Snap Counts: 10 Different Buckeyes Play 75 Snaps As 53 Total Ohio State Players See Action in Four-Quarter Battle with Maryland

As was the case in all three of their road games during the second half of the regular season, Ohio State never led by more than two scores in College Park on Saturday. The Buckeyes didn’t seal their victory over the Terrapins until Zach Harrison strip-sacked Taulia Tagovailoa and Steele Chambers caught the ball in the end zone to give Ohio State a 43-30 advantage with just nine seconds remaining.

Only 53 total Buckeyes saw playing time in College Park as a result. Seventeen Buckeyes got in the game on offense and 23 defensive players logged snaps while another 13 Ohio State players contributed only on special teams. C.J. Stroud, Emeka Egbuka, Cade Stover, Paris Johnson Jr., Donovan Jackson, Luke Wypler and Dawand Jones each played all 75 snaps on offense while Chambers, Tommy Eichenberg and Ronnie Hickman played all 75 snaps on defense.

Aside from Dallan Hayden, who saw extended playing time at running back for the second game in a row, most of the Buckeyes who played substantial snaps against Maryland were players who have been key players all year long. Ohio State leaned on the players it trusts most to lead it through a challenging road battle and earns its 11th win of the season.

The snap counts below are compiled using a combination of data from Pro Football Focus’ premium statistics and our own film review for offensive and defensive snap counts, while special teams snap counts were tabulated by Eleven Warriors data analyst Matt Gutridge. All snap counts should be considered unofficial as they were not provided by Ohio State.

Quarterbacks

C.J. Stroud: 75

Stroud played a season-high 75 snaps as he took every snap of the game at quarterback for the fourth time this season. He attempted passes on 30 of those snaps, completing 18 of them for 241 yards and one touchdown.

Running Backs

Dallan Hayden: 43
TreVeyon Henderson: 28

Henderson returned to the starting lineup after missing Ohio State’s previous two games but played only one snap in the second half as he continued to battle a foot injury. While Henderson scored a 31-yard touchdown on a screen pass on Ohio State’s opening possession, he was clearly hampered by his injury as he ran for only 19 yards on 11 carries.

With Henderson limited and Miyan Williams sidelined by the ankle injury he suffered against  Indiana, Hayden played his most snaps yet as a Buckeye and carried the load for the Ohio State offense in the second half, running the ball 27 times for 146 yards and three touchdowns. Mitch Rossi also lined up at running back for four snaps, all of which came on passing plays (though Stroud scrambled and ran on one of them).

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Wide Receivers

Emeka Egbuka: 75
Marvin Harrison Jr.: 73
Julian Fleming: 44
Xavier Johnson: 2
Jayden Ballard: Special teams only

Ohio State leaned almost exclusively on its top three healthy wide receivers against Maryland. Egbuka played all 75 of Ohio State’s offensive snaps. Harrison was on the field for all but two offensive plays on which he was replaced by Johnson, both of which were running plays on which Johnson lined up as a tight end. Fleming was on the field for all of Ohio State’s three-receiver sets but did not play in any two-receiver lineups against the Terps.

Tight Ends

Cade Stover: 75
Mitch Rossi: 31
Gee Scott Jr.: 3
Joe Royer: Special teams only

Stover played every single offensive snap of the game for the first time this season as his 75 plays at tight end marked a career-high for the fourth-year Buckeye. Rossi set a new career-high in offensive snaps for the second week in a row as he played 31 total snaps between the tight end, fullback and running back positions. Scott played only single-digit snaps for the third time this season as he entered the game for only three plays in multi-tight end formations.

Offensive Linemen

Paris Johnson Jr.: 75
Donovan Jackson: 75
Luke Wypler: 75
Dawand Jones: 75
Matt Jones: 71
Enokk Vimahi: 4
Josh Fryar: 1
Jakob James: Special teams only
Zen Michalski: Special teams only

The five starting offensive linemen played every snap of the game for Ohio State’s offense until Jones got rolled up on during the Buckeyes’ final possession and was injured seriously enough that he had to be carted back to the locker room and left the stadium on crutches. Vimahi took his place at right guard for Ohio State’s last four offensive plays of the game.

