Snap Counts: Six Ohio State Offensive Players Including C.J. Stroud, TreVeyon Henderson and Chris Olave Play Career-High Snaps Against Nebraska

In a game where Ohio State center Luke Wypler snapped the ball to C.J. Stroud 88 times, both of them were on the field for more plays than they ever have been before as Buckeyes. On a day where Garrett Wilson was unable to play, three wide receivers also played career-high snap counts as Chris Olave was on the field for all but one offensive play while Julian Fleming and Marvin Harrison Jr. played most of the snaps that would have usually been played by Wilson. Running back TreVeyon Henderson also played a new career-high in snaps against Nebraska, while offensive lineman Thayer Munford was also on the field for all 88 snaps (which was a season-high but not a career-high for the fourth-year starter).

Because the Buckeyes were only able to turn those 88 offensive plays into 26 points, they needed their starters to play all four quarters for the second game in a row. For the third time this season, along with the previous game against Penn State and the second game of the season against Oregon, exactly 57 players saw the field for Ohio State. Only two players who didn’t play against Penn State saw playing time against Nebraska – Master Teague and Cormontae Hamilton – while Wilson and Trey Leroux were the only Buckeyes who played against Penn State that didn’t play against the Cornhuskers.

Below, we break down all of the snaps for the 57 Buckeyes who did play in Lincoln. Offensive and defensive snap counts were provided by Pro Football Focus’ premium statistics, while special teams snap counts were compiled by Eleven Warriors data analyst Matt Gutridge.

Quarterbacks

C.J. Stroud: 88

Ohio State’s offense was on the field for a season-high 88 plays against Nebraska and Stroud was the quarterback for all of them, on which he attempted 54 passes – tying the Oregon game for the most passes he’s attempted in a game – and had a season-high 36 completions for 405 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions. It was the fifth time in eight starts this season and the second game in a row that Stroud has played the entire game.

Running Backs

TreVeyon Henderson: 74
Miyan Williams: 8
Master Teague: 5

Henderson played the highest snap count of his young Ohio State career to date as he was on the field for all but 14 of the Buckeyes’ offensive plays against Nebraska, even though he had to briefly come out of the game after taking a hard hit in the third quarter. He carried the ball on 21 of those 74 snaps for 92 rushing yards while he also caught six passes for 42 receiving yards.

Not including the three games that each of them haven’t played in, Williams and Teague both played single-digit snaps for the first time this season. Williams gained four yards on his only carry of the game in the third quarter while Teague had two carries for eight yards in the fourth quarter.

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Wide Receivers

Chris Olave: 87
Jaxon Smith-Njigba: 74
Julian Fleming: 56
Marvin Harrison Jr.: 36
Emeka Egbuka: 3
Chris Booker: Special teams only
Xavier Johnson: Special teams only

With Garrett Wilson unavailable to play against Nebraska, Olave almost never left the field against the Cornhuskers, playing all but one of Ohio State’s offensive snaps for a career-high 87. Smith-Njigba missed 14 snaps as he battled cramps during Saturday’s game, but that didn’t stop him from setting a new school record for receptions as he caught 15 passes for 240 yards and a touchdown against the Cornhuskers.

Fleming, who played only 20 offensive snaps in Ohio State’s first eight games, made his first start of the season in place of Wilson and played a career-high 56 snaps. Harrison also played the most snaps he’s played yet as a Buckeye as he rotated in for 36 snaps.

Despite the absence of Wilson and Smith-Njigba being out of the game at times, Egbuka played just three snaps – all in the slot – as Ohio State moved Olave inside to play some snaps in the slot with Fleming and Harrison outside while Smith-Njigba was off the field.

Julian Fleming made his first start of the season in place of Garrett Wilson.

Tight Ends

Jeremy Ruckert: 75
Mitch Rossi: 11
Cade Stover: 10

Ruckert played his second-highest snap count of the season as he was on the field for all but 13 of Ohio State’s offensive plays against Nebraska. He caught three passes for 13 yards on those 75 snaps.

