Snap Counts: 66 Buckeyes See Playing Time in Ohio State's Shutout Win at Rutgers

Ohio State just about cleared its bench in Saturday’s 56-0 win at Rutgers.

Of the 70 players on Ohio State’s travel roster – the maximum number of players allowed on the travel roster for a regular-season road game, per Big Ten conference rules – 66 Buckeyes saw playing time in Piscataway, N.J. in Saturday night.

Among those 66 players, 60 Buckeyes played at least one snap on either offense or defense, while the other six were among the Buckeyes’ regular participants on special teams in Saturday’s game.

Redshirt freshman safety Wayne Davis saw the first playing time of his Ohio State career in Saturday’s game, while three other Buckeye defensive backs – redshirt freshman safety Jahsen Wint, true freshman safety Brendon White and true freshman cornerback Amir Riep – each saw their first career playing time on defense.

While a few of Ohio State’s regular contributors did not make the trip to Piscataway – defensive tackle Dre’Mont Jones missed the game due to a leg injury, while running back Antonio Williams missed the game with an unspecified medical issue and safety Erick Smith did not travel due to a coach’s decision – the only players on the travel roster who did not play in Saturday night’s game were linebacker Chris Worley, defensive tackle Jerron Cage, guard Wyatt Davis and quarterback Tate Martell.

Worley, the Buckeyes’ regular starter at middle linebacker, was cleared to play in Saturday’s game but was held out of action for a second straight week while continuing to recover from a sprained foot. Cage, Davis and Martell were all brought to Rutgers as emergency depth at their positions in case they were needed, but all three true freshmen remain in line to redshirt the 2017 season.

As for the 66 Buckeyes who did play, we take a look at where they played and how much each of them played, along with our tracker for how many snaps each has played for the season as a whole, 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

J.T. Barrett: 53 snaps

Dwayne Haskins: 14

Joe Burrow: 7

Barrett took every snap at quarterback for Ohio State in the first half and on its first two possessions of the second half, but gave way to Haskins after the Buckeyes took a 42-0 lead in the third quarter. Haskins, who played a career-high 50 snaps against UNLV one week earlier, got the opportunity to play two full series – including one with the Buckeyes’ first-team offensive line – on Saturday. Burrow took over for Ohio State’s final full offensive series of the game, not including its kneel-down on the final play of the game, for which Haskins replaced Burrow.

Running Backs

Mike Weber: 28

J.K. Dobbins: 23

Demario McCall: 21

Jared Drake: 1

Although Dobbins started at running back for the fifth consecutive game to start his Ohio State career, it was 2016 starter Weber – fully healthy for the first time this season after battling through an injury – who led the Buckeye running backs in snaps played on Saturday. While Dobbins took the lion’s share of snaps among Ohio State running backs in the team’s first four games, he rotated playing time with the first-team offense with Weber on Saturday.

McCall, who saw his first offensive playing time of the season when he played eight snaps at wide receiver against UNLV, moved back to the running back position on Saturday and played the rest of the game – rushing for 103 yards and scoring two touchdowns in the process – after replacing Weber and Dobbins in the lineup when Ohio State turned to its backups in the third quarter.

Drake’s lone offensive snap of the game came on the Buckeyes’ final kneel-down in victory formation.

Wide Receivers

Terry McLaurin: 41

Austin Mack: 34

Johnnie Dixon: 33

Binjimen Victor: 32

Parris Campbell: 28

K.J. Hill: 25

C.J. Saunders: 23

Jaylen Harris: 7

Elijaah Goins: Special teams only

Ohio State’s top six receivers continued to rotate regularly with one another in Saturday’s game.

Campbell and Hill rotated at slot receiver for the entire first half and the start of the second half before Saunders – who saw a few snaps with the first-team offense, but all after halftime – took over that position in the third quarter. Mack and Victor rotated at the X receiver position until the Buckeyes’ final drive, when Harris got an opportunity to play. McLaurin and Dixon rotated as the Z receiver position throughout the game, including the final drive, as Trevon Grimes – who saw playing time at that spot in each of Ohio State’s previous two games – did not make the travel roster.

