Ohio State leaned heavily on its starters in its first Big Ten and road game of the season.
Of the 22 Buckeyes who started the game on offense or defense at Washington, the only two who didn’t play at least 30 snaps were running back CJ Donaldson and wide receiver Brandon Inniss. Donaldson ended up playing the second-most snaps at running back behind Bo Jackson, who played 30 snaps despite starting the game on the bench. Tight end Max Klare also played 35 snaps despite not starting the game as Ohio State used more two-tight end formations than three-receiver lineups over the course of the game.
Otherwise, no other backup played more than 19 snaps against Washington as the Buckeyes used just 19 players on offense and 17 players on defense in their 24-6 victory.
Numerous Buckeyes played their highest snap counts of the season as a result, including quarterback Julian Sayin (64), Jackson (30), all five starting offensive linemen (64), defensive end Kenyatta Jackson Jr. (44) and defensive tackle Tyrone Malone Jr. (31).
We’ve compiled Ohio State’s full snap counts from Seattle, courtesy of Pro Football Focus, with some analysis below on how the Buckeyes split up playing time at each position against the Huskies.
Quarterbacks
Julian Sayin: 64
After bringing in Lincoln Kienholz for one play vs. Ohio, the Buckeyes stuck with Sayin for every offensive snap in Seattle. In a career-high 64 snaps, Sayin completed 22 of 28 passing attempts for 208 yards and two touchdowns while he also scrambled three times for 19 yards, excluding sacks.
Running Backs
Bo Jackson: 30
CJ Donaldson: 19
James Peoples: 16
While Donaldson started the game, Jackson’s emergence as Ohio State’s No. 1 running back continued as he played the most snaps of any RB at Washington and had 17 carries for 80 yards, compared to just nine carries for Donaldson and three carries for Peoples. The freshman running back played just three fewer snaps on offense than he did in Ohio State’s first three games of the season combined.
Donaldson scored two touchdowns on his 19 snaps, with one coming on a 1-yard run and another coming on a 4-yard 4th-and-goal catch.
Ohio State passed the ball on 13 of Peoples’ 16 snaps in the game, throwing to Peoples on three of those plays for 16 combined yards.
Wide Receivers
Jeremiah Smith: 56
Carnell Tate: 51
Brandon Inniss: 22
Mylan Graham: 5
Bryson Rodgers: 2
David Adolph: Special teams only
| Pos | Player | TEXAS | GSU | OU | UW | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | JULIAN SAYIN | 59 | 32 | 62 | 64 | 217 |
| QB | LINCOLN KIENHOLZ | 0 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 23 |
| QB | TAVIEN ST. CLAIR | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| RB | C.J. DONALDSON | 42 | 17 | 28 | 19 | 106 |
| RB | JAMES PEOPLES | 20 | 21 | 20 | 16 | 77 |
| RB | BO JACKSON | 0 | 17 | 16 | 30 | 63 |
| RB | ISAIAH WEST | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| RB | SAM DIXON | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| WR | JEREMIAH SMITH | 57 | 30 | 57 | 56 | 200 |
| WR | CARNELL TATE | 46 | 31 | 54 | 51 | 182 |
| WR | BRANDON INNISS | 23 | 16 | 32 | 22 | 93 |
| WR | MYLAN GRAHAM | 0 | 34 | 2 | 5 | 41 |
| WR | QUINCY PORTER | 0 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 25 |
| WR | BRYSON RODGERS | 0 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 16 |
| WR | PHILLIP BELL | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| WR | DAVID ADOLPH | 0 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 11 |
| TE | WILL KACMAREK | 48 | 9 | 50 | 47 | 154 |
| TE | MAX KLARE | 23 | 20 | 41 | 35 | 119 |
| TE | BENNETT CHRISTIAN | 28 | 4 | 0 | 19 | 51 |
| TE | JELANI THURMAN | 7 | 32 | 5 | 6 | 50 |
| TE | NATE ROBERTS | 1 | 25 | 8 | 12 | 46 |
| TE | BRODY LENNON | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| OL | CARSON HINZMAN | 59 | 32 | 63 | 64 | 218 |
| OL | LUKE MONTGOMERY | 59 | 32 | 63 | 64 | 218 |
| OL | AUSTIN SIEREVELD | 59 | 32 | 63 | 64 | 218 |
| OL | PHILLIP DANIELS | 59 | 32 | 62 | 64 | 217 |
| OL | TEGRA TSHABOLA | 44 | 26 | 49 | 64 | 183 |
| OL | ETHAN ONIANWA | 15 | 26 | 14 | 0 | 55 |
| OL | IAN MOORE | 0 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 21 |
| OL | JOSHUA PADILLA | 0 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| OL | JUSTIN TERRY | 0 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| OL | GABE VANSICKLE | 0 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| OL | DEONTAE ARMSTRONG | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| OL | JAKE COOK | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| OL | CARTER LOWE | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| OL | JAYVON McFADDEN | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| OL | ISAIAH KEMA | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| OL | SIMON LORENTZ | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Ohio State began to rotate its backup wide receivers in with the starters just a bit against Washington, playing Graham for five snaps and Rodgers for two. Neither of them had any targets or receptions.
