Snap Counts: 19 Starters Play More Than 50 Snaps As 57 Total Ohio State Players See Game Action Against Penn State

While Ohio State was able to pull its starters in each of its previous four games, the Buckeyes never led by more than 10 points and ultimately won by just nine points, 33-24, in Saturday night’s game at Ohio Stadium. That meant a full night of work for many of Ohio State’s players for the first time since the third game of the year against Tulsa.

All of Ohio State’s 11 offensive starters played at least 54 snaps, while eight Buckeyes played more than 50 defensive snaps against Penn State. Only one starter on either side of the ball, nose tackle Ty Hamilton, played fewer than 46 snaps.

In turn, just 57 total Ohio State players saw game action against the Nittany Lions, tied with the lone loss of the season in the second game against Oregon for the lowest total of the year. Seventeen of those players appeared on special teams only as just 15 Buckeyes played offensive snaps while 25 Buckeyes saw the field on defense.

We break down all of those snaps below in our weekly Snap Counts feature. Offensive and defensive snap counts were provided by Pro Football Focus’ premium statistics, while special teams snap counts were compiled by Eleven Warriors data analyst Matt Gutridge.

Quarterbacks

C.J. Stroud: 72

While Kyle McCord and Jack Miller both saw snaps in each of Ohio State’s previous four games, Stroud was the only quarterback to play for the Buckeyes against Penn State. Out of Ohio State’s 68 offensive plays that were not nullified by penalties, Stroud attempted passes on exactly half of them, completing 22 of 34 passing attempts for 305 yards and a touchdown.

Running Backs

TreVeyon Henderson: 60
Miyan Williams: 12

Henderson played the highest snap count of his Ohio State career to date as he was on the field for all but 12 of the Buckeyes’ offensive snaps against Penn State and rushed for 152 yards on a career-high 28 rushing attempts.

With Master Teague unavailable to play for the second game in a row, Williams was the only other running back to see action against the Nittany Lions. He touched the ball on four of his 12 snaps, rushing for five yards on three carries and gaining 11 yards on his only catch of the game.

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Wide Receivers

Chris Olave: 69
Garrett Wilson: 67
Jaxon Smith-Njigba: 55
Chris Booker: Special teams only
Emeka Egbuka: Special teams only
Julian Fleming: Special teams only
Marvin Harrison Jr.: Special teams only
Xavier Johnson: Special teams only

Ohio State didn’t rotate at all at wide receiver against Penn State, playing only its three starters at the position for the entire game. Olave was on the field for all but three offensive snaps while Wilson was on the field for all but five, with Smith-Njigba mostly playing in the slot in three-receiver packages but occasionally moving outside to replace Wilson or Olave in the lineup on the occasions where they checked out of the game.

Tight Ends

Jeremy Ruckert: 66
Cade Stover: 22
Mitch Rossi: 9

Ruckert played his second-highest snap count of the season as he was on the field for all but six of Ohio State’s offensive plays and caught three passes for 57 yards against Penn State. Stover played more than 20 snaps for the sixth game in a row, including 16 plays where he was on the field with Ruckert as the Buckeyes utilized multi-tight end packages on numerous occasions throughout the game.

Rossi also mixed in for nine snaps – some as a tight end and some as a fullback – in heavy packages. The Buckeyes ran the ball on all nine of his plays on the field.

Jeremy Ruckert played his second-highest snap count of the season against Penn State.

Offensive Linemen

Nicholas Petit-Frere: 72
Thayer Munford: 72
Luke Wypler: 72
Dawand Jones: 72
Paris Johnson Jr.: 54
Matt Jones: 18
Josh Fryar: Special teams only
Donovan Jackson: Special teams only
Jakob James: Special teams only
Trey Leroux: Special teams only

While Matt Jones rotated in at both guard spots in each of Ohio State’s previous three games, he rotated only with Johnson at right guard against Penn State, playing exactly one-fourth of the snaps at right guard in Johnson’s place.

Petit-Frere, Munford, Wypler and Dawand Jones each played all of Ohio State’s 72 offensive snaps. While Petit-Frere briefly checked out of the game to have his hand retaped in the first quarter, he didn’t end up missing a single snap – though Munford was set to play left tackle and Matt Jones was set to play left guard in his place – as Penn State called a timeout before Ohio State ran its next play.

Defensive Ends

Zach Harrison: 64
Tyreke Smith: 53
Javontae Jean-Baptiste: 31
J.T. Tuimoloau: 22
Jack Sawyer: 7

Harrison and Smith were each on the field for a majority of Ohio State’s defensive plays against Penn State as Smith returned to the starting lineup for the first time since the Tulsa game while Harrison made his seventh start of the year. In addition to playing at defensive end, Harrison also lined up at defensive tackle for four plays in pass-rushing situations in a Rushmen package – something the Buckeyes haven’t used much this year – that featured Harrison alongside Haskell Garrett inside with two defensive ends outside.