Tight Ends

Marcus Baugh: 43

Rashod Berry: 22

Luke Farrell: 9

Baugh continued to play the majority of snaps as the Buckeyes’ first-team tight end on Saturday, much as he has all season, though Berry also rotated in to play alongside Ohio State’s offensive starters at times. Farrell did not see any playing time with the first-team offense in Saturday’s game but split playing time with Berry in the third and fourth quarter after Baugh and most of Ohio State’s other offensive starters exited the game.

Offensive Linemen

Jamarco Jones: 60

Michael Jordan: 60

Branden Bowen: 60

Isaiah Prince: 60

Billy Price: 53

Brady Taylor: 21

Joshua Alabi: 14

Matthew Burrell: 14

Thayer Munford: 14

Demetrius Knox: 13

Malcolm Pridgeon: 1

Starting center Billy Price was replaced by Brady Taylor after Ohio State’s second offensive possession in the third quarter of Saturday’s game, while starting left tackle Jamarco Jones, left guard Michael Jordan, right guard Branden Bowen and right tackle Isaiah Prince each played one additional series before also taking seats on the bench.

Alabi replaced Jones, Munford replaced Prince and Burrell – who returned to action after missing Ohio State’s previous two games with a lower leg injury – took over as the second-team right guard. Knox played the remainder of the game as the Buckeyes’ second-team left guard with the exception of the final kneel-down, when he was replaced in the lineup by Pridgeon.

Defensive Ends

Chase Young: 34

Tyquan Lewis: 33

Jonathon Cooper: 33

Sam Hubbard: 29

Nick Bosa: 28

Ohio State had to alter its defensive end rotation slightly for Saturday’s game as Jalyn Holmes, who typically rotates as one of the Buckeyes’ top four defensive ends, slid over to defensive tackle to start in place of the injured Dre’Mont Jones at that position. Lewis, Hubbard and Bosa still rotated with each other on a nearly even basis with the first-team base defense, while Holmes continued to join his three fellow defensive ends in the Rushmen front when the Buckeyes put their first-team nickel defense on the field.

Cooper and Young each saw occasional snaps with the first-team defense before playing the remainder of the game from the middle of the third quarter onward after Ohio State took its starting defensive linemen out of the game.

Defensive Tackles

Jalyn Holmes: 36

Jashon Cornell: 25

Robert Landers: 21

Tracy Sprinkle: 19

Davon Hamilton: 19

Haskell Garrett: 10

Holmes led all Ohio State defensive linemen in snaps played in Saturday’s game, even though he played only while the first-team defense was still in the game, as a result of starting in Dre’Mont Jones’ place at 3-technique defensive tackle while continuing to play his usual role as one of four pass-rushing defensive linemen on the field in the nickel defense.

Sprinkle started alongside Holmes on Saturday and took Jones’ place as the middle man in the five-man front for the three plays that the Buckeyes deployed that package against Rutgers.

Landers, who missed the previous week’s game with a lower leg injury, and Cornell rotated in occasionally with the starters before seeing extended playing time in the second half, particularly as the interior defensive linemen in the Buckeyes’ second-team nickel defense. Hamilton also saw occasional playing time in the first half but played mostly as a backup in the second half, which is when all of Garrett’s playing time came.

Linebackers

Jerome Baker: 42

Dante Booker: 37

Tuf Borland: 26

Baron Browning: 23

Malik Harrison: 20

Keandre Jones: 16

Pete Werner: 14

Justin Hilliard: 13

Zach Turnure: Special teams only

Baker was on the field for every one of Ohio State’s defensive snaps in the first half and its first two defensive series of the second half before being removed from the game. Booker and Borland started alongside Baker in the Buckeyes’ base 4-3 defense, while Harrison lined up alongside Baker in the nickel defense. All three of those players continued to see playing time later in the game, with Booker replacing Baker in the nickel defense.