Smith was Ohio State’s leading receiver at Washington, catching eight passes for 81 yards and a touchdown, while Tate caught three passes for 33 yards. Ohio State used three wide receivers on less than half of its offensive plays against the Huskies, but Inniss was the slot receiver on most of those plays, catching three passes for a season-high 34 yards.
Tight Ends
Will Kacmarek: 47
Max Klare: 35
Bennett Christian: 19
Nate Roberts: 12
Jelani Thurman: 6
Kacmarek played the most snaps among tight ends for the third time in four games to start the season. Klare played the second-most snaps among TEs for a second straight week, catching two passes for 26 yards in Seattle.
Christian returned to action after missing the Ohio game with an undisclosed injury and played 19 snaps off the bench. Roberts played more snaps than Thurman for a second straight game, including four snaps as a fullback.
Offensive Linemen
Austin Siereveld: 64
Luke Montgomery: 64
Carson Hinzman: 64
Tegra Tshabola: 64
Phillip Daniels: 64
Ian Moore: Special teams only
Ethan Onianwa: Special teams only
Joshua Padilla: Special teams only
Justin Terry: Special teams only
Gabe VanSickle: Special teams only
Ohio State didn’t rotate at all on the offensive line for the first time all season. While Ethan Onianwa mixed in for at least 14 snaps at right guard in the Buckeyes’ first three games of the year, Tshabola played every snap at RG in between Siereveld at left tackle, Montgomery at left guard, Hinzman at center and Daniels at right tackle against the Huskies.
Defensive Ends
Caden Curry: 47
Kenyatta Jackson Jr.: 44
Beau Atkinson: 18
C.J. Hicks: 5
Curry was on the field for all but five of Ohio State’s defensive snaps and sure made the most of them, recording 11 tackles — nearly one in every four plays in the game — with a school record-tying five tackles for loss and three sacks.
Jackson was on the field for all but eight plays against the Huskies, recording one sack, as Ohio State relied primarily on its starting defensive ends to corral shifty Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. His 45 snaps were a career-high.
As a result, Atkinson played his second-lowest snap count of the season while Hicks played his lowest snap count of the year to date, with much of their playing time coming in Rushmen packages with three or four defensive ends.