Even though Ohio State ran more offensive plays than in any previous game this season, Stover tied his lowest snap count of the season. The Buckeyes only used two-tight end sets sparingly against the Huskers, and many of those snaps went to Rossi, who played more snaps than Stover for the first time all season – even including one play where he lined up as a wideout and caught a screen pass.

Offensive Linemen

Thayer Munford: 88
Luke Wypler: 88
Nicholas Petit-Frere: 76
Paris Johnson Jr.: 76
Dawand Jones: 72
Matt Jones: 40
Donovan Jackson: 1
Josh Fryar: Special teams only
Jakob James: Special teams only

By lining up at center for all 88 of Ohio State’s offensive plays against Nebraska, Wypler was the only Buckeye offensive lineman to play every snap of the game in the same position.

Munford was also on the field for all 88 of Ohio State’s offensive plays, but started the game at left tackle and played 28 total snaps there while playing the other 60 snaps at left guard, where he’s spent most of his time this season.

Petit-Frere started the game at right tackle in place of Dawand Jones, who did not play on either of Ohio State’s first two possessions because he was feeling ill before the game. Jones entered the lineup on the Buckeyes’ third drive and played the rest of the game at right tackle, at which point Petit-Frere moved back to left tackle, though Petit-Frere also missed 12 snaps later in the game, at which point Munford moved back to left tackle.

Matt Jones started the game at left guard and manned that spot for all 28 of the snaps that Munford played left tackle, while he also played 12 snaps at right guard in place of Johnson.

Jackson entered the game as a sixth offensive lineman for one red zone running play in the second quarter, marking the fourth time this season that the Buckeyes have brought Jackson in for one or two plays as an extra offensive lineman.

Defensive Ends

Zach Harrison: 54
Tyreke Smith: 53
Javontae Jean-Baptiste: 13
J.T. Tuimoloau: 10
Jack Sawyer: 5
Cormontae Hamilton: Special teams only

Ohio State relied primarily on its top two defensive ends against Nebraska as Harrison played all but 12 defensive snaps while Smith played all but 13. Jean-Baptiste and Tuimoloau both played their lowest snap counts of the season (excluding the Akron game for Jean-Baptiste, which he was unavailable for). Sawyer played his lowest snap count of the season since Ohio State’s second game of the season, though that may have been due to injury as he appeared to suffer an injury to his midsection on a quarterback hit in the second quarter.

Defensive Tackles

Taron Vincent: 41
Antwuan Jackson: 28
Jerron Cage: 17
Tyleik Williams: 15
Ty Hamilton: 13
Haskell Garrett: 12

Vincent played his largest snap count since the first two games of the season as he started and played the majority of snaps at 3-technique against Nebraska. Garrett, who has played the most snaps among defensive tackles this season, played his lowest snap count of the season and the fewest snaps of the six defensive tackles who saw the field in Lincoln, as Williams also played more snaps than Garrett at 3-technique.

Jackson returned to the starting lineup at nose tackle for the first time in three games and played the second-most snaps among defensive tackles against the Cornhuskers while Cage and Hamilton rotated in behind him.

Linebackers

Cody Simon: 39
Steele Chambers: 36
Tommy Eichenberg: 23
Palaie Gaoteote: 19
Teradja Mitchell: 11
Craig Young: 5
Cade Kacherski: Special teams only

Even though Mitchell made his eighth start of the season, he spent most of the game watching from the sideline as he played his lowest snap count of the season (with the exception of the Tulsa game, which he missed due to injury). Gaoteote played his largest snap count as a Buckeye so far as he played most of the first half at Will linebacker in place of Mitchell. Even though he was suspended for the first half of the game due to a targeting ejection against Penn State, Chambers saw the second-most snaps among linebackers as he played all but one snap of the second half at Will linebacker.