Browning took some snaps in place of Borland at middle linebacker with the first-team defense and continued to play as late as the Buckeyes’ final defensive series of the game. Jones replaced Baker at weakside linebacker in the base defense and eventually in the nickel defense in the later stages of the game. Werner replaced Booker at strongside linebacker late in the game, while Hilliard also saw playing time in both the base and nickel defenses in the fourth quarter.

Cornerbacks

Kendall Sheffield: 48

Denzel Ward: 35

Damon Arnette: 34

Jeffrey Okudah: 23

Marcus Williamson: 13

Amir Riep: 7

Ward, Arnette and Sheffield continued to rotate as Ohio State’s cornerbacks with the first-team base defense, with all three taking the field with the nickel defense, in Saturday’s game. Sheffield continued to play in the base defense into the fourth quarter, lining up opposite Okudah, while Arnette continued to check into the game to play slot cornerback with the second-team nickel defense. Ward played only with the first team-defense.

Williamson and Riep took over as the Buckeyes’ outside cornerbacks during their final defensive series of the game, while Williamson also saw playing time as a slot cornerback in the nickel defense earlier in the fourth quarter.

Safeties

Jordan Fuller: 54

Damon Webb: 42

Isaiah Pryor: 29

Wayne Davis: 10

Brendon White: 5

Jahsen Wint: 2

With Erick Smith left off the travel roster on Saturday for a reason Ohio State coach Urban Meyer would not specify, Webb and Fuller each played every snap at safety in the first half and the Buckeyes’ first defensive series of the second half. Fuller, who had rotated with Smith in previous weeks, remained in the game for the entirety of the third quarter – and played the most defensive snaps of any Buckeye on Saturday as a result – as he lined up alongside Pryor on the second-team defense for two series.

Smith’s absence also opened the door for Wint, Davis and White to play their first defensive snaps of their respective Ohio State careers. Wint was in the game for only two defensive snaps before being disqualified for a targeting penalty, at which point he was replaced by Davis. White played a handful of snaps alongside Pryor on the Buckeyes’ final defensive series of the game.

Extra Points

Sean Nuernberger (kicker)

Drue Chrisman (holder)

Liam McCullough (long snapper)

Rashod Berry (blocker)

Branden Bowen (blocker)

Jonathon Cooper (blocker)

Davon Hamilton (blocker)

Demetrius Knox (blocker)

Thayer Munford (blocker)

Malcolm Pridgeon (blocker)

Brady Taylor (blocker)

Munford replaced Kevin Woidke, who is not on Ohio State’s travel roster, as the right tackle on the Buckeyes’ placekicking unit for each of its eight extra point kicks on Saturday. Ohio State otherwise used an identical lineup on its extra point unit (the Buckeyes did not attempt any field goals on Saturday) as it did against UNLV.

Kickoffs

Blake Haubeil (kicker)

Baron Browning (gunner)

Elijaah Goins (gunner)

Justin Hilliard or Jared Drake (gunner)

Keandre Jones (gunner)

Austin Mack or Jeffrey Okudah (gunner)

Isaiah Pryor or Marcus Williamson (gunner)

Amir Riep (gunner)

Zach Turnure (gunner)

Pete Werner or Brendon White (gunner)

Jahsen Wint or Wayne Davis (gunner)

Wint returned to Ohio State’s primary kickoff coverage unit on Saturday in place of the absent Erick Smith, while Werner replaced Malik Harrison on the unit. The Buckeyes kept the rest of their primary kickoff coverage unit from the UNLV game intact, with Okudah replacing Mack late in the first half and Davis, Drake, White and Williamson subbing in later in the game.