Defensive Tackles
Kayden McDonald: 33
Tywone Malone Jr.: 31
Eddrick Houston: 11
Will Smith Jr.: 9
| Pos | Player | TEXAS | GSU | OU | UW | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE | CADEN CURRY | 59 | 25 | 30 | 47 | 161 |
| DE | KENYATTA JACKSON JR. | 34 | 26 | 32 | 44 | 136 |
| DE | BEAU ATKINSON | 35 | 11 | 22 | 18 | 86 |
| DE | C.J. HICKS | 19 | 8 | 18 | 5 | 50 |
| DE | JOSHUA MICKENS | 0 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 20 |
| DE | ZION GRADY | 0 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 15 |
| DE | DOMINIC KIRKS | 0 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 14 |
| DE | EPI SITANILEI | 0 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 13 |
| DE | LOGAN GEORGE | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| DT | KAYDEN McDONALD | 38 | 18 | 18 | 33 | 107 |
| DT | EDDRICK HOUSTON | 39 | 10 | 18 | 11 | 78 |
| DT | TYWONE MALONE JR. | 14 | 13 | 18 | 31 | 76 |
| DT | WILL SMITH JR. | 16 | 18 | 22 | 9 | 65 |
| DT | JARQUEZ CARTER | 3 | 19 | 9 | 0 | 31 |
| DT | ERIC MENSAH | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| DT | TRAJEN ODOM | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| LB | ARVELL REESE | 64 | 22 | 41 | 52 | 179 |
| LB | SONNY STYLES | 57 | 20 | 48 | 52 | 177 |
| LB | PAYTON PIERCE | 15 | 25 | 20 | 7 | 67 |
| LB | RILEY PETTIJOHN | 0 | 15 | 13 | 0 | 28 |
| LB | TARVOS ALFORD | 0 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 19 |
| LB | GARRETT STOVER | 0 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 19 |
| LB | ELI LEE | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| LB | JOEY VELAZQUEZ | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| CB | DAVISON IGBINOSUN | 67 | 32 | 43 | 52 | 194 |
| CB | JERMAINE MATHEWS JR. | 67 | 32 | 43 | 52 | 194 |
| CB | DEVIN SANCHEZ | 11 | 23 | 27 | 11 | 72 |
| CB | AARON SCOTT JR. | 0 | 23 | 13 | 0 | 36 |
| CB | BRYCE WEST | 0 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
| CB | MILES LOCKHART | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| S | JAYLEN McCLAIN | 67 | 32 | 48 | 52 | 199 |
| S | CALEB DOWNS | 67 | 31 | 46 | 51 | 195 |
| S | LORENZO STYLES JR. | 65 | 28 | 24 | 45 | 162 |
| S | MALIK HARTFORD | 0 | 22 | 16 | 0 | 38 |
| S | FAHEEM DELANE | 0 | 23 | 8 | 0 | 31 |
| S | LEROY ROKER III | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Malone made his second consecutive start over Houston at 3-technique and played a career-high 31 snaps, recording three tackles.
McDonald played his second-highest snap count of the season at nose tackle and had a hugely productive game, recording seven total tackles with three tackles for loss and two sacks.
Ohio State used only four defensive tackles for the first time this season as freshman Jarquez Carter saw no action as the Buckeyes’ No. 5 DT after playing in all three of their non-conference games.
Linebackers
Arvell Reese: 52
Sonny Styles: 52
Payton Pierce: 7
Riley Pettijohn: Special teams only
Garrett Stover: Special teams only
Joey Velazquez: Special teams only
Reese and Styles both played every defensive snap against Washington, with Pierce joining them on the field for seven snaps as a third linebacker. Styles recorded six tackles while Reese made five.
Cornerbacks
Davison Igbinosun: 52
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 52
Devin Sanchez: 11
Aaron Scott Jr.: Special teams only
Bryce West: Special teams only
Igbinosun and Mathews also played every defensive snap for Ohio State against Washington as the Buckeyes’ two primary cornerbacks. Sanchez joined them on the field for 11 plays as a sixth defensive back in dime packages.
Safeties
Jaylen McClain: 52
Caleb Downs: 51
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 45
Faheem Delane: Special teams only
Malik Hartford: Special teams only
Leroy Roker III: Special teams only
Ryan Rudzinski: Special teams only
McClain played all of Ohio State’s defensive snaps against Washington, while Downs played every snap except one. Each of the Buckeyes’ primary safeties recorded two tackles against the Huskies.
Despite leaving Ohio State’s previous game against Ohio with an upper-body injury, Styles played every snap on which the Buckeyes had at least five defensive backs on the field against Washington. The Buckeyes’ starting nickelback recorded four tackles.
