Snap Counts: 76 Buckeyes Play Against Akron in Ohio State’s First Blowout Win of 2021 Season

For the first time in 2021 and in its final non-conference game of the year against Akron, Ohio State took care of business early and dominated its opponent. The Buckeyes took a 38-7 lead into halftime en route to a 59-7 final score, and because of that, they took most of their starters out of the game by the middle of the third quarter in order to get their backups some long-awaited reps.

A total of 76 different Ohio State players saw game action against Akron, and all but seven of them saw snaps on either offense or defense. Thirty different Buckeyes played at least one offensive snap while 39 different Buckeyes played at least one defensive snap as 20 different Ohio State players saw their first playing time of the year across all three phases.

We take a look at all of the snaps they played against the Zips below, with offensive and defensive snap counts provided by Pro Football Focus premium statistics and special teams snap counts compiled by Eleven Warriors data analyst Matt Gutridge.

Quarterbacks

Kyle McCord: 38
Jack Miller: 24

After C.J. Stroud played every snap at quarterback in Ohio State’s first three games of the season, McCord and Miller both got their first chance to play as Stroud was held out to rest his shoulder against Akron.

McCord, who was making his Ohio State debut, played every snap of the first half and the first two drives of the second half, in which he helped guide Ohio State to a 45-7 lead. Miller, who played 10 snaps but did not throw any passes as a true freshman in 2020, checked in for Ohio State’s third possession of the third quarter and played the remainder of the game at quarterback.

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Running Backs

TreVeyon Henderson: 21
Miyan Williams: 20
Master Teague: 14
Evan Pryor: 7

Henderson made his second consecutive start against Akron, joining McCord to become the first-ever true freshman quarterback/running back tandem to start in the same game for Ohio State, but did not play any snaps after halftime as the Buckeyes pulled out to a comfortable lead.

Williams moved back up into the No. 2 spot in the running back pecking order after sitting against Tulsa, while Teague was the third running back to enter the game, though Teague (71 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries) ended up outrushing Williams (47 yards on nine carries) against Akron.

Pryor made his Ohio State debut on the Buckeyes’ final possession of the game and ran for 35 yards on five carries, including a 12-yard touchdown.

Wide Receivers

Chris Olave: 31
Garrett Wilson: 29
Jaxon Smith-Njigba: 24
Marvin Harrison Jr.: 23
Emeka Egbuka: 21
Jayden Ballard: 15
Chris Booker: 10
Xavier Johnson: 10
Sam Wiglusz: 10

The starting trio of Olave, Wilson and Smith-Njigba played nearly all of the first-half snaps at wide receiver against Akron. With Julian Fleming sidelined by injury, the freshman trio of Harrison, Egbuka and Ballard played most of the snaps in the second half, in which Ballard made his Ohio State debut and all three of them made the first catches of their Buckeye careers, with Egbuka taking his for an 85-yard gain.

Booker, Johnson and Wiglusz, all walk-ons, got in the game for their first offensive snaps of the season on Ohio State’s final drive of the game, on which Booker also made his first catch as a Buckeye.

Tight Ends

Jeremy Ruckert: 24
Cade Stover: 22
Gee Scott Jr.: 17
Mitch Rossi: 10
Patrick Gurd: 1
Corey Rau: 1

Ruckert and Stover played most of the first-half snaps at tight end against Akron, while Stover continued to play into the second half. Scott, who played just two total snaps in the Buckeyes’ first three games, saw his first extended playing time at the tight end in the second half against the Zips.

Gurd and Rau, both walk-ons, made their Ohio State debuts as they got in the game for one snap each on the Buckeyes’ final possession.

Offensive Linemen

Matthew Jones: 62
Nicholas Petit-Frere: 46
Luke Wypler: 46
Paris Johnson Jr.: 46
Dawand Jones: 46
Enokk Vimahi: 16
Toby Wilson: 16
Donovan Jackson: 16
Josh Fryar: 16

With Thayer Munford sidelined by an ankle injury, Matthew Jones made his first start of the season and played every snap of the game at left guard, as he stayed in to finish the game with the second-team offensive line.