Jean-Baptiste played the third-most snaps among defensive ends as Ohio State relied primarily on its experienced veteran defensive ends against Penn State, though Tuimoloau played his fourth-highest snap count of the year as the No. 4 defensive end in the rotation. Tuimoloau also played four snaps at defensive tackle in pass-rushing situations, including one on which he came up with a fourth-down sack on Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford.

Sawyer, who had played at least 15 snaps in each of Ohio State’s last five games, played his lowest snap count since the first two games of the season.

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Defensive Tackles

Haskell Garrett: 46
Taron Vincent: 32
Jerron Cage: 27
Antwuan Jackson: 26
Ty Hamilton: 20
Tyleik Williams: 9

Hamilton made his first career start at nose tackle but ended up playing only the fifth-most snaps among defensive tackles against Penn State as the veteran quartet of Garrett, Vincent, Cage and Jackson played most of the snaps. 

Garrett was the only defensive tackle to play a majority of Ohio State’s defensive snaps against Penn State. Vincent rotated in with Garrett at 3-technique while he also played a few snaps in the nose tackle rotation. Cage played his highest snap count of the season and the most snaps among nose tackles and made the play of the game when he returned a fumble 57 yards for a touchdown, while Jackson also played just under a third of the snaps at nose tackle.

Like Sawyer, Williams played only single-digit snaps for the first time since the Oregon game after playing at least 15 snaps in each of the Buckeyes’ previous five games.

Linebackers

Teradja Mitchell: 58
Cody Simon: 56
Tommy Eichenberg: 25
Steele Chambers: 22
Palaie Gaoteote: 6
Craig Young: 3
Cade Kacherski: Special teams only

Mitchell and Simon reprised their usual roles as Ohio State’s two starting inside linebackers and both of them were on the field for a majority of the Buckeyes’ defensive plays against Penn State.

Chambers likely would have played the third-most snaps among linebackers – he actually started the second half over Mitchell at weakside linebacker – if he had not been ejected for targeting on the first play of the third quarter, which will also keep him out for the first half of the Buckeyes’ next game against Nebraska. After his ejection, Ohio State’s linebacker rotation in its base defense was shortened to just three linebackers for the rest of the second half, with Eichenberg mixing in at middle linebacker.

Gaoteote was brought into the game for six snaps in pass-rushing subpackages, and he took advantage of his chance at some playing time, combining with Antwuan Jackson for the first sack of his Ohio State career. Young also played three snaps at linebacker in Ohio State’s dime coverage package; while Young’s primary position is safety, he played only as a linebacker on defense against Penn State.

Teradja Mitchell played the most snaps among linebackers for the fifth time this season against Penn State.

Cornerbacks

Denzel Burke: 75
Sevyn Banks: 51
Cameron Brown: 44
Demario McCall: Special teams only
Ryan Watts: Special teams only

With Banks and Brown healthy after both missed time with injuries earlier in the season, Ohio State was able to use a true three-cornerback rotation against Penn State, with Burke, Banks and Brown all seeing extensive playing time. 

Burke played the most snaps at outside cornerback as he has in every game but one for the Buckeyes this season, and Banks started his fifth consecutive game opposite Burke, but Brown also played more than half of Ohio State’s defensive snaps as he rotated in for regular playing time – mostly in place of Banks but also occasionally in place of Burke.

Safeties

Ronnie Hickman: 83
Bryson Shaw: 82
Marcus Williamson: 47
Lathan Ransom: 33
Cameron Martinez: 3
Marcus Hooker: Special teams only
Kourt Williams: Special teams only

Hickman and Shaw played the most snaps of any Buckeyes against Penn State as Hickman was on the field for all but one defensive play while Shaw was on the field for all but two. While Hickman primarily plays bullet and Shaw primarily plays free safety, their roles are often interchangeable as Hickman also played deep safety regularly against the Nittany Lions while Shaw lined up in the box on some plays.

Williamson started his third consecutive game at cover safety while Ransom also saw regular playing time in the rotation at that spot. Martinez, like Young, played his only three snaps of the game in the Buckeyes’ dime package, in which he lines up opposite Ransom as a second cover safety/slot cornerback.

