Peach Bowl Snap Counts: Dallan Hayden, Xavier Johnson, Mitch Rossi and Joe Royer Play Expanded Roles in Ohio State’s Final Game of 2022

Fifty-two Ohio State players added to their snap counts in the Peach Bowl as 19 Buckeyes played on offense, 20 played on defense and another 13 played on special teams only. Notably, Dallan Hayden and Xavier Johnson saw expanded playing time at running back due to TreVeyon Henderson being out and Miyan Williams being limited due to injuries while Mitch Rossi and Joe Royer played increased roles at tight end as Cade Stover exited the game early with Gee Scott Jr. already out. Sonny Styles tied his season-high of 12 snaps as he played his biggest role yet with the first-team defense in a hybrid safety/linebacker role.

As Ohio State’s season came to an end with a 42-41 loss against Georgia, four Buckeyes reached the 800-snap mark for the season (quarterback C.J. Stroud and offensive linemen Paris Johnson Jr., Donovan Jackson and Luke Wypler) while seven others finished above 700 snaps for the year (wide receivers Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka, Stover, offensive linemen Matt Jones and Dawand Jones, linebacker Tommy Eichenberg and safety Ronnie Hickman).

Linebacker Steele Chambers and safety Lathan Ransom finished the year above 600 snaps on defense while cornerback Denzel Burke finished with 582 defensive snaps for the year to round out the top five on that side of the ball. Xavier Johnson finished the season as the Buckeyes’ 2022 snaps leader on special teams with Sonny Styles, Caden Curry and Cody Simon joining him in the 200-snap club.

Our final breakdown of how much snaps every Buckeye played in Ohio State’s College Football Playoff semifinal defeat and for the 2022 season as a whole is below. Offensive and defensive snap counts were charted by Pro Football Focus while Eleven Warriors data analyst Matt Gutridge tracked all special teams snap counts. All snap counts should be considered unofficial as they were not provided by Ohio State.

Quarterbacks

C.J. Stroud: 70

Stroud played every snap of the game at quarterback in five of Ohio State’s final six games of the season including the Peach Bowl. In what is likely to be his final game as a Buckeye, Stroud had one of the finest performances of his Ohio State career against Georgia, completing 23 of 34 passing attempts for 348 yards and four touchdowns while also running for 70 yards (not including sacks), doing just about everything he could to give the Buckeyes a chance to win even though they came up just short.

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Running Backs

Dallan Hayden: 33
Xavier Johnson: 33
Chip Trayanum: 6
Miyan Williams: 5

After playing only 11 snaps in the regular-season finale against Michigan, Hayden played three times that many against Georgia as he made the first start of his Ohio State career, marking the fourth time in his true freshman year that he played at least 33 offensive snaps.

Johnson, who played mostly as a wide receiver during the regular season, played the second-most snaps of the game at running back and the same number of snaps as Hayden overall as he lined up in the backfield on 17 plays and as a wide receiver on 16 plays. Mitch Rossi played the third-most snaps of the game at running back (nine), all in passing situations because of his blocking ability, though he still played most of his snaps as a tight end or fullback.

Williams, who was both coming off an ankle injury and battling a stomach bug, played all five of his snaps on the Buckeyes’ third drive of the game, which he finished off with a 2-yard touchdown run. Trayanum, who led all running backs with 34 snaps against Michigan, mixed into the rotation on only a couple of series against Georgia.

Wide Receivers

Emeka Egbuka: 65
Julian Fleming: 63
Marvin Harrison Jr.: 49
Jayden Ballard: 3

Egbuka was on the field for all but five of Ohio State’s offensive plays while Fleming was in the game for all but seven of the Buckeyes’ offensive plays against Georgia. Harrison was on the field for all but two of Ohio State’s offensive plays in the first three quarters, but was knocked out of the game with a concussion on the Buckeyes’ final offensive play of the third quarter.

After Harrison exited the game, Johnson played most of the fourth quarter in his place at X receiver in three-receiver formations though Ballard also entered the game for three plays – three of his only snaps with the first-team offense all season – when Johnson was lined up at running back.

Tight Ends

Mitch Rossi: 47
Joe Royer: 28
Cade Stover: 13
Sam Hart: 1
Patrick Gurd: Special teams only

Stover played Ohio State’s first 13 offensive plays of the game before being upended on a hurdle attempt and suffering back spasms that sent him to the hospital for precautionary reasons. With Stover out of the game and Gee Scott Jr. also sidelined after being listed as a game-time decisions, Rossi played a career-high 47 snaps in his final game as a Buckeye while Royer played four times as many offensive snaps as he did during the entire regular season.