Field Goals/Extra Points
Jayden Fielding (kicker): 4
Joe McGuire (holder): 4
John Ferlmann (long snapper): 4
Will Kacmarek: 4
Ian Moore: 4
Ethan Onianwa: 4
Joshua Padilla: 4
Justin Terry: 4
Jelani Thurman: 4
Tegra Tshabola: 4
Gabe VanSickle: 4
Fielding made his lone field goal attempt and all three extra points against Washington to remain perfect on the season.
Kickoffs
Jayden Fielding (kicker): 5
Faheem Delane: 5
C.J. Hicks: 5
Riley Pettijohn: 5
Payton Pierce: 5
Leroy Roker III: 5
Aaron Scott Jr.: 5
Garrett Stover: 5
Joey Velazquez: 5
Bryce West: 5
Malik Hartford: 3
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 2
Scott shared Ohio State’s special teams player of the game award with Fielding after he stopped two Washington kickoff returns inside the 20-yard line in the fourth quarter.
Kickoff Returns
Bo Jackson (returner): 3
David Adolph: 3
Malik Hartford: 3
C.J. Hicks: 3
Payton Pierce: 3
Nate Roberts: 3
Leroy Roker III: 3
Ryan Rudzinski: 3
Jelani Thurman: 3
Joey Velazquez: 3
Lorenzo Styles Jr. (returner): 2
Brandon Inniss (returner): 1
Styles was Ohio State’s lead kickoff returner for two of Washington’s three kickoffs while Inniss was the deep man for its other kickoff. Jackson was the secondary returner for all three kickoffs, replacing James Peoples in that spot. Ohio State did not attempt to return any of Washington’s kickoffs.
Punts
Joe McGuire (punter): 1
John Ferlmann (long snapper): 1
Caden Curry: 1
C.J. Hicks: 1
Jaylen McClain: 1
Payton Pierce: 1
Arvell Reese: 1
Devin Sanchez: 1
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 1
Sonny Styles: 1
Jelani Thurman: 1
McGuire’s lone punt of the game went just 35 yards.
Punt Returns
Brandon Inniss (returner): 3
Caden Curry: 3
Jaylen McClain: 3
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 3
David Adolph: 2
Malik Hartford: 2
C.J. Hicks: 2
Riley Pettijohn: 2
Payton Pierce: 2
Devin Sanchez: 2
Joey Velazquez: 2
Caleb Downs: 1
Kenyatta Jackson Jr.: 1
Tywone Malone Jr.: 1
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 1
Kayden McDonald: 1
Arvell Reese: 1
Sonny Styles: 1
Inniss returned Washington’s second punt of the game 32 yards for Ohio State’s longest punt return of the season so far, but lost a fumble at the end of that return to give the ball back to the Huskies.
| Rank | Pos | Player | Snaps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LB | PAYTON PIERCE | 49 |
| 2 | K | JAYDEN FIELDING | 43 |
| 3 | DE | C.J. HICKS | 38 |
| 4 | TE | JELANI THURMAN | 37 |
| 5 | LB | JOEY VELAZQUEZ | 35 |
| 6 | S | MALIK HARTFORD | 34 |
| 6 | S | LEROY ROKER III | 34 |
| 8 | CB | BRYCE WEST | 33 |
| 9 | S | JAYLEN MCCLAIN | 32 |
| 10 | S | LORENZO STYLES JR. | 31 |
Field Goal Block
Caden Curry: 3
Caleb Downs: 3
Davison Igbinosun: 3
Kenyatta Jackson Jr.: 3
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 3
Jaylen McClain: 3
Kayden McDonald: 3
Arvell Reese: 3
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 3
Sonny Styles: 3
Tywone Malone Jr.: 2
Eddrick Houston: 1
Washington’s Grady Gross made both of his field goal attempts, each from 28 yards out, but his attempt to throw a pass to Huskies tight end Decker DeGraaf on a fake field goal was successfully snuffed out by the Buckeyes’ field goal block team, which consisted of all of its defensive starters except for Houston being in over Malone on that play.