Field Goals/Extra Points

Noah Ruggles (kicker): 7
Jesse Mirco (holder): 7
Bradley Robinson (long snapper): 7
Mitch Rossi (wing): 7
Matt Jones (end): 7
Josh Fryar (tackle/guard): 7
Dawand Jones (guard): 7
Donovan Jackson (tackle): 7
Jakob James (end): 7
Cade Stover (wing): 7
Nicholas Petit-Frere (tackle): 4
Trey Leroux (guard): 3

James made his second consecutive start on the field goal unit in place of Enokk Vimahi, who was unavailable for a second straight game, while Leroux started in place of Paris Johnson Jr., who did not play on the field goal unit against Penn State after starting on it for Ohio State’s first seven games of the year. Petit-Frere replaced Leroux in the second half, when the Buckeyes shifted their blocking arrangement to account for how the Nittany Lions were attempting to block their kicks.

Everyone on the unit did their jobs effectively as Ruggles remained perfect on the season by making all four of his field goals and all three of his extra points, and he gave the rest of the unit credit after the game, saying “they make me look good.”

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Kickoffs

Noah Ruggles (kicker): 8
Chris Booker: 8
Marcus Hooker: 8
Xavier Johnson: 8
Cade Kacherski: 8
Demario McCall: 8
Cade Stover: 8
Ryan Watts: 8
Kourt Williams: 7
Cameron Martinez: 5
Marcus Williamson: 5
Palaie Gaoteote: 3
Teradja Mitchell: 3
Ronnie Hickman: 1

Ruggles, Booker, Hooker, Johnson, Kacherski, McCall, Stover and Watts, who have been all regulars on the kickoff unit this season, were each on the field for every Ohio State kickoff against Penn State. Hickman, Mitchell and Williamson all started the game on the kickoff coverage unit, but Gaoteote, Martinez and Williams also mixed in for snaps.

Kickoff Returns

Emeka Egbuka (returner): 4
Chris Booker: 4
Xavier Johnson: 4
Cade Kacherski: 4
Mitch Rossi: 4
Cade Stover: 4
Ryan Watts: 4
Marcus Williamson: 4
Craig Young: 4
Steele Chambers: 2
Julian Fleming: 2
Marvin Harrison Jr.: 2
Miyan Williams: 2

Fleming started the game on the kickoff return unit to play his first snaps since Ohio State’s third game of the season against Tulsa, but was replaced by Harrison for Penn State’s two second-half kickoffs. Williams took Chambers’ place for Penn State’s second-half kickoffs after Chambers was ejected from the game.

The rest of Ohio State’s kickoff return unit remained unchanged from previous games. Egbuka did not attempt to return any of Penn State’s four kickoffs.

Punts

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

Smith-Njigba joined fellow starting wide receiver Olave as a gunner on Ohio State’s punt coverage unit against Penn State. The rest of Ohio State’s punting unit remained unchanged from previous games, and the same 11 players were on the field for all three of Mirco’s punts, all of which were fair caught by Jahan Dotson at Penn State’s 11-yard line.

Punt Blocks/Returns

Garrett Wilson (returner): 3
Chris Booker: 3
Denzel Burke: 3
Emeka Egbuka: 3
Marvin Harrison Jr.: 3
Marcus Hooker: 3
Xavier Johnson: 3
Cade Kacherski: 3
Demario McCall: 3
Kourt Williams: 3
Craig Young: 3
Jaxon Smith-Njigba (returner): 1
Sevyn Banks: 1
Cameron Brown: 1
Haskell Garrett: 1
Zach Harrison: 1
Ronnie Hickman: 1
Antwuan Jackson: 1
Teradja Mitchell: 1
Lathan Ransom: 1
Cody Simon: 1
J.T. Tuimoloau: 1

No Buckeye player was on the field for all four of Penn State’s punts, but the 11 players who made up the core lineup for the punt block/return team were all on the field for three out of four punts. The Buckeyes played punt safe with most of their regular defensive players on the field for Penn State’s final punt, while Smith-Njigba also replaced Wilson as the returner to field that punt. Wilson’s only punt return attempt of the game went for a loss of one yard.

Field Goal/Extra Point Block

Ronnie Hickman: 5
Antwuan Jackson: 5
Bryson Shaw: 5
J.T. Tuimoloau: 5
Sevyn Banks: 4
Denzel Burke: 4
Zach Harrison: 4
Teradja Mitchell: 4
Haskell Garrett: 3
Tommy Eichenberg: 3
Marcus Williamson: 3
Cameron Brown: 2
Lathan Ransom: 2
Cody Simon: 2
Taron Vincent: 2
Steele Chambers: 1
Javontae Jean-Baptiste: 1

Tuimoloau, who’s been on the field for every opposing field goal and extra point attempt for the last four games, was substituted in for each of Penn State’s two field goal attempts – one of which Jordan Stout made and one of which he missed – and three extra points on Saturday. Jackson, Hickman and Shaw were also on the field for all of Stout’s field goal and extra point attempts, but the other players varied based upon who had been on the field with the defense on the previous play.