Snap Counts: 60 Ohio State Players See Game Action in Buckeyes' Comeback Win over Penn State

If a player was on the field for Ohio State in its fifth game of the season against Penn State on Saturday, it was because the Buckeyes believed that player could help them win the game.

Unlike many of the Buckeyes’ previous games this season, there was no time to put backups on the field just to give them experience in Happy Valley on Saturday. Instead, the Buckeyes found them in a dogfight that lasted all the way into the final two minutes of the game, as they scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns before Chase Young made the game-sealing 4th-and-5 stop to come away with a 27-26 victory in a thrilling comeback.

Nine Buckeyes played every snap of the game on either offense or defense: quarterback Dwayne Haskins, all five starting offensive linemen, linebackers Malik Harrison and Pete Werner and safety Jordan Fuller. Several other key players, including Young and fellow defensive linemen Dre’Mont Jones and Jonathon Cooper, rotated out of the game far less frequently than they usually do.

Still, the Buckeyes put 60 players on the field between offense, defense and special teams on Saturday – four more than played in Ohio State’s only previous close game against TCU – as several more young Buckeyes earned their way into the rotations against the Nittany Lions, even if only for a couple snaps.

We take a look now at each of those players and how much playing time they saw against Penn State – as well as how much playing time they’ve seen all year – in the latest edition of Snap Counts.

All snap counts listed below were compiled by Eleven Warriors data analyst Matt Gutridge and should be considered unofficial, as Ohio State does not make its official snap counts public. It is not always possible to see all 11 players on the field from TV broadcast angles, particularly on special teams plays, so exact special teams snap counts are not included and offensive and defensive snap counts could potentially differ from those tracked by Ohio State’s coaches.

Quarterbacks

Dwayne Haskins: 79

Like Ohio State’s only previous closely contested game against TCU, Dwayne Haskins was on the field for every snap for the Buckeyes on Saturday. Despite preseason speculation that the Buckeyes could develop a package for Tate Martell, he’s only seen the field in lopsided games so far.

RELATED Dwayne Haskins Punches Out Penn State with Pair of Fourth-Quarter Touchdowns

Running Backs

J.K. Dobbins: 51
Mike Weber: 31

Even though Weber has been dealing with a foot strain, the Buckeyes continued to alternate their top two running backs throughout Saturday’s game. That said, Dobbins did see a heavier share of the workload than he did in previous weeks, carrying the ball 17 times and catching two passes on a season-high 51 snaps, while Weber had only nine carries and one catch.

Wide Receivers

Austin Mack: 48  
Terry McLaurin: 44 
Parris Campbell: 40   
Johnnie Dixon: 36
K.J. Hill: 32
Binjimen Victor: 27   
CJ Saunders: 6
Chris Olave: Special teams only

As they have been all season, Mack, McLaurin and Campbell were Ohio State’s starting receivers at Penn State and saw somewhat more snaps than their counterparts Victor, Dixon and Hill – with Mack playing the most snaps, and Victor playing the least snaps among the Buckeyes’ six receivers who rotate in and out of the lineup regularly, for the second game in a row.

Hill also lined up at quarterback on one play, with Haskins flanked out as a wide receiver, for a Wildcat run.

Saunders, as has been the case in previous weeks, saw playing time as a second slot receiver opposite Campbell or Hill on plays when the Buckeyes put four wide receivers on the field simultaneously.

Tight Ends

Luke Farrell: 41   
Rashod Berry: 37
Jeremy Ruckert: 2
Jake Hausmann: Special teams only

Unlike the TCU game, when Berry played nearly twice as many snaps as Farrell, the Buckeyes’ top two tight ends saw about equivalent playing time in Happy Valley, with Farrell playing just a few more snaps than Berry. The two tight ends were also on the field together for seven plays in Saturday’s game.

Ruckert, who did see any playing time against TCU, checked into the game for a pair of third-down plays – split out wide on both plays – in the third quarter.