The other four starting offensive linemen – Petit-Frere at left tackle, Wypler at center, Johnson at right guard and Dawand Jones at right tackle – played through the Buckeyes’ third possession of the third quarter. The Buckeyes’ offensive line for their final two possessions of the game featured Vimahi at left tackle, Wilson (a walk-on true freshman) at center, Jackson (also a true freshman) at right guard and Fryar at right tackle, with Vimahi, Wilson and Fryar all playing their first offensive snaps of the season.

Defensive End

Jack Sawyer: 37
J.T. Tuimoloau: 35
Zach Harrison: 32
Cormontae Hamilton: 22
Darrion Henry-Young: 14
Aaron Cox: 7
Jacolbe Cowan: 5

Tuimoloau made his first career start opposite Harrison against Akron, but it was Ohio State’s other five-star freshman defensive end who played the most snaps at the position against the Zips, as Sawyer rotated in regularly in both halves and saw the first extended playing time of his young Buckeye career.

Those three defensive ends played most of the first-half snaps with Tyreke Smith and Javontae Jean-Baptiste both unavailable to play, but the Buckeyes also rotated in Hamilton, Henry-Young, Cowan and Cox as the game progresses, with Hamilton, Henry-Young and Cox all playing the highest snap counts of their Ohio State careers to date.

Defensive Tackle

Tyleik Williams: 29
Haskell Garrett: 26
Ty Hamilton: 26
Antwuan Jackson: 25
Jaden McKenzie: 22
Mike Hall: 15
Jerron Cage: 5
Bryce Prater: 1

A true freshman led the way in defensive tackle snaps, too, as Williams’ role in the defensive tackle rotation continued to grow. With Taron Vincent sidelined, Williams played as the second 3-technique behind Garrett for the second week in a row, while Hamilton was the second nose tackle into the game behind Jackson, as the starters played most of their snaps in the first half.

McKenzie played a career-high 22 snaps in his first game action of the season while Hall also made his Ohio State debut against Akron. Cage, who made his season debut against Tulsa after missing the first two games of the year, played just a handful of snaps against the Zips, though he did record a sack on one of them (one of eight sacks by Ohio State’s defensive tackles against Akron, as Garrett had three and Williams had two while Hamilton and Jackson also each had one). Prater, a walk-on freshman, played his first snap as a Buckeye on Akron’s final possession.

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Linebackers

Teradja Mitchell: 40
Steele Chambers: 32
Cody Simon: 24
Tommy Eichenberg: 21
Palaie Gaoteote: 18
Reid Carrico: 8
Ryan Batsch: 5
Cade Kacherski: 5
K’Vaughan Pope: Special teams only

After sitting out the Tulsa game with an undisclosed injury, Mitchell returned to the starting lineup at Will linebacker and played the most snaps of any linebacker against Akron, playing most of the first half and into the second half for the Buckeyes. Simon started alongside Mitchell at Mike linebacker, but did not play any snaps in the second half after apparently hurting his arm/shoulder late in the first half.

Eichenberg’s playing time decreased against Akron after he started the first three games of the year, but Chambers’ playing time increased as he ended up playing the second-most snaps among all linebackers against the Zips and led all Ohio State linebackers with five tackles in the game.

Gaoteote also saw the most playing time that he has as a Buckeye since being cleared to play before the Oregon game, though all of his snaps came in the second half. Carrico made his Ohio State debut on the Buckeyes’ final defensive series of the game, when walk-ons Kacherski and Batsch also played their first defensive snaps of the year.

Pope likely would have seen playing time at linebacker if not for his sideline blowup during Saturday’s game that ultimately led to his dismissal from the team on Sunday after he was escorted back to the locker room in the second quarter.

Cornerbacks

Sevyn Banks: 42
Denzel Burke: 42
Demario McCall: 25
Ryan Watts: 14
Lejond Cavazos: 13
Jordan Hancock: 9
Jakailin Johnson: 7
Lloyd McFarquhar: Special teams only

Burke and Banks both played all of Ohio State’s first 42 defensive snaps of the game, tying them for the most snaps among defenders against Akron, as the Buckeyes’ starting outside cornerbacks for the game. Cameron Brown, who started opposite Burke against both Oregon and Tulsa, was unavailable to play for the second time this season against Akron.

