Ohio State’s snap counts for Saturday’s game against UNLV have a very different look than they did for the Buckeyes’ first three games.
Because the Buckeyes pulled away early in Saturday’s 54-21 win against the Rebels – Ohio State had a 37-0 lead just 21 minutes and two seconds into the game – most of the Buckeyes’ starters played for only a half or less. As a result, Ohio State’s top backups saw extended playing time while some other backups who are deeper down the depth chart saw their first playing time of the season.
In total, a season-high 75 Buckeyes saw playing time on Saturday, including eight who saw the first game action of their Ohio State careers: true freshmen Jaylen Harris, Pete Werner, Brendon White and Marcus Williamson, redshirt junior defensive tackle Dylan Thompson and walk-ons Hayden Jester, Derrick Malone and Nick Seme. Third-string quarterback Joe Burrow and walk-on cornerback Trevon Forte also made their season debuts.
While the snap counts are typically a reflection of which Buckeyes are playing the biggest roles each week, this week’s snap counts reflect how lopsided Saturday’s game became and how that gave Ohio State its first opportunity of the season to give significant snaps to its young and unproven backups.
A breakdown of every Buckeye that played, where they played and how much they played, along with our tracker of how many snaps each Buckeye has played this season, follows in this week’s edition of Snap Counts.
Author’s note: All snap counts listed in this article were tracked by Eleven Warriors through film review and should be considered unofficial, as Ohio State does not release its official snap counts. The players listed with each special teams unit are the players who were on the field with those units most frequently, but exact special teams snap counts are not included because it is not always possible to identify all 11 players on a special teams unit from TV camera angles.
QUARTERBACKS
Dwayne Haskins: 50 snaps
J.T. Barrett: 33
Joe Burrow: 5
After Barrett threw five touchdowns in Ohio State’s first six possessions to give the Buckeyes a commanding lead, Haskins replaced Barrett for Ohio State’s final drive of the first half. He proceeded to play the entire second half until the final possession of the game, when Burrow – just over a month removed from breaking a bone in his throwing hand – checked in for his first playing time of the season.
RUNNING BACKS
J.K. Dobbins: 38
Antonio Williams: 38
Jordan Leasure: 10
Jared Drake: 4
Dobbins was on the field for every snap until the final three plays of the first half, for which he was replaced by Williams, who went on to play the majority of the second half. Leasure and Drake, both walk-ons, each had their opportunities to see the field in the fourth quarter. Mike Weber, who played 44 snaps in the Buckeyes’ last two games, did not play at all on Saturday as he continues to work his way back to full strength from a preseason hamstring injury.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Johnnie Dixon: 41
Binjimen Victor: 38
K.J. Hill: 36
Austin Mack: 31
C.J. Saunders: 31
Terry McLaurin: 25
Jaylen Harris: 19
Trevon Grimes: 18
Parris Campbell: 11
Demario McCall: 8
Elijaah Goins: Special teams only
Dixon saw playing time in all four quarters of Saturday’s game – and led all Ohio State receivers in snaps played – after missing the previous week’s game against Army with a hamstring injury. Victor, Hill, Mack and McLaurin also saw playing time in the second half of Saturday’s game despite being regulars in the Buckeyes’ first-team receiver rotation. The only one of Ohio State’s top six receivers who didn’t play in the second half was Campbell, who led the Buckeyes with 105 receiving yards despite playing only 11 snaps.
The snaps that might have otherwise gone to Campbell went to Saunders, who entered the game late in the first half (and caught a touchdown pass) then continued to play regularly in the second half as a slot receiver. Harris, playing in his first game as a Buckeye, and Grimes, playing in just his second, entered the rotation in the second half as outside receivers. McCall saw his first offensive playing time of the season as a slot receiver despite being listed on the Buckeyes’ depth chart as a running back.
TIGHT ENDS
Luke Farrell: 37
Marcus Baugh: 25
Rashod Berry: 24
Jake Hausmann: 4
Derrick Malone: Special teams only
Baugh played a majority of the Buckeyes’ offensive snaps in the first half but did not play at all in the second half. Berry and Farrell each mixed in for some snaps with the starters in the first half before splitting the majority of snaps in the second half. All of Hausmann’s playing time came in the fourth quarter.