Offensive Linemen

Thayer Munford: 79
Malcolm Pridgeon: 79
Michael Jordan: 79
Demetrius Knox: 79
Isaiah Prince: 79
Joshua Alabi: Special teams only
Gavin Cupp: Special teams only
Josh Myers: Special teams only
Wyatt Davis: Special teams only
Kevin Woidke: Special teams only

For the fifth game in a row to begin the season, Munford, Pridgeon, Jordan, Knox and Prince – from left to right – all played an equivalent number of snaps. Like in the TCU game, that meant all five starting offensive linemen played every one of Ohio State’s offensive snaps on Saturday, as the game came down to the wire.

Thayer Munford and the rest of Ohio State's starting offensive line played every snap in Saturday's game at Penn State.

Defensive Ends

Chase Young: 76
Jonathon Cooper: 58  
Jashon Cornell: 15
Tyler Friday: 2

Having never played more than 51 snaps in a game (the TCU game) before Saturday, Young played all but three snaps for the Buckeyes defense in State College, as he was called upon to play the leading role at the position (and did so spectacularly, earning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors) with Nick Bosa sidelined after core muscle surgery. Cooper, likewise, played a career-high snaps against Penn State as the starter opposite Young.

While the Buckeyes rotated their starting defensive ends out of the lineup far less than they usually do on Saturday, Cornell substituted in for some occasional snaps at defensive end and checked in as a defensive tackle in the “Rushmen” package for the Buckeyes’ final defensive series of the game. Friday also rotated in for a pair of first-half snaps at defensive end.

Defensive Tackles

Dre’Mont Jones: 75  
Davon Hamilton: 36
Robert Landers: 29
Tyreke Smith: 8
Haskell Garrett: 4
Tommy Togiai: 2

Despite suffering an ankle injury on the Buckeyes’ second-to-last defensive series, Jones played all but four snaps in Saturday’s game – only missing two plays after the injury, and only rotating out of the lineup for two plays before that – in what was also his new career-high for snaps played in a game. In addition to playing nearly every snap at defensive tackle in four-man fronts, Jones also lined up as a defensive end when the Buckeyes put their 3-3-5 defensive formation on the field.

Garrett took Jones’ place in the lineup for the four plays that he was not on the field.

Hamilton started his second consecutive game at nose tackle in place of Landers, who missed the Buckeyes’ previous game against Tulane with an undisclosed injury, but Landers did return to action and saw regular playing time at nose tackle both in the base defense and in the 3-3-5 defense. Togiai also rotated in for two snaps at nose tackle in the second quarter.

Smith, who has also seen playing time at defensive end this season, played exclusively as a defensive tackle in the “Rushmen” package against Penn State. By playing in his fifth game of the season, Smith is officially no longer eligible to redshirt as a true freshman.

Linebackers

Malik Harrison: 79   
Pete Werner: 79
Tuf Borland: 36
Baron Browning: 31
Dallas Gant: Special teams only
Justin Hilliard: Special teams only
Keandre Jones: Special teams only
Teradja Mitchell: Special teams only
K’Vaughan Pope: Special teams only

Harrison and Werner, the Buckeyes’ two starting outside linebackers, were both on the field for every one of Ohio State’s defensive plays against Penn State. Borland and Browning, meanwhile, rotated at middle linebacker, much like they did against TCU; Borland started the game and played the majority of snaps in the base defense, but Browning also played some series in the base defense while rotating in whenever the Buckeyes put their 3-3-5 nickel defense on the field.

Cornerbacks

Kendall Sheffield: 68  
Damon Arnette: 47  
Jeffrey Okudah: 43
Shaun Wade: 23
Cameron Brown: Special teams only
Tyreke Johnson: Special teams only
Marcus Williamson: Special teams only

Sheffield, Arnette and Okudah rotated over the course of the game as the Buckeyes’ outside cornerbacks, per usual, with Sheffield and Arnette playing most of the snaps until Arnette left the game with an injury early in the fourth quarter, at which point Okudah played the rest of Ohio State’s defensive snaps opposite Sheffield.

Wade was on the field at slot cornerback for all 23 snaps on which the Buckeyes put one of their nickel packages in the game.

Kendall Sheffield played a season-high 68 snaps to lead all cornerbacks against Penn State.

