State relied almost exclusively on its starting wide receivers against Oregon. Wilson played all but one offensive snap, Olave played all but five offensive snaps and Smith-Njigba played all but six – and all three of them topped 100 receiving yards, becoming the first trio of Buckeyes to reach that mark in the same game.

Fleming was the only other Ohio State wide receiver to catch a pass against Oregon; he played each of the five snaps on which Olave was off the field at Z receiver and caught one pass for 10 yards. Harrison played just one snap in place of Wilson at X receiver. Egbuka, who played at slot receiver on only the final possession against Minnesota, did not get on the field for any offensive snaps against Oregon.

Tight Ends

Jeremy Ruckert: 82
Cade Stover: 10
Mitch Rossi: Special teams only

Ohio State leaned heavily on Ruckert against Oregon, too, keeping him on the field for all but four snaps. That left just 10 snaps for Stover, the only other tight end who played on offense against the Ducks, as Ohio State used two-tight end formations just six times in 86 total plays.

Gee Scott Jr., who played one offensive snap and saw playing time on special teams against Minnesota, did not see the field against Oregon.

Offensive Linemen

Nicholas Petit-Frere: 86
Thayer Munford: 86
Luke Wypler: 86
Paris Johnson Jr.: 86
Dawand Jones: 86
Josh Fryar: Special teams only
Donovan Jackson: Special teams only
Matthew Jones: Special teams only
Enokk Vimahi: Special teams only

With Harry Miller unavailable for the second game in a row, Ohio State utilized the same offensive line against Oregon as it did against Minnesota: Petit-Frere at left tackle, Munford at left guard, Wypler at center, Johnson at right guard and Jones at right tackle. Each of them were on the field for all 86 of the Buckeyes’ offensive snaps.

Defensive Ends

Zach Harrison: 55
Tyreke Smith: 51
Javontae Jean-Baptiste: 33
J.T. Tuimoloau: 12
Jack Sawyer: 3

Ohio State’s defensive end rotation didn’t change much from game one to game two. As they did against Minnesota, Harrison and Smith started against Oregon and both played a majority of snaps, while Jean-Baptiste also rotated in regularly off the bench. 

Tuimoloau was the fourth defensive end in the rotation, checking into the game for a dozen snaps, including one snap at defensive tackle. Sawyer played only sparingly for the second game in a row to start his Ohio State career, checking in for just three snaps.

Defensive Tackles

Haskell Garrett: 55
Taron Vincent: 49
Antwuan Jackson: 27
Ty Hamilton: 12
Tyleik Williams: 3

After coming off the bench against Minnesota, Garrett returned to the starting lineup and played the most snaps of any defensive tackle against Oregon. While Jackson and Vincent tied for the most snaps played among defensive tackles against the Gophers, Garrett and Vincent played the majority of Ohio State’s defensive snaps against the Ducks, with Jackson rotating in for 36 percent of the Buckeyes’ 75 defensive plays.

Hamilton remained the fourth defensive tackle in the rotation, though his playing time decreased slightly from 20 snaps against Minnesota to 12 snaps against Oregon. Williams, a true freshman, made his Ohio State debut with three snaps at nose tackle against the Ducks.

Linebackers

Teradja Mitchell: 61
Tommy Eichenberg: 38
Cody Simon: 35
Steele Chambers: 9
K’Vaughan Pope: 7
Dallas Gant: 5
Palaie Gaoteote: 4
Cade Kacherski: Special teams only

Ohio State’s linebacker rotation ballooned from five players to seven against Oregon, as Pope played his first seven defensive snaps of the year while Gaoteote also made his Ohio State debut just hours after being cleared to play by the NCAA. Gaoteote’s playing time came in as a situational capacity, as he was brought in to play Sam linebacker on select third-down plays.

Mitchell played the most snaps of any linebacker by a wide margin for the second game in a row, while Eichenberg and Simon split snaps at Mike linebacker. Chambers played exactly nine defensive snaps for the second game in a row while spelling Mitchell at Will linebacker.

Gant, who has played mostly in three-linebacker packages as a Sam linebacker, saw his playing time decrease significantly from the first game to the second game, as he played just five snaps against Oregon after playing 41 snaps against Minnesota.

Cornerback

Denzel Burke: 74
Cameron Brown: 58
Lejond Cavazos: 19
Demario McCall: Special teams only
Ryan Watts: Special teams only

Burke played the most snaps of any cornerback for a second game in a row to start his Ohio State career, and the most snaps of any defensive player against Oregon, as the true freshman was on the field for all but one of 75 defensive snaps on Saturday.

Brown, who missed the season opener with an undisclosed injury, started opposite Burke and was also on the field for most of Ohio State’s defensive plays against Oregon. Cavazos was the only other outside cornerback to rotate into the lineup on Saturday.

Although he was not listed as unavailable to play, projected starting cornerback Sevyn Banks did not see any playing time for the second game in a row to start the season. Watts, who played 49 snaps at cornerback against Minnesota, and McCall, who played 15 snaps at cornerback against the Gophers, also did not play any defensive snaps against Oregon.

Safeties

Ronnie Hickman: 67
Lathan Ransom: 57
Bryson Shaw: 54
Josh Proctor: 21
Marcus Williamson: 9
Craig Young: 7
Marcus Hooker: Special teams only
Cameron Martinez: Special teams only

Hickman played the second-most snaps of any defender against Oregon. He played the vast majority of snaps at the bullet position for the second game in a row, with Young rotating in for just seven defensive plays.

