I first did this 3 games into the season. I was going to post weekly updates, but quarterly updates seemed more useful honestly since these grades are going to fluctuate less and less as the season goes on. I'm not even entirely sure people really care or want to see these again, but there's often some interesting things to look at with the grades and a lot of it passes the eyeball test IMO. Overall Ohio State has the 3rd highest overall PFF grade in the country (Georgia is #1 and Coastal Carolina is #2) but that can probably be taken with a grain of salt. I'll only include players that have played over 50 snaps defensively. Everyone is listed in order of overall grade descending downward.
| Player | Snaps | Overall | Pass | Run |
| Stroud | 309 | 90.8 | 91.0 | 55.6 |
| Miller | 35 | 69.8 | 70.5 | 60.0 |
| McCord | 60 | 57.5 | 54.9 | 63.8 |
So much for any sort of QB controversy (I'm aware that freezing cold take is a bit dated at this point). Stroud is currently the #5 ranked QB in the country in grade (behind Malik Willis, Kenny Pickett, Brennan Armstrong, Matt Corral, and Skyler Thompson)
| Player | Snaps | Overall | Run |
| Henderson | 166 | 86.4 | 87.0 |
| Williams | 90 | 80.6 | 83.8 |
| Teague III | 95 | 77.1 | 78.3 |
| Crowley | 35 | 75.5 | 73.8 |
No surprises here either. Henderson is the #11th ranked RB by grade.
| Player | Snaps | Overall | Rec |
| Olave | 306 | 83.7 | 83.6 |
| Wilson | 304 | 79.4 | 79.0 |
| Smith-Njigba | 244 | 77.3 | 79.0 |
| Egbuka | 74 | 69.3 | 72.0 |
| Harrison Jr. | 78 | 57.1 | 55.9 |
| Ballard | 34 | 45.4 | 48.6 |
These grades might be a bit lower than people would expect. Olave checks in at #16 nationally.
| Player | Snaps | Overall | Rec | RBLK |
| Scott Jr. | 46 | 72.7 | 82.2 | 49.7 |
| Rossi | 49 | 65.8 | 53.2 | 70.9 |
| Stover | 117 | 63.8 | 62.9 | 62.3 |
| Ruckert | 295 | 61.5 | 58.2 | 66.7 |
This looks... inverted. Ruckert seems to be having an underwhelming year for sure. If Scott Jr. can become even just a competent blocker he could be a pretty interesting player next season as a legit receiving threat at TE (that'll go on to catch 25 balls max).
| Player | Snaps | Overall | RBLK | PBLK |
| Petit-Frere | 355 | 86.6 | 82.7 | 82.6 |
| M. Jones | 183 | 86.5 | 90.2 | 74.5 |
| D. Jones | 344 | 86.4 | 90.0 | 76.1 |
| Johnson Jr. | 337 | 75.0 | 80.0 | 56.1 |
| Munford | 224 | 72.7 | 77.2 | 55.8 |
| Wypler | 366 | 72.5 | 75.0 | 63.6 |
These are all solid numbers, but the tackles are clearly two of the country's best (#8 and #9). Matt Jones has played enough snaps to prove that he is indeed one of the best five OL and needs to continue to see the field. Munford's been dinged up but the move to guard has without a doubt hurt his stock / play. Wypler has been solid, but you have to wonder if Jones could overtake him there. I don't think he will, but he needs to be starting or at least seeing starter-type snap counts. Looks like they'll try to rotate, which is a little questionable when you're talking about the OL to me.
| Player | Snaps | Overall | RDEF | Tackling | Pass Rush |
| Williams | 94 | 90.2 | 74.0 | 67.9 | 90.5 |
| Garrett | 233 | 72.1 | 70.2 | 71.3 | 66.0 |
| Hamilton | 130 | 68.7 | 58.1 | 44.6 | 71.5 |
| Cage | 48 | 68.6 | 62.8 | 72.2 | 68.3 |
| Jackson | 187 | 65.7 | 64.7 | 49.1 | 63.1 |
| Vincent | 145 | 64.9 | 64.7 | 75.2 | 66.7 |
Everyone is aware of this by now but Williams needs to see more snaps. He sticks out every time he's in the game and the grades back it up. Disappointing year for Taron Vincent for sure; many thought this was going to be a breakout season potentially and that has not been the case.