OFFENSIVE LINE
Branden Bowen: 88
Brady Taylor: 55
Joshua Alabi: 47
Thayer Munford: 47
Jamarco Jones: 41
Michael Jordan: 41
Isaiah Prince: 41
Billy Price: 33
Demetrius Knox: 30
Malcolm Pridgeon: 17
Kevin Woidke: Special teams only
Bowen, the only first-year starter on Ohio State’s offensive line, was in the lineup at right guard for all 88 of the Buckeyes’ offensive snaps in Saturday’s game.
None of Ohio State’s other starting offensive linemen played in the second half. Taylor replaced Price at center for the Buckeyes’ final drive of the first half and proceeded to play the entire second half. Alabi played the entire second half in place of Jones at left tackle, while Munford played the entire second half in place of Prince at right tackle. Pridgeon replaced Jordan at left guard for Ohio State’s first two offensive series of the second half before being replaced by Knox for the rest of the game. Matthew Burrell, who is listed as the backup left guard on the depth chart, missed his second consecutive game due to a foot injury.
Branden Bowen, who played 88 snaps, was the only Ohio State starter to play Saturday's entire game against UNLV.
DEFENSIVE ENDS
Chase Young: 35
Jonathon Cooper: 31
Nick Bosa: 27
Jalyn Holmes: 25
Sam Hubbard: 25
Tyquan Lewis: 23
Nick Seme: Special teams only
Bosa, Holmes, Hubbard and Lewis continued to rotate as usual throughout the first half of Saturday’s game, with all four players taking the field when the Buckeyes put their nickel package in the game, but none of them played in the second half. Young and Cooper played every snap of the second half after rotating in for occasional playing time in the first half.
DEFENSIVE TACKLES
Davon Hamilton: 26
Jashon Cornell: 22
Dre’Mont Jones: 17
Tracy Sprinkle: 17
Haskell Garrett: 14
Dylan Thompson: 11
Malik Barrow: 7
Jones and Sprinkle started Saturday’s game and played 17 of the Buckeyes’ first 39 defensive snaps but did not see any playing time in the second half. Hamilton, Cornell, Garrett and Barrow each rotated in for occasional snaps with the first-team defense but continued to play in the second half, though Barrow suffered an injury early in the third quarter and was unable to return. All of Thompson’s snaps came in the second half of the game. Robert Landers, who played 80 snaps in the Buckeyes’ first three games, did not play in Saturday’s game due to injury.
LINEBACKERS
Jerome Baker: 42
Dante Booker: 35
Baron Browning: 30
Keandre Jones: 23
Tuf Borland: 22
Malik Harrison: 21
Pete Werner: 12
Justin Hilliard: 3
Hayden Jester: Special teams only
Zach Turnure: Special teams only
Baker was on the field for every Ohio State defensive snap in the first half but did not play at all in the second half.
Borland and Booker started alongside Baker in the base 4-3 defense, with regular starting middle linebacker Chris Worley sidelined by a sprained foot, but Harrison took Worley’s place in the lineup alongside Baker when the Buckeyes put their nickel package on the field. Harrison also saw some playing time in place of Booker at strongside linebacker in the first half, but did not play at all in the second half.
Borland and Booker did see playing time in the second half, though Borland split time at middle linebacker with Browning, who took most of the snaps at that position in the final 30 minutes of the game. Jones replaced Baker at weakside linebacker for the second half until the Buckeyes’ final defensive series, when he was replaced by Hilliard. Werner played the Buckeyes’ final two defensive series at strongside linebacker.
CORNERBACKS
Kendall Sheffield: 41
Denzel Ward: 38
Damon Arnette: 30
Jeffrey Okudah: 28
Marcus Williamson: 17
Amir Riep: Special teams only
Trevon Forte: Special teams only
Ward was on the field for each of Ohio State’s first 38 defensive snaps in Saturday’s game. Arnette played the majority of first-half snaps opposite Ward, with Sheffield rotating in occasionally and all three cornerbacks on the field when the Buckeyes deployed their nickel defense. Sheffield continued to play for much of the second half opposite Okudah, with Williamson seeing his first Buckeyes action as a slot cornerback in the nickel defense before replacing Sheffield on the outside late in the game.