McCall and Cavazos were the second pair of cornerbacks to enter the game, taking over for Banks and Burke on Akron’s second possession of the third quarter. Watts was the fifth cornerback to enter the game, replacing Cavazos in the fourth quarter. Hancock and Johnson, both true freshmen, made their Ohio State debut as the outside cornerbacks on Akron’s final possession of the game. (Note: Pro Football Focus listed Watts as playing 12 snaps and Johnson as playing nine snaps, but our film study showed that Johnson played two fewer snaps than Hancock as he was replaced by Watts on two plays on the Buckeyes’ final defensive series.)

Sevyn Banks made his first start of the season and tied with three other Ohio State defensive backs for the most playing time against Akron.

Safeties

Cameron Martinez: 42
Lathan Ransom: 42
Ronnie Hickman: 41
Bryson Shaw: 26
Kourt Williams: 25
Marcus Williamson: 21
Craig Young: 15
Jantzen Dunn: 9
Marcus Hooker: 9
Andre Turrentine: Special teams only

Martinez made his first career start against Akron, replacing Ransom as Ohio State’s starting cover safety, but they both ended up tying for the most defensive snaps in Saturday’s game. Ransom came off the bench at free safety behind Shaw at free safety, who made his third consecutive start on the back end but played fewer snaps than Ransom against Akron after playing every defensive snap against Tulsa.

Hickman made his fourth consecutive start at bullet and continued to lock down his place in the lineup with a pick-six, but Williams also played his first defensive snaps of the season. Williams played ahead of Young as the second-team bullet against Akron, though Young also saw playing time, mostly in the fourth quarter.

Williamson saw most of his playing time in the second half as the backup cover safety, while Dunn made his Ohio State debut at cover safety on the Buckeyes’ final defensive series. Hooker, who started five games at free safety in 2020, also played his first defensive snaps of the season on the Buckeyes’ final defensive series.

Field Goals/Extra Points

Jesse Mirco (holder): 9
Bradley Robinson (long snapper): 9
Mitch Rossi (wing): 9
Matthew Jones (end): 9
Josh Fryar (tackle): 9
Dawand Jones (guard): 9
Donovan Jackson (guard): 9
Paris Johnson Jr. (tackle): 9
Enokk Vimahi (end): 9
Cade Stover (wing): 9
Noah Ruggles (kicker): 8
Dominic DiMaccio (kicker): 1

DiMaccio made his season debut following Ohio State’s final touchdown of the game and converted his first extra point attempt of the season. Otherwise, the place-kicking unit remained unchanged against Akron, as Ruggles remained perfect of the season by making a 32-yard field goal and all eight of his extra point attempts.

Kickoffs

Ryan Watts: 10
Noah Ruggles (kicker): 9
Chris Booker: 9
Jantzen Dunn: 9
Xavier Johnson: 9
Cade Kacherski: 9
Marcus Williamson: 9
Marcus Hooker: 8
Cade Stover: 7
Ronnie Hickman: 6
K’Vaughan Pope: 5
Jakailin Johnson: 4
Kourt Williams: 3
Ryan Batsch: 2
Jordan Hancock: 2
Dominic DiMaccio (kicker): 1
Reid Carrico: 1
Emeka Egbuka: 1
Palaie Gaoteote: 1
Lloyd McFarquhar: 1
Andre Turrentine: 1
Craig Young: 1

DiMaccio handled Ohio State’s final kickoff of the game after kicking the Buckeyes’ final extra point of the day. Ruggles handled every other kickoff of the game, and Booker, Dunn, Johnson, Kacherski and Williamson were all on the field for every kickoff until the last one, while Watts was on the field for all 10 (Note: It was impossible to identify two players on the final kickoff, which featured many different players from the previous kickoffs, from TV broadcast footage, so it’s possible that one or two additional players were also on the field for all 10 kickoffs.)