After playing just half of Ohio State’s defensive plays as the starting cover safety against Minnesota, Ransom was on the field for more three-fourths of the Buckeyes’ defensive snaps on Saturday. Williamson also played his first defensive snaps of the season at the position called cover safety – though both Ransom and Williamson lined up exclusively as slot cornerbacks against Oregon – as the Buckeyes had five defensive backs on the field far more than they had three linebackers in the game against the Ducks.

Shaw also played a majority of Ohio State’s defensive snaps against Oregon as he made his first career start at free safety. Proctor, who was listed as a game-time decision due to a shoulder injury, entered the game in the second quarter but was knocked out of the game – and for the rest of the season – after suffering a leg fracture in the third quarter.

Extra Points

Noah Ruggles (kicker): 4
Jesse Mirco (holder): 4
Bradley Robinson (long snapper): 4
Mitch Rossi (wing): 4
Matthew Jones (end): 4
Josh Fryar (tackle): 4
Dawand Jones (guard): 4
Donovan Jackson (guard): 4
Paris Johnson Jr. (tackle): 4
Enokk Vimahi (end): 4
Cade Stover (wing): 4

Ohio State didn’t kick any field goals against Oregon, so Ruggles’ only action against the Ducks came on extra points after the Buckeyes’ four touchdowns. Ohio State made no changes to its place-kicking unit from the season opener.

Kickoffs

Noah Ruggles (kicker): 5
Chris Booker: 5
Julian Fleming: 5
Ronnie Hickman: 5
Marcus Hooker: 5
Cade Kacherski: 5
K’Vaughan Pope: 5
Ryan Watts: 5
Xavier Johnson: 3
Teradja Mitchell: 3
Marcus Williamson: 3
Marcus Crowley: 2
Cameron Martinez: 2
Cade Stover: 2

Ruggles, Booker, Fleming, Hooker and Kacherski have all been on the field for every Ohio State kickoff through two games this season. Crowley had been on the field for every kickoff until he was injured on the opening kickoff of the third quarter, after which he did not return to the game. Everyone who was on the field for a kickoff against Oregon was also on the field in kickoff coverage against Minnesota.

Kickoff Returns

Emeka Egbuka (returner): 6
Chris Booker: 6
Steele Chambers: 6
Julian Fleming: 6
Marvin Harrison Jr.: 6
Xavier Johnson: 6
Cade Kacherski: 6
Mitch Rossi: 6
Cade Stover: 6
Craig Young: 6
Marcus Williamson: 6

Egbuka replaced fellow true freshman TreVeyon Henderson as Ohio State’s kickoff returner against Oregon and flashed potential in the process, gaining 29 and 27 yards on the two kickoffs he returned. Everyone else on the return unit returned from the season opener.

Punts

Jesse Mirco (punter): 3
Bradley Robinson (long snapper): 3
Tommy Eichenberg (upback): 3
Mitch Rossi (upback): 3
Xavier Johnson (guard): 3
Steele Chambers (guard): 3
Dallas Gant (tackle): 3
Lathan Ransom (tackle): 3
Jeremy Ruckert (wing): 3
Chris Olave (gunner): 3
Julian Fleming (gunner): 2
Jaxon Smith-Njigba (gunner): 1

Mirco was a bright spot for the Buckeyes in Saturday’s loss, downing each of his first two punts of the game at the 1-yard line with assistance from Smith-Njigba and Fleming, who both took reps opposite Olave at gunner in place of Josh Proctor, who lined up opposite Olave against Minnesota. The rest of the punting unit remained unchanged from the season opener.

Punt Blocks/Returns

Garrett Wilson (returner): 6
Lathan Ransom: 6
Denzel Burke: 5
Lejond Cavazos: 5
Steele Chambers: 4
Marcus Hooker: 4
Xavier Johnson: 4
Cade Kacherski: 4
Cameron Martinez: 4
Craig Young: 4
Ryan Watts: 4
Ronnie Hickman: 2
Tyreke Smith: 2
Taron Vincent: 2
Cameron Brown: 1
Tommy Eichenberg: 1
Haskell Garrett: 1
Zach Harrison: 1
Antwuan Jackson: 1
Javontae Jean-Baptiste: 1
Demario McCall: 1
Teradja Mitchell: 1
K’Vaughan Pope: 1
Cody Simon: 1

Wilson continues to serve as the Buckeyes’ lead punt returner against Oregon, while the Buckeyes’ primary punt block/return unit also included Ransom, Burke, Cavazos, Chambers, Hooker, Johnson, Kacherski, Martinez, Young and Watts. Ohio State kept its defenders on the field to play in a punt safe formation for two of Oregon’s first three punts.

Extra Point Block

Denzel Burke: 5
Ronnie Hickman: 5
Haskell Garrett: 5
Antwuan Jackson: 5
Teradja Mitchell: 5
Lathan Ransom: 5
Bryson Shaw: 5
Lejond Cavazos: 4
Tommy Eichenberg: 4
Zach Harrison: 4
Tyreke Smith: 3
Javontae Jean-Baptiste: 2
Cameron Brown: 1
Cody Simon: 1

Oregon didn't attempt any field goals against Ohio State, and Ohio State's kick-blocking unit for each of the Ducks' five extra points consisted of players who also saw regular playing time on defense on Saturday.