SAFETIES
Erick Smith: 43
Damon Webb: 42
Isaiah Pryor: 27
Jordan Fuller: 25
Brendon White: Special teams only
Jahsen Wint: Special teams only
Webb played every defensive snap of Saturday’s first half. Fuller played a majority of snaps alongside Webb in the first half, including every snap of the Buckeyes’ first three defensive series. Smith rotated with Fuller in the second quarter and went on to play every snap of the second half alongside Pryor, who also played the entire second half but did not see any defensive playing time in the first half.
FIELD GOALS/EXTRA POINTS
Sean Nuernberger (kicker)
Drue Chrisman (holder)
Liam McCullough (long snapper)
Jonathon Cooper (lineman)
Brady Taylor (lineman)
Branden Bowen (lineman)
Davon Hamilton (lineman)
Demetrius Knox (lineman)
Malcolm Pridgeon (lineman)
Kevin Woidke (lineman)
Rashod Berry or Nick Seme (lineman)
Ohio State used an identical lineup on its field goal unit from the Army game for the first half of Saturday’s game. Seme received the first playing time of his Ohio State career when he replaced Berry on the outside right of the line for the Buckeyes’ second-half field goal and extra point attempts.
KICKOFFS
Blake Haubeil (kicker)
Baron Browning (gunner)
Elijaah Goins or Marcus Williamson (gunner)
Malik Harrison or Jared Drake (gunner)
Justin Hilliard or Brendon White (gunner)
Keandre Jones or Pete Werner (gunner)
Austin Mack or Jeffrey Okudah (gunner)
Isaiah Pryor (gunner)
Amir Riep (gunner)
Erick Smith or Rashod Berry (gunner)
Zach Turnure or Hayden Jester (gunner)
Browning replaced Jahsen Wint for a full-time assignment on the kickoff coverage unit on Saturday. The rest of the primary kickoff coverage team remained intact from the Army game, though the Buckeyes substituted players in and out of the lineup as the game progressed, with Jester, Werner, White and Williamson all seeing the first snaps of their Ohio State careers in kickoff coverage.
KICKOFF RETURNS
Parris Campbell or Demario McCall (primary returner)
K.J. Hill or Antonio Williams (secondary returner)
Tuf Borland (blocker)
Jordan Fuller (blocker)
Elijaah Goins (blocker)
Malik Harrison (blocker)
Justin Hilliard (blocker)
Keandre Jones (blocker)
Austin Mack or C.J. Saunders (blocker)
Jeffrey Okudah (blocker)
Zach Turnure (blocker)
Mack, who was replaced on the primary kickoff return unit by Okudah in Week 3, returned to the unit for Week 4 in place of Isaiah Pryor, though Mack was replaced on the unit in the second half by Saunders. The rest of the unit remained intact from previous weeks, though Campbell and Hill were only on the field for the first kickoff return opportunity – a free kick following a safety – before being replaced as the returners, with the Buckeyes already holding a commanding lead, by McCall and Williams.
The Buckeyes did make some tweaks to the unit’s lineup for their final kickoff return of the game, as Jared Drake, Brendon White, Marcus Williamson and Jahsen Wint were added to the unit as blockers.
PUNTS
Drue Chrisman (punter)
Liam McCullough (long snapper)
Tuf Borland (upback)
Sam Hubbard (upback)
Malik Harrison or Pete Werner (guard)
Zach Turnure (guard)
Jerome Baker or Isaiah Pryor (wing)
Parris Campbell (wing)
Keandre Jones (wing)
Terry McLaurin (wing)
Kendall Sheffield or Jeffrey Okudah (gunner)
Ohio State used the same lineup for its first punt against UNLV as it used on its punting unit against Army with the exception of the gunner spot, where Sheffield replaced Ward. Okudah, Pryor and Werner took spots in the lineup for Chrisman’s second and final punt of the game, which came in the fourth quarter.