Pope was on the field for each of Ohio State’s first five kickoffs – the final five snaps he’ll play as a Buckeye – before his early exit from the Shoe.

Buckeyes who made their debuts on the kickoff unit against Akron included Dunn, Jakailin Johnson, Batsch, Hancock, Carrico, McFarquhar and Turrentine.

Kickoff Returns

Emeka Egbuka (returner): 2
Chris Booker: 2
Steele Chambers: 2
Marvin Harrison Jr.: 2
Xavier Johnson: 2
Cade Kacherski: 2
Mitch Rossi: 2
Cade Stover: 2
Craig Young: 2
Ryan Watts: 2
Marcus Williamson: 2

Aside from Watts replacing Julian Fleming, Ohio State made no other changes to its kickoff return unit against Akron. Egbuka did not return either of Akron’s two kickoffs.

Punts

Jesse Mirco (punter): 3
Bradley Robinson (long snapper): 3
Tommy Eichenberg (upback): 3
Mitch Rossi (upback): 3
Steele Chambers (guard): 3
Cade Kacherski (guard): 3
Xavier Johnson (tackle): 3
Lathan Ransom (tackle): 3
Chris Booker (gunner): 3
Chris Olave (gunner): 2
Jeremy Ruckert (wing): 2
Cade Stover (wing): 1
Sam Wiglusz (gunner): 1

Kacherski was a new addition to the punting unit against Akron, replacing Dallas Gant after he entered the transfer portal. Otherwise, the Buckeyes used the same core players on their punting unit against Akron as they did in previous games, with Stover and Wiglusz replacing Ruckert and Olave in the lineup for Mirco’s final punt in the fourth quarter.

Punt Blocks/Returns

Cameron Martinez: 8
Garrett Wilson (returner): 6
Denzel Burke: 6
Kourt Williams: 6
Steele Chambers: 5
Chris Booker: 4
Jordan Hancock: 4
Xavier Johnson: 4
Lathan Ransom: 4
Sevyn Banks: 3
Marcus Hooker: 3
Teradja Mitchell: 3
Jaxon Smith-Njigba (returner): 3
J.T. Tuimoloau: 3
Craig Young: 3
Lejond Cavazos: 2
Tommy Eichenberg: 2
Haskell Garrett: 2
Zach Harrison: 2
Ronnie Hickman: 2
Antwuan Jackson: 2
Jack Sawyer: 2
Mike Hall: 2
Palaie Gaoteote: 1
Ty Hamilton: 1
Darrion Henry-Young: 1
Demario McCall: 1
Jaden McKenzie: 1
Cody Simon: 1
Ryan Watts: 1

30 different Buckeyes saw on the punt return/block unit against Akron, including two different returners for the first time this season, as Smith-Njigba (who was also on the field as a non-returner for one Akron punt) fielded Akron’s final two punts. Martinez was the only Buckeye on the field for every Akron punt, as Ohio State kept its defense on the field to play punt safe for all of Akron’s second-half punts, but others who were on the Buckeyes’ standard punt block unit against the Zips included Burke, Williams, Chambers, Booker, Hancock, Johnson, Ransom, Hooker and Young.

Field Goal/Extra Point Block

Ty Hamilton: 2
Lathan Ransom: 2
Jack Sawyer: 2
Sevyn Banks: 1
Denzel Burke: 1
Steele Chambers: 1
Palaie Gaoteote: 1
Haskell Garrett: 1
Mike Hall: 1
Cormontae Hamilton: 1
Ronnie Hickman: 1
Antwuan Jackson: 1
Cameron Martinez: 1
Demario McCall: 1
Teradja Mitchell: 1
J.T. Tuimoloau: 1
Ryan Watts: 1
Kourt Williams: 1
Marcus Williamson: 1

Since Akron scored its only touchdown in the first quarter and attempted its only field goal on the fourth quarter, most of the starting defenders who were in the game for Akron’s lone touchdown were not on the field for Cory Smigel’s 42-yard field goal attempt, which he missed. Ty Hamilton, Ransom and Sawyer were the only defenders on the field for both plays.