Kickoff Returns

Parris Campbell (returner)

K.J. Hill (blocker)

Tuf Borland (blocker)

Johnnie Dixon (blocker)

Jordan Fuller (blocker)

Elijaah Goins (blocker)

Malik Harrison (blocker)

Justin Hilliard (blocker)

Keandre Jones (blocker)

Austin Mack (blocker)

Zach Turnure (blocker)

By virtue of allowing zero points in Saturday’s game, Ohio State’s kickoff return unit took the field only once. Dixon returned to the unit as a blocker for the first time since the Buckeyes’ second game against Oklahoma.

Punts

Drue Chrisman (punter)

Liam McCullough (long snapper)

Tuf Borland (upback)

Sam Hubbard (upback)

Malik Harrison (guard)

Zach Turnure (guard)

Jerome Baker (wing)

Keandre Jones (wing)

Terry McLaurin (wing/gunner)

Parris Campbell (wing) or Elijaah Goins (gunner)

Jeffrey Okudah or Denzel Ward or Kendall Sheffield (gunner)

All 14 players who saw time with Ohio State’s punting unit on Saturday had previously been on the field with the punting unit in at least one of the Buckeyes’ first four games.

Punt Returns

K.J. Hill or Demario McCall (returner)

Kendall Sheffield (blocker/rusher)

Justin Hilliard (blocker/rusher)

Pete Werner (blocker/rusher)

Damon Webb (blocker/rusher)

Jonathon Cooper (blocker/rusher)

Terry McLaurin (blocker/rusher)

Keandre Jones (blocker/rusher)

Denzel Ward (blocker/rusher)

Damon Arnette (blocker/rusher)

Elijaah Goins or Dante Booker (blocker/rusher)

Hill continued to serve as Ohio State’s primary punt returner in Saturday’s game, but McCall took over in the second half with the outcome of the game already well in hand. Each of the other players listed above were on the field for at least five punt return or punt block opportunities in Saturday’s game, even though the Buckeyes used a variety of lineups on that unit as they have all season.

SNAP TRACKER: Offense

POS	PLAYER	@ IU	OU	Army	UNLV	@ RU	TOTAL
QB	J.T. BARRETT	88	71	59	33	53	304
QB	DWAYNE HASKINS	DNP	DNP	10	50	14	74
QB	JOE BURROW	DNP	DNP	DNP	5	7	12
RB	J.K. DOBBINS	76	44	41	38	23	222
RB	MIKE WEBER	DNP	27	17	DNP	28	72
RB	ANTONIO WILLIAMS	12	DNP	10	38	DNP	60
RB	DEMARIO MCCALL	ST	DNP	DNP	8	21	29
RB	JORDAN LEASURE	DNP	DNP	1	10	DNP	11
RB	JARED DRAKE	DNP	DNP	ST	4	1	5
WR	TERRY MCLAURIN	49	41	52	25	41	208
WR	K.J. HILL	58	55	32	36	25	206
WR	BINJIMEN VICTOR	47	43	29	38	32	189
WR	AUSTIN MACK	41	19	41	31	34	166
WR	PARRIS CAMPBELL	47	38	32	11	28	156
WR	JOHNNIE DIXON	39	39	DNP	41	33	152
WR	C.J. SAUNDERS	7	DNP	9	31	23	70
WR	TREVON GRIMES	DNP	DNP	14	18	DNP	32
WR	JAYLEN HARRIS	DNP	DNP	DNP	19	7	26
WR	ELIJAAH GOINS	ST	ST	ST	ST	ST	ST
TE	MARCUS BAUGH	49	49	41	25	43	207
TE	LUKE FARRELL	11	DNP	9	37	9	66
TE	RASHOD BERRY	4	ST	15	24	22	65
TE	JAKE HAUSMANN	DNP	DNP	2	4	DNP	6
TE	DERRICK MALONE	DNP	DNP	DNP	ST	DNP	ST
OL	BRANDEN BOWEN	88	71	59	88	60	366
OL	MICHAEL JORDAN	88	71	59	41	60	319
OL	ISAIAH PRINCE	88	71	59	41	60	319
OL	JAMARCO JONES	82	71	59	41	60	313
OL	BILLY PRICE	83	71	59	33	53	299
OL	BRADY TAYLOR	5	DNP	10	55	21	91
OL	JOSHUA ALABI	DNP	DNP	10	47	14	71
OL	THAYER MUNFORD	DNP	DNP	10	47	14	71
OL	DEMETRIUS KNOX	ST	ST	10	30	13	53
OL	MALCOLM PRIDGEON	DNP	DNP	10	17	1	28
OL	MATTHEW BURRELL	6	ST	DNP	DNP	14	20
OL	KEVIN WOIDKE	DNP	ST	ST	ST	DNP	ST
K	SEAN NUERNBERGER	ST	ST	ST	ST	ST	ST
K	BLAKE HAUBEIL	ST	ST	ST	ST	ST	ST
K	BRYAN KRISTAN	DNP	DNP	ST	DNP	DNP	ST