PUNT RETURNS
K.J. Hill or Demario McCall (returner)
Rashod Berry (blocker/rusher)
Elijaah Goins (blocker/rusher)
Justin Hilliard (blocker/rusher)
Keandre Jones (blocker/rusher)
Derrick Malone (blocker/rusher)
Terry McLaurin (blocker/rusher)
Jeffrey Okudah (blocker/rusher)
Isaiah Pryor (blocker/rusher)
Kendall Sheffield (blocker/rusher)
Damon Webb (blocker/rusher)
As has been the case all season, Ohio State used a wide variety of different lineups on its punt return/block unit on Saturday. Hill was on the field as the returner for each of UNLV’s first two punts, but was replaced by McCall in the second half. The other 10 players listed are the players who were spotted on the field with the punt return unit most frequently, though at least 24 players took at least one snap with that unit on Saturday.
Malone played multiple snaps with the punt return team for his first game action of the season. Trevon Forte also saw his first game action of the season on the punt return team, though he did not remain on the unit after being penalized for roughing the punter on his first snap of the year.
| POS | PLAYER | @ IU | OU | Army | UNLV | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | J.T. BARRETT | 88 | 71 | 59 | 33 | 251 |
| QB | DWAYNE HASKINS | DNP | DNP | 10 | 50 | 60 |
| QB | JOE BURROW | DNP | DNP | DNP | 5 | 5 |
| RB | J.K. DOBBINS | 76 | 44 | 41 | 38 | 199 |
| RB | ANTONIO WILLIAMS | 12 | DNP | 10 | 38 | 60 |
| RB | MIKE WEBER | DNP | 27 | 17 | DNP | 44 |
| RB | JORDAN LEASURE | DNP | DNP | 1 | 10 | 11 |
| RB | JARED DRAKE | DNP | DNP | ST | 4 | 4 |
| WR | K.J. HILL | 58 | 55 | 32 | 36 | 181 |
| WR | TERRY MCLAURIN | 49 | 41 | 52 | 25 | 167 |
| WR | BINJIMEN VICTOR | 47 | 43 | 29 | 38 | 157 |
| WR | AUSTIN MACK | 41 | 19 | 41 | 31 | 132 |
| WR | PARRIS CAMPBELL | 47 | 38 | 32 | 11 | 128 |
| WR | JOHNNIE DIXON | 39 | 39 | DNP | 41 | 119 |
| WR | C.J. SAUNDERS | 7 | DNP | 9 | 31 | 47 |
| WR | TREVON GRIMES | DNP | DNP | 14 | 18 | 32 |
| WR | JAYLEN HARRIS | DNP | DNP | DNP | 19 | 19 |
| WR | DEMARIO MCCALL | ST | DNP | DNP | 8 | 8 |
| WR | ELIJAAH GOINS | ST | ST | ST | ST | ST |
| TE | MARCUS BAUGH | 49 | 49 | 41 | 25 | 164 |
| TE | LUKE FARRELL | 11 | DNP | 9 | 37 | 57 |
| TE | RASHOD BERRY | 4 | ST | 15 | 24 | 43 |
| TE | JAKE HAUSMANN | DNP | DNP | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| TE | DERRICK MALONE | DNP | DNP | DNP | ST | ST |
| OL | BRANDEN BOWEN | 88 | 71 | 59 | 88 | 306 |
| OL | MICHAEL JORDAN | 88 | 71 | 59 | 41 | 259 |
| OL | ISAIAH PRINCE | 88 | 71 | 59 | 41 | 259 |
| OL | JAMARCO JONES | 82 | 71 | 59 | 41 | 253 |