Simon led all linebackers in playing time as he made his sixth consecutive start and played the majority of snaps at middle linebacker, while Eichenberg also saw snaps in the Mike rotation throughout the game. Young played all five of his snaps in pass coverage situations as a dime package specialist.

Steele Chambers played the second-most snaps among linebackers against Nebraska despite missing the entire first half.

Cornerbacks

Denzel Burke: 59
Sevyn Banks: 46
Cameron Brown: 25
Demario McCall: Special teams only
Ryan Watts: Special teams only

Although Brown made his first start since the Tulsa game opposite Burke, he still played the third-most snaps in the cornerback rotation as Banks was on the field for about 70 percent of Ohio State’s defensive plays while Burke was in the game for all but seven of Ohio State’s defensive plays. Brown briefly left the game with an apparent injury after making a tackle on Nebraska’s first offensive play of the game, but was able to return to the game on the next series and appeared to be fine.

Safeties

Ronnie Hickman: 66
Bryson Shaw: 65
Marcus Williamson: 38
Lathan Ransom: 28
Cameron Martinez: 5
Marcus Hooker: Special teams only
Kourt Williams: Special teams only

Hickman was the lone Buckeye to play every single defensive snap against Nebraska, but Shaw also played every snap but one as they remained mainstays in the lineup at safety. Williamson made his fourth consecutive start at the cover safety position, where he split snaps with Ransom, while Martinez played in dime packages as a second cover safety/slot cornerback.

Field Goals/Extra Points

Noah Ruggles (kicker): 6
Jesse Mirco (holder): 6
Bradley Robinson (long snapper): 6
Mitch Rossi (wing): 6
Matt Jones (end): 6
Josh Fryar (tackle): 6
Dawand Jones (guard): 6
Donovan Jackson (guard): 6
Paris Johnson Jr. (tackle): 6
Jakob James (end): 6
Cade Stover (wing): 6

Johnson, who had been a staple of Ohio State’s field goal unit for the first seven games of the season, returned to the unit against Nebraska after being replaced by Trey Leroux and Nicholas Petit-Frere against Penn State. The rest of the unit remained unchanged from the Penn State game, as James continued to play end in place of Enokk Vimahi even though Vimahi was on the travel roster after being listed as unavailable for the previous two games.

Ruggles made four field goals for the second week in a row while he also made both of his extra point attempts to remain perfect for the season.

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Kickoffs

Noah Ruggles (kicker): 7
Chris Booker: 7
Xavier Johnson: 7
Cade Kacherski: 7
Cameron Martinez: 7
Demario McCall: 7
Teradja Mitchell: 7
Cade Stover: 7
Ryan Watts: 7
Kourt Williams: 7
Marcus Hooker: 6
Marcus Williamson: 1

Williamson started the game on the kickoff coverage unit but was replaced on the rest of the Buckeyes’ kickoffs by Hooker. Booker, Johnson, Kacherski, McCall, Stover and Watts all joined Ruggles on the field for every kickoff for the third game in a row while Martinez, Mitchell and Williams were also all mainstays on the kickoff coverage unit against Nebraska.

Kickoff Returns

Xavier Johnson (blocker/returner): 4
Chris Booker: 4
Marvin Harrison Jr.: 4
Cade Kacherski: 4
Mitch Rossi: 4
Cade Stover: 4
Ryan Watts: 4
Miyan Williams: 4
Marcus Williamson: 4
Craig Young: 4
Emeka Egbuka (returner): 3
Steele Chambers: 1

Egbuka was the deep man for each of Nebraska’s three first-half kickoffs, returning one of them for a 24-yard gain. He was replaced by Johnson for Nebraska’s lone kickoff of the second half, which he fair caught. Williams played the entire game on the kickoff return unit for the first time, taking Chambers’ place for the first half while Chambers was serving his suspension, but Chambers rejoined the unit and lined up in Johnson’s usual spot on Nebraska’s final kickoff of the game.