| Player | Snaps | Overall | RDEF | Tackling | Pass Rush |
| Harrison | 235 | 80.0 | 75.5 | 63.7 | 82.1 |
| Smith | 158 | 75.8 | 66.8 | 79.6 | 79.0 |
| Sawyer | 111 | 69.1 | 56.1 | 54.5 | 78.5 |
| Jean-Baptiste | 166 | 63.6 | 60.8 | 62.5 | 63.5 |
| Hamilton | 61 | 60.8 | 65.6 | 51.6 | 59.5 |
| Tuimoloau | 167 | 58.4 | 55.9 | 78.3 | 58.6 |
Harrison and Smith continue to lead the way here. They're both undoubtedly solid players, but it doesn't seem like they're ever going to be a whole lot more than that. I too have been underwhelmed by Tuimoloau; nothing has impressed me really at all with him this year. I was always a bit underwhelmed with his (hard to find) high school film too, but clearly the guy is talented and he's still just a freshman that came into camp about as late as he possibly could. I'm sure he'll be a stud soon enough, but I have no clue why people have acted like he's their best DE. Take away the blue chip status and he's been JAG. Let's pump the breaks a little bit.
| Player | Snaps | Overall | RDEF | Tackling | Pass Rush | Coverage |
| Simon | 232 | 68.6 | 79.8 | 53.8 | 69.4 | 51.5 |
| Chambers | 117 | 67.8 | 62.2 | 77.9 | 70.7 | 66.7 |
| Eichenberg | 206 | 63.9 | 75.5 | 73.4 | 60.5 | 54.7 |
| Mitchell | 235 | 54.8 | 66.9 | 72.3 | 57.2 | 42.0 |
These look about right to me. Chambers will end up being the best LB on the team before long. He's got the instincts, the speed, the tackling ability, etc. Eichenberg has played better in recent weeks for sure. This unit still has some issues in coverage. Mitchell should be a two-down backer at best. The rotation here makes sense; they all have strengths, they all have weaknesses, and they're all a little different, and none are head and shoulders above the others.
| Player | Snaps | Overall | RDEF | Tackling | Coverage |
| Williamson | 117 | 80.8 | 87.4 | 78.8 | 77.1 |
| Martinez | 131 | 71.6 | 41.1 | 30.0 | 77.3 |
| Burke | 351 | 70.7 | 70.3 | 60.4 | 69.8 |
| McCall | 54 | 70.6 | 68.0 | 80.1 | 69.4 |
| Brown | 153 | 66.4 | 62.8 | 54.4 | 66.4 |
| Watts | 94 | 63.8 | 47.0 | 52.1 | 67.9 |
| Banks | 152 | 56.8 | 57.7 | 27.6 | 56.5 |
| Cavazos | 77 | 51.3 | 28.4 | 27.4 | 59.6 |
People are a bit surprised that Williamson has been seeing the field more often, but it's been clear he's probably the best tackler in the secondary. Martinez has flashed a lot of coverage potential but is currently a liability as a tackler and in the run game (tied with Ransom with having the most missed tackles on the team). Burke is continuing to have a very solid true freshman season. The two best true CBs on this team are Brown and Burke, but this has been an underwhelming group overall.
| Player | Snaps | Overall | RDEF | Tackling | Pass Rush | Coverage |
| Young | 81 | 80.8 | 80.3 | 59.9 | 61.2 | 77.7 |
| Hickman | 331 | 73.0 | 67.6 | 70.4 | 59.2 | 76.2 |
| Williams II | 72 | 65.6 | 73.4 | 85.4 | 59.4 | 61.2 |
| Shaw | 246 | 61.6 | 74.0 | 81.4 | 60.0 | 58.6 |
| Ransom | 261 | 60.9 | 60.4 | 36.6 | 57.4 | 62.2 |
This one is interesting. You can see why they're wanting to get Young more snaps. Hickman has been really solid, and Williams will eventually see more time you'd imagine. I can also understand why they're starting Shaw over Ransom at safety and splitting snaps there; I know most will disagree, but you want a sure tackler in that spot and Ransom is anything but that. He's been a liability in that department and Shaw's been better there.
And that about wraps it up. I'll probably do this again after the Nebraska game if people are still interested.