Safeties

Jordan Fuller: 79
Isaiah Pryor: 60  
Jahsen Wint: 19
Amir Riep: Special teams only
Brendon White: Special teams only

Like he did previously against TCU, Fuller played every defensive snap of the game for the Buckeyes at Penn State. Pryor was on the field alongside Fuller for every defensive snap until he was ejected from the game in the fourth quarter for a targeting penalty, at which point Wint replaced him in the lineup for the rest of the contest.

Field Goals/Extra Points

Sean Nuernberger (kicker)
Drue Chrisman (holder)
Liam McCullough (long snapper)
Luke Farrell (blocker)
Joshua Alabi (blocker)
Wyatt Davis (blocker)
Josh Myers (blocker)
Davon Hamilton (blocker)
Gavin Cupp (blocker)
Kevin Woidke (blocker)
Rashod Berry (blocker)

Ohio State made no changes to its placekicking unit against Penn State, using an identical lineup to that which it has used since its second game of the season against Rutgers.

Kickoffs

Blake Haubeil (kicker)
Jeffrey Okudah (gunner)
Baron Browning (gunner)  
Teradja Mitchell (gunner)
Marcus Williamson or Amir Riep or Shaun Wade (gunner)  
Isaiah Pryor or Amir Riep (gunner)
K.J. Hill (gunner)
Keandre Jones (gunner)
Jahsen Wint (gunner)
K'Vaughan Pope (gunner)
Justin Hilliard (gunner)

Mitchell was promoted to a full-time role on the kickoff unit and Browning returned to the kickoff unit against Penn State after playing only on defense against Tulane, replacing Dallas Gant and Dante Booker. Riep returned to see playing time on the kickoff unit after missing the Buckeyes’ previous game due to injury. Pope appeared in his fifth game of the season, exhausting his eligibility to redshirt this year.

Kickoff Returns

Johnnie Dixon (returner)
C.J. Saunders (returner/blocker)
Binjimen Victor (blocker)
Dallas Gant (blocker)
Keandre Jones (blocker)
Jahsen Wint (blocker)
Shaun Wade (blocker)
Brendon White (blocker)
Justin Hilliard (blocker)
Jake Hausmann (blocker)
Jeremy Ruckert (blocker)

The lone change to Ohio State’s kickoff return unit – which did not actually return any kickoffs on Saturday – from the Buckeyes’ previous game was the addition of Jones in place of Dante Booker, who did not play against the Nittany Lions. Gant exhausted his eligibility to redshirt as a true freshman by playing in his fifth game of the season.

Punts

Drue Chrisman (punter)
Liam McCullough (long snapper)
Jonathon Cooper (upback)
Tuf Borland (upback)
Pete Werner (upback)
Malik Harrison (guard)
Justin Hilliard (guard)
Jordan Fuller (tackle)
Jeffrey Okudah (gunner)
Terry McLaurin (gunner)
Marcus Williamson or Chris Olave (gunner)

After playing only on defense against Tulane, Cooper and Werner returned to the punting unit as protectors alongside Borland at Penn State. Fuller and Olave were both new additions to the punt team, with Olave also burning his redshirt by playing in his fifth game of the season.

Punt Blocks/Returners

K.J. Hill (returner)
Damon Arnette or Teradja Mitchell (rusher/blocker)
Kendall Sheffield (rusher/blocker)
Jordan Fuller or Cameron Brown (rusher/blocker)
Austin Mack or Keandre Jones (rusher/blocker)
Marcus Williamson or Tyreke Johnson (rusher/blocker)
Jahsen Wint (rusher/blocker)
Shaun Wade (rusher/blocker)
Brendon White (rusher/blocker)
Chris Olave (rusher/blocker)
Justin Hilliard (rusher/blocker)

After utilizing Hill, Demario McCall and C.J. Saunders on punt returns against Tulane, the Buckeyes stuck with only Hill against Penn State. Arnette, Sheffield, Fuller, Mack and Olave were all new additions to the punt block/return unit for Saturday’s game. Isaiah Pryor, Dallas Gant and Dante Booker, who all saw playing time on the punt block/return team in each of the Buckeyes’ first four games, did not play on the unit on Saturday.