Hart also joined Royer and Rossi on the field for one play in a multi-tight end set shortly after Stover left the game, but did not return to the game after that as Rossi and Royer split the work at tight end for the rest of the night.

Offensive Linemen

Paris Johnson Jr.: 70
Donovan Jackson: 70
Luke Wypler: 70
Matt Jones: 70
Dawand Jones: 70
Josh Fryar: 4
Jakob James: Special teams only
Zen Michalski: Special teams only

All five of Ohio State’s starting offensive linemen were on the field for all of the Buckeyes’ 70 offensive snaps against Georgia as Matt Jones returned to action after missing the Michigan game with a foot sprain. Fryar also joined them on the field as a sixth offensive lineman for four plays, including multiple plays near midfield rather than in the red zone, where he played the vast majority of his snaps in the Bison package during the regular season.

Defensive Ends

JT Tuimoloau: 51
Zach Harrison: 49
Jack Sawyer: 16
Javontae Jean-Baptiste: 9
Caden Curry: Special teams only

Tuimoloau and Harrison both played at least 49 snaps – with Tuimoloau topping 500 snaps for the season in the process – for the fifth time in Ohio State’s final six games of the season as the Buckeyes leaned primarily on their starting defensive ends against Georgia.

Sawyer played fewer than 20 snaps as the No. 3 defensive end (with just one snap at the Jack linebacker position) for a second game in a row to end the season after he played more than 20 snaps in all of Ohio State’s first 11 games. Jean-Baptiste played only single-digit snaps for a third straight game to end the season after he played at least 16 snaps in each of the Buckeyes’ first 10 games of the year. Tyler Friday did not play at all against Georgia after playing in eight of Ohio State’s 12 regular-season games.

Defensive Tackles

Taron Vincent: 36
Ty Hamilton: 32
Tyleik Williams: 25
Mike Hall Jr.: 16
Jerron Cage: 8

Vincent led all defensive tackles in playing time and Hamilton played the second-most snaps among DTs for the fifth game in a row to end the season as each of them played just over half of Ohio State’s 62 defensive plays against Georgia. Williams played the third-most snaps among DTs for the fifth game in a row as Hall played fewer than 20 snaps for a fifth consecutive game to end the 2022 season. Cage played only single-digit snaps for a third straight game to end the year as he rounded out the Buckeyes’ five-man defensive tackle rotation.

Linebackers

Steele Chambers: 62
Tommy Eichenberg: 62
Cody Simon: 1
Palaie Gaoteote IV: Special teams only
C.J. Hicks: Special teams only
Teradja Mitchell: Special teams only

Chambers and Eichenberg both played exactly 62 defensive snaps for a second game in a row to conclude the year as both of them were on the field for every defensive play against Georgia as Ohio State’s two primary linebackers.

Simon, who had played at least four snaps in every regular-season game, played only one defensive snap against Georgia as his role in the defense as a third linebacker was replaced by freshman safety Sonny Styles, who played as a box safety off the bench against the Bulldogs.

Cornerbacks

Cameron Brown: 62
Denzel Burke: 61
Jyaire Brown: 1
JK Johnson: Special teams only

Cameron Brown and Burke were both on the field for all of Ohio State’s defensive snaps against Georgia until the final play – a kneel-down by Stetson Bennett after Noah Ruggles’ missed field goal sealed the Buckeyes’ fate – as Jyaire Brown replaced Burke for the last snap of the game.

Safeties

Ronnie Hickman: 62
Lathan Ransom: 62
Tanner McCalister: 48
Sonny Styles: 12
Cameron Martinez: 7
Josh Proctor: Special teams only

Like Chambers and Eichenberg, Hickman and Ransom both played all 62 of Ohio State’s defensive snaps for the second game in a row to end the season as the Buckeyes’ top two safeties.

McCalister started at nickel safety and played a majority of snaps but was subbed out in favor of Styles on 12 plays and Simon and Martinez on one play each. Martinez also joined McCalister, Hickman and Ransom on the field for six plays in the dime package as a sixth defensive back.