SNAP TRACKER: DEFENSE

POS	PLAYER	@ IU	OU	Army	UNLV	@ RU	TOTAL
DE/DT	JALYN HOLMES	59	48	28	25	36	196
DE	NICK BOSA	62	47	25	27	28	189
DE	SAM HUBBARD	51	43	30	25	29	178
DE	TYQUAN LEWIS	48	43	29	23	33	176
DE	JONATHON COOPER	16	1	11	31	33	92
DE	CHASE YOUNG	13	DNP	9	35	34	91
DE	NICK SEME	DNP	DNP	DNP	ST	DNP	ST
DT	DRE'MONT JONES	54	59	42	17	DNP	172
DT	TRACY SPRINKLE	34	34	28	17	19	132
DT	ROBERT LANDERS	25	27	28	DNP	21	101
DT	JASHON CORNELL	14	10	9	22	25	80
DT	DAVON HAMILTON	6	ST	12	26	19	63
DT	HASKELL GARRETT	6	DNP	4	14	10	34
DT	MALIK BARROW	DNP	DNP	9	7	DNP	16
DT	DYLAN THOMPSON	DNP	DNP	DNP	11	DNP	11
LB	JEROME BAKER	89	77	60	42	42	310
LB	CHRIS WORLEY	87	77	25	DNP	DNP	189
LB	DANTE BOOKER	48	46	6	35	37	172
LB	TUF BORLAND	ST	ST	41	22	26	89
LB	MALIK HARRISON	19	17	4	21	20	81
LB	BARON BROWNING	6	ST	DNP	30	23	59
LB	KEANDRE JONES	6	ST	ST	23	16	45
LB	PETE WERNER	DNP	DNP	DNP	12	14	26
LB	JUSTIN HILLIARD	ST	ST	ST	3	13	16
LB	ZACH TURNURE	ST	ST	ST	ST	ST	ST
LB	HAYDEN JESTER	DNP	DNP	DNP	ST	DNP	ST
CB	DENZEL WARD	77	59	44	38	35	253
CB	DAMON ARNETTE	63	66	54	30	34	247
CB	KENDALL SHEFFIELD	62	39	30	41	48	220
CB	JEFFREY OKUDAH	7	ST	4	28	23	62
CB	MARCUS WILLIAMSON	DNP	DNP	DNP	17	13	30
CB	AMIR RIEP	ST	ST	ST	ST	7	7
CB	TREVON FORTE	DNP	DNP	DNP	ST	DNP	ST
S	DAMON WEBB	89	77	62	42	42	312
S	JORDAN FULLER	54	51	62	25	54	246
S	ERICK SMITH	42	26	66	43	DNP	177
S	ISAIAH PRYOR	6	ST	4	27	29	66
S	WAYNE DAVIS	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	10	10
S	BRENDON WHITE	DNP	DNP	DNP	ST	5	5
S	JAHSEN WINT	ST	ST	ST	ST	2	2
P	DRUE CHRISMAN	ST	ST	ST	ST	ST	ST
LS	LIAM MCCULLOUGH	ST	ST	ST	ST	ST	ST