| OL | BILLY PRICE | 83 | 71 | 59 | 33 | 246 |
| OL | BRADY TAYLOR | 5 | DNP | 10 | 55 | 70 |
| OL | JOSHUA ALABI | DNP | DNP | 10 | 47 | 57 |
| OL | THAYER MUNFORD | DNP | DNP | 10 | 47 | 57 |
| OL | DEMETRIUS KNOX | ST | ST | 10 | 30 | 40 |
| OL | MALCOLM PRIDGEON | DNP | DNP | 10 | 17 | 27 |
| OL | MATTHEW BURRELL | 6 | ST | DNP | DNP | 6 |
| OL | KEVIN WOIDKE | DNP | ST | ST | ST | ST |
| K | SEAN NUERNBERGER | ST | ST | ST | ST | ST |
| K | BLAKE HAUBEIL | ST | ST | ST | ST | ST |
| K | BRYAN KRISTAN | DNP | DNP | ST | DNP | ST |
| POS | PLAYER | IU | OU | Army | UNLV | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE | NICK BOSA | 62 | 47 | 25 | 27 | 161 |
| DE | JALYN HOLMES | 59 | 48 | 28 | 25 | 160 |
| DE | SAM HUBBARD | 51 | 43 | 30 | 25 | 149 |
| DE | TYQUAN LEWIS | 48 | 43 | 29 | 23 | 143 |
| DE | JONATHON COOPER | 16 | 1 | 11 | 31 | 59 |
| DE | CHASE YOUNG | 13 | DNP | 9 | 35 | 57 |
| DE | NICK SEME | DNP | DNP | DNP | ST | ST |
| DT | DRE'MONT JONES | 54 | 59 | 42 | 17 | 172 |
| DT | TRACY SPRINKLE | 34 | 34 | 28 | 17 | 113 |
| DT | ROBERT LANDERS | 25 | 27 | 28 | DNP | 80 |
| DT | JASHON CORNELL | 14 | 10 | 9 | 22 | 55 |
| DT | DAVON HAMILTON | 6 | ST | 12 | 26 | 44 |
| DT | HASKELL GARRETT | 6 | DNP | 4 | 14 | 24 |
| DT | MALIK BARROW | DNP | DNP | 9 | 7 | 16 |
| DT | DYLAN THOMPSON | DNP | DNP | DNP | 11 | 11 |
| LB | JEROME BAKER | 89 | 77 | 60 | 42 | 268 |
| LB | CHRIS WORLEY | 87 | 77 | 25 | DNP | 189 |
| LB | DANTE BOOKER | 48 | 46 | 6 | 35 | 135 |
| LB | TUF BORLAND | ST | ST | 41 | 22 | 63 |
| LB | MALIK HARRISON | 19 | 17 | 4 | 21 | 61 |
| LB | BARON BROWNING | 6 | ST | DNP | 30 | 36 |
| LB | KEANDRE JONES | 6 | ST | ST | 23 | 29 |
| LB | PETE WERNER | DNP | DNP | DNP | 12 | 12 |
| LB | JUSTIN HILLIARD | ST | ST | ST | 3 | 3 |
| LB | ZACH TURNURE | ST | ST | ST | ST | ST |
| LB | HAYDEN JESTER | DNP | DNP | DNP | ST | ST |
| CB | DENZEL WARD | 77 | 59 | 44 | 38 | 218 |
| CB | DAMON ARNETTE | 63 | 66 | 54 | 30 | 213 |
| CB | KENDALL SHEFFIELD | 62 | 39 | 30 | 41 | 172 |
| CB | JEFFREY OKUDAH | 7 | ST | 4 | 28 | 39 |
| CB | MARCUS WILLIAMSON | DNP | DNP | DNP | 17 | 17 |
| CB | AMIR RIEP | ST | ST | ST | ST | ST |
| CB | TREVON FORTE | DNP | DNP | DNP | ST | ST |
| S | DAMON WEBB | 89 | 77 | 62 | 42 | 270 |
| S | JORDAN FULLER | 54 | 51 | 62 | 25 | 192 |
| S | ERICK SMITH | 42 | 26 | 66 | 43 | 177 |
| S | ISAIAH PRYOR | 6 | ST | 4 | 27 | 37 |
| S | JAHSEN WINT | ST | ST | ST | ST | ST |
| S | BRENDON WHITE | DNP | DNP | DNP | ST | ST |
| P | DRUE CHRISMAN | ST | ST | ST | ST | ST |
| LS | LIAM MCCULLOUGH | ST | ST | ST | ST | ST |