Field Goals/Extra Points

Noah Ruggles (kicker): 8
Jesse Mirco (holder): 8
Mason Arnold (long snapper): 8
Caden Curry (wing): 8
Zen Michalski (end): 8
Matt Jones (tackle): 8
Donovan Jackson (guard): 8
Paris Johnson Jr. (guard): 8
Dawand Jones (tackle): 8
Jakob James (end): 8
Sam Hart (wing): 5
Mitch Rossi (wing): 2
Cade Stover (wing): 1

Matt Jones joined the field goal team for the final game of the season in place of Enokk Vimahi, who did not play against Georgia. Hart took Stover’s place on the field for four extra points and one field goal attempt after Stover left the game, but Rossi replaced Hart for each of Ruggles’ final two field goal attempts – a 48-yarder which he made and the 50-yarder he missed.

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Kickoffs

Jayden Fielding (kicker): 8
Caden Curry: 8
Palaie Gaoteote IV: 8
Ronnie Hickman: 8
JK Johnson: 8
Tanner McCalister: 8
Teradja Mitchell: 8
Josh Proctor: 8
Cody Simon: 8
Sonny Styles: 8
Xavier Johnson: 5
Cameron Martinez: 3

Johnson was on the field for Fielding’s first five kickoffs of the Peach Bowl while Martinez took his place for the final three. No other changes were made to the kickoff coverage unit over the course of the game. Everyone who played on the kickoff coverage unit against Georgia had also done so in previous games, and Fielding finished the year having handled every kickoff for Ohio State during the 2022 season.

Kickoff Returns

Xavier Johnson (returner): 8
Steele Chambers: 8
Caden Curry: 8
Palaie Gaoteote IV: 8
C.J. Hicks: 8
Tanner McCalister: 8
Mitch Rossi: 8
Cody Simon: 8
Sonny Styles: 8
Dallan Hayden: 5
Patrick Gurd: 4
Joe Royer: 4
Julian Fleming: 3

Hicks returned to action and was on the field for all eight of Georgia’s kickoffs after leaving with an injury on the opening kickoff of the Michigan game. Fleming started the Peach Bowl on the kickoff return unit but was replaced by Hayden for Georgia’s final five kickoffs while Gurd, who did not play in any of Ohio State’s final six regular-season games, replaced Royer on the return team for Georgia’s final four kickoffs.

Punts

Jesse Mirco (punter): 5
Mason Arnold (long snapper): 5
Tommy Eichenberg (upback): 5
Mitch Rossi (upback): 5
Steele Chambers (guard): 5
Cody Simon (guard/wing): 5
Emeka Egbuka (tackle): 5
Xavier Johnson (tackle): 5
Josh Proctor (gunner): 5
Julian Fleming (gunner): 4
Chip Trayanum (guard): 4
Cade Stover (wing): 1
Jayden Ballard (gunner): 1

Simon moved to Stover’s usual spot on the wing for Mirco’s final four punts of the Peach Bowl while Traynaum took Simon’s place at guard after Stover exited the game early. Ballard took the field as a gunner for Ohio State’s final punt of the night after Fleming played that role opposite Proctor for the Buckeyes’ first four punts against the Bulldogs.

(Note: Donovan Jackson was also on the field as an illegal 12th man on Rossi’s fake punt run in the fourth quarter, but that play did not count as an actual snap since Georgia called a timeout just before the snap.)

Punt Blocks/Returns

Emeka Egbuka (returner): 2
Cameron Brown: 2
Caden Curry: 2
Palaie Gaoteote IV: 2
JK Johnson: 2
Xavier Johnson: 2
Josh Proctor: 2
Lathan Ransom: 2
Joe Royer: 2
Cody Simon: 2
Sonny Styles: 2 

Brown and Simon joined Ohio State’s punt block unit against Georgia, replacing Jordan Hancock and Gee Scott Jr., who were on the punt block team against Michigan but did not play in the Peach Bowl. Egbuka fair caught each of Georgia’s two punts, both of which came on the Bulldogs’ first two possessions of the second half.

Field Goal/Extra Point Block

Cameron Brown: 8
Denzel Burke: 8
Steele Chambers: 8
Tommy Eichenberg: 8
Ronnie Hickman: 8
Lathan Ransom: 8
Sonny Styles: 8
JT Tuimoloau: 7
Taron Vincent: 6
Zach Harrison: 5
Ty Hamilton: 4
Jerron Cage: 2
Mike Hall: 2
Javontae Jean-Baptiste: 2
Jack Sawyer: 2
Tyleik Williams: 2

As was the case for most of the regular season, the field goal/extra point block team consisted of defensive players who were on the field for the previous play with the addition of Styles, who entered the game for all of Jack Podlesny’s four field goal attempts and four extra point attempts regardless of who had been in the game at nickel safety for the previous play.