One week after making his first career start against Indiana, Fryar played only one snap as a sixth offensive lineman in the “Bison” package against Maryland.

Defensive Ends

Zach Harrison: 68
JT Tuimoloau: 64
Jack Sawyer: 29
Javontae Jean-Baptiste: 7
Tyler Friday: 3
Caden Curry: Special teams only

Harrison and Tuimoloau were both on the field for a majority of snaps for the fourth game in a row and both played career-high snap counts as the Buckeyes relied heavily on their starting defensive ends against Maryland. Sawyer was the only other defensive end to play double-digit snaps against the Terrapins, and a portion of his snaps came as a Jack linebacker on plays where Harrison and Tuimoloau were also both on the field as the defensive ends in a three-man front.

Jean-Baptiste played only single-digit snaps for the first time all season against Maryland. Friday played his only three snaps of the game during a red-zone series in the second quarter.

Defensive Tackles

Taron Vincent: 59
Ty Hamilton: 35
Tyleik Williams: 14
Mike Hall Jr.: 13
Jerron Cage: 9

Vincent played a career-high 59 snaps in his return to his home state as he was on the field for all but 16 of Ohio State’s defensive plays against Maryland. Hamilton made his third consecutive start and played the second-most snaps among defensive tackles for the third game in a row.

Williams played the most snaps among backup defensive tackles for a third straight game while Hall played fewer than 20 snaps for the third game in a row as the Buckeyes continued to limit his workload due to injuries. 

Linebackers

Steele Chambers: 75
Tommy Eichenberg: 75
Cody Simon: 6
Palaie Gaoteote IV: 5
C.J. Hicks: Special teams only

Chambers and Eichenberg both played every snap of the game as Ohio State’s two starting linebackers. Eichenberg never left the field even though he was playing with two broken hands, according to Zach Harrison.

Simon and Gaoteote did not rotate in for any snaps with the base defense as they did against Indiana, but both of them saw playing time alongside Chambers and Eichenberg in Ohio State’s goal-line package against Maryland, while Simon played one additional snap as a Sam linebacker.

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Cornerbacks

Cameron Brown: 62
Denzel Burke: 54
Jyaire Brown: 18
Jordan Hancock: 8
JK Johnson: Special teams only

Cameron Brown played a season-high 62 snaps while Burke topped 50 snaps for the fourth time in 2022 as Ohio State’s starting cornerbacks against Maryland.

Hancock mixed in for eight snaps during the first half as Ohio State’s third cornerback into the game, but did not play at all in the second half after he was beat deep multiple times. Jyaire Brown replaced Burke midway through the opening defensive series of the third quarter and remained in the game for Maryland’s next three possessions before Burke and Cameron Brown played the rest of the snaps at CB to finish out the game.

JK Johnson, who had played at least 18 snaps in the cornerback rotation in each of Ohio State’s previous nine games, played only on special teams against Maryland for the first time since the season opener against Notre Dame.

Safeties

Ronnie Hickman: 75
Lathan Ransom: 64
Tanner McCalister: 57
Cameron Martinez: 15
Josh Proctor: 10
Kye Stokes: Special teams only
Sonny Styles: Special teams only

Hickman, like Chambers and Eichenberg, played every defensive snap of the game for the third time in four weeks. Ransom was replaced by Proctor for two defensive series after he broke his thumb on the first play of the game, but returned for Maryland’s fourth possession of the day and played every defensive snap at bandit from that point forward.

Martinez played at least 15 snaps in the nickel safety rotation for the third week in a row, including two plays in the final minute of the game as a sixth defensive back, though McCalister played his second-highest snap count as a Buckeye as the starting nickel safety.

Field Goals/Extra Points

Noah Ruggles (kicker): 8
Jesse Mirco (holder): 8
Mason Arnold (long snapper): 8
Caden Curry (wing): 8
Zen Michalski (end): 8
Paris Johnson Jr. (tackle): 8
Donovan Jackson (guard): 8
Enokk Vimahi (guard): 8
Josh Fryar (tackle): 8
Jakob James (end): 8
Cade Stover (wing): 8

Ohio State did not make any changes to its placekicking unit from its previous game against Indiana, with Fryar taking Dawand Jones’ place up front for the second game in a row. Ruggles made all three of his field goal attempts and four of his five extra point attempts, though this unit gave up its first block of the season when Maryland blocked Ruggles’ first extra point attempt of the fourth quarter and returned it for two points.