Everyone else on the kickoff return unit played the roles they’ve played in previous games.

Punts

Jesse Mirco (punter): 4
Bradley Robinson (long snapper): 4
Tommy Eichenberg (upback): 4
Mitch Rossi (upback): 4
Cade Kacherski (guard): 4
Xavier Johnson (tackle): 4
Lathan Ransom (tackle): 4
Jeremy Ruckert (wing): 4
Chris Booker (gunner): 3
Chris Olave (gunner): 3
Steele Chambers (guard): 2
Cody Simon (guard): 2
Julian Fleming (gunner): 1
Jaxon Smith-Njigba (gunner): 1

Simon took Chambers’ place on the punting unit for both of Mirco’s first-half punts, but Chambers returned to his usual role as a guard for the punt team for both of Mirco’s second-half punts. Four different wide receivers got reps at gunner for the punt team at Nebraska as Booker and Olave were each on the field for three of Mirco’s four punts while Fleming and Smith-Njigba each checked in for one.

The rest of the punt team remained unchanged from previous games, and Mirco split special teams player of the week honors with Ruggles after averaging 40.5 yards per punt with two punts downed inside the 10-yard line.

Punt Blocks/Returns

Denzel Burke: 8
Jaxon Smith-Njigba (returner): 7
Chris Booker: 6
Marvin Harrison Jr.: 6
Marcus Hooker: 6
Cade Kacherski: 6
Cameron Martinez: 6
Craig Young: 6
Demario McCall: 5
Kourt Williams: 5
Emeka Egbuka: 4
Xavier Johnson: 3
Sevyn Banks: 2
Steele Chambers: 2
Cormontae Hamilton: 2
Zach Harrison: 2
Ronnie Hickman: 2
Chris Olave (returner): 1
Jerron Cage: 1
Tommy Eichenberg: 1
Ty Hamilton: 1
Lathan Ransom: 1
Cody Simon: 1
Cade Stover: 1
Taron Vincent: 1
Tyleik Williams: 1
Marcus Williamson: 1

Ohio State’s core punt block/return unit for most of Nebraska’s punts consisted of Smith-Njigba returning punts with Booker, Burke, Harrison, Hooker, Kacherski, Martinez, Young and three of McCall, Williams, Egbuka and Johnson joining him on the field. The Buckeyes kept their defenders on the field for two of Nebraska’s second-half punts, though they substituted Cormontae Hamilton in at defensive end for both of those punts for his only playing time of the game.

Olave replaced Smith-Njigba at punt returner for one of Nebraska’s third-quarter punts when Smith-Njigba was on the sidelines with cramps, and gained four yards on his lone punt return of the day. Smith-Njigba was on the field for each of Nebraska’s other punts, returning three of them for 28 combined yards.

Field Goal/Extra Point Block

Denzel Burke: 5
Ronnie Hickman: 5
Bryson Shaw: 5
J.T. Tuimoloau: 5
Sevyn Banks: 4
Cody Simon: 4
Haskell Garrett: 3
Ty Hamilton: 3
Zach Harrison: 3
Marcus Williamson: 3
Palaie Gaoteote: 2
Teradja Mitchell: 2
Lathan Ransom: 2
Taron Vincent: 2
Cameron Brown: 1
Steele Chambers: 1
Tommy Eichenberg: 1
Antwuan Jackson: 1
Javontae Jean-Baptiste: 1
Tyreke Smith: 1
Tyleik Williams: 1

For the fifth game in a row, Tuimoloau was on the field for every opposing field goal and extra point attempt as the Buckeyes brought him in as a kick-blocking specialist. Otherwise, Ohio State’s kick-blocking unit mainly consisted of the defenders who were already on the field at the time. Nebraska attempted three field goals and two extra points against the Buckeyes, but Chase Contreraz made just one of the three field goal attempts.