Kickoffs

Jayden Fielding (kicker): 9
Caden Curry: 9
Palaie Gaoteote IV: 9
JK Johnson: 9
Xavier Johnson: 9
Tanner McCalister: 9
Josh Proctor: 9
Cody Simon: 9
Sonny Styles: 9
C.J. Hicks: 8
Ronnie Hickman: 5
Kye Stokes: 4
Cameron Brown: 1

Ohio State utilized the same group of starters on kickoff coverage against Maryland as it did against Indiana, with Stokes replacing Hickman for four kickoffs and Brown taking Hicks’ place in the lineup on the Buckeyes’ final kickoff of the game.

Kickoff Returns

Xavier Johnson (returner): 6
Jayden Ballard: 6
Steele Chambers: 6
Caden Curry: 6
Palaie Gaoteote IV: 6
C.J. Hicks: 6
Cameron Martinez: 6
Gee Scott Jr.: 6
Cody Simon: 6
Sonny Styles: 6
Julian Fleming: 3
Dallan Hayden: 3

Ohio State began the game with the same 11 players on the kickoff return unit as it used against Indiana, but Hayden replaced Fleming on the field for Maryland’s final three kickoffs of the day. Hayden made a key block to help spring a 46-yard kickoff return by Johnson – Ohio State’s longest kick return of the season so far – in the fourth quarter.

Punts

Jesse Mirco (punter): 3
Mason Arnold (long snapper): 3
Tommy Eichenberg (upback): 3
Mitch Rossi (upback): 3
Steele Chambers (guard): 3
Cody Simon (guard): 3
Emeka Egbuka (tackle): 3
Xavier Johnson (tackle): 3
Cade Stover (wing): 3
Jayden Ballard (gunner): 3
Josh Proctor (gunner): 3

Ohio State made no changes to its punting unit against Maryland as Mirco punted the ball three times for an average of 41 yards with one punt downed inside the 20-yard line.

Punt Blocks/Returns

Emeka Egbuka (returner): 5
Cameron Brown: 3
Steele Chambers: 3
Tommy Eichenberg: 3
Zach Harrison: 3
Ronnie Hickman: 3
Lathan Ransom: 3
Taron Vincent: 3
Denzel Burke: 2
Caden Curry: 2
Palaie Gaoteote IV: 2
Jordan Hancock: 2
C.J. Hicks: 2
JK Johnson: 2
Xavier Johnson: 2
Joe Royer: 2
Gee Scott Jr.: 2
Sonny Styles: 2
JT Tuimoloau: 2
Jyaire Brown: 1
Jerron Cage: 1
Mike Hall Jr.: 1
Ty Hamilton: 1
Cameron Martinez: 1
Josh Proctor: 1
Jack Sawyer: 1

Ohio State kept its defense on the field to play punt safe on three of Maryland’s five punts, but the Buckeyes’ first attempt at blocking a punt worked to perfection as Ransom blocked his second punt in as many weeks (with Xavier Johnson recovering the blocked punt for a second straight week). Ransom and Johnson were joined on the primary punt block unit by Curry, Gaoteote, Hancock, Hicks, JK Johnson, Royer, Scott and Styles while Egbuka served as the deep returner for all five Maryland punts.

Extra Point Block

Cameron Brown: 4
Denzel Burke: 4
Steele Chambers: 4
Tommy Eichenberg: 4
Zach Harrison: 4
Sonny Styles: 4
Ty Hamilton: 3
Lathan Ransom: 3
JT Tuimoloau: 3
Jack Sawyer: 2
Taron Vincent: 2
Mike Hall Jr.: 1
Josh Proctor: 1
Tyleik Williams: 1

Ohio State kept its defensive players from the previous play on the field for Maryland’s two field goal attempts and two extra point attempts (not including the Terrapins’ two-point conversion) with the exception of Styles taking the place of Tanner McCalister.