Snap Counts: 63 Buckeyes See Playing Time As Ohio State Expands Rotations Against Arkansas State

A total of 63 Buckeyes, including 22 players on offense, 30 on defense, and 11 who played only on special teams, saw game action against the Red Wolves. While injured wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba was the only Buckeye who played against the Fighting Irish that didn’t play against Arkansas State, 13 other Buckeyes made their season debuts, including nine freshmen who saw their first playing time in any capacity for Ohio State.

Ohio State’s starters and rotational regulars still saw the majority of the action in Week 2, as the Buckeyes kept starters on the field on both sides of the ball into the fourth quarter. Following the initial offensive and defensive series of the fourth quarter, the Buckeyes turned to backups to finish out the 45-12 win.

Our full rundown of how many snaps each Buckeye played at every offensive and defensive position and every special teams unit, and what we can take away from those snap counts, is below. Offensive and defensive snap counts are courtesy of Pro Football Focus’ premium statistics, while special teams snap counts were tabulated by Eleven Warriors data analyst Matt Gutridge. All snap counts should be considered unofficial, as Ohio State did not provide them.

Quarterbacks

C.J. Stroud: 48
Kyle McCord: 8

While McCord got the opportunity to take his first snaps of the season as Ohio State’s backup quarterback on Saturday, it wasn’t until the Buckeyes’ second drive of the fourth quarter. He ended up only getting in the game for one possession after a muffed punt squandered the opportunity for Ohio State’s offense to get back on the field for one final series.

In his first drive of the season, McCord completed three of his four passing attempts for 19 yards. Stroud, meanwhile, attempted passes on exactly half of his snaps in the game and completed 16 of those 24 throws for 351 yards and four touchdowns.

Running Backs

Miyan Williams: 27
TreVeyon Henderson: 21
Dallan Hayden: 8

Although Henderson started Saturday’s game at running back, Williams ended up playing the most snaps among Buckeye ballcarriers against Arkansas State. Henderson had more carries than Williams, though, as Henderson ran the ball 10 times for 87 yards and two touchdowns while Williams had eight rushing attempts for 46 yards.

Hayden played all of his snaps alongside McCord on the Buckeyes’ final offensive series. He touched the ball on six of those snaps and gained 26 yards from scrimmage (13 rushing, 13 receiving) on four carries and two catches.

RELATED Freshman Tracker: Caden Curry Celebrates, Dallan Hayden Holds His Own and Nine Other Freshmen See The Field

Wide Receivers

Marvin Harrison Jr.: 47
Emeka Egbuka: 43
Xavier Johnson: 37
Jayden Ballard: 14

With Smith-Njigba, Julian Fleming and Kamryn Babb all held out of Saturday’s game as they recover from injuries, Ohio State played only four wide receivers against Arkansas State.

Harrison played all but one snap with the first-team offense, while Egbuka played all but five. Johnson joined them in the lineup as the slot receiver in three-receiver formations, while Ballard occasionally rotated in for outside receiver snaps.

Ohio State opted not to play any of its four true freshman wide receivers against Arkansas State, instead keeping Ballard and Johnson on the field as the only two wideouts for the second-team offense’s lone drive.

Tight Ends

Cade Stover: 44
Mitch Rossi: 23
Gee Scott Jr.: 16
Patrick Gurd: Special teams only
Joe Royer: Special teams only

Likely in part due to its lack of healthy veteran wide receivers, Ohio State utilized 12 personnel on nearly half of its offensive plays against Arkansas State.

While Stover was on the field for all but four plays with the first-team offense, Rossi and Scott also mixed in for playing time with Stroud and the starters, mostly in two-tight end sets with Stover. Scott, who has seemingly beaten out Royer to be Ohio State’s No. 3 tight end, and Rossi were both on the field for all eight plays, with the second-team offense on the Buckeyes’ final possession.

Offensive Linemen

Paris Johnson Jr.: 48
Donovan Jackson: 48
Luke Wypler: 48
Matt Jones: 48
Dawand Jones: 48
Zen Michalski: 8
Enokk Vimahi: 8
Jakob James: 8
Tegra Tshabola: 8
Josh Fryar: 8

All five starting offensive linemen were on the field for all 48 snaps that Stroud was on the field against Arkansas State. Despite leaving the stadium in a walking boot after the Notre Dame game, Wypler played all of the first-team snaps at center in between the left side of Johnson and Jackson and the right side of Matt and Dawand Jones.

The Buckeyes’ second-team offensive line for their final series of the game consisted of Michalski at left tackle, Vimahi at left guard, James at center, Tshabola at right guard and Fryar at right tackle, with Tshabola playing the first snaps of his Ohio State career in the process.

Defensive Ends

Zach Harrison: 33
Jack Sawyer: 27
J.T. Tuimoloau: 27
Javontae Jean-Baptiste: 25
Tyler Friday: 16
Caden Curry: 12
Kenyatta Jackson: 12
Omari Abor: 9

Ohio State has eight scholarship defensive ends available to play this season, and all saw playing time against Arkansas State.

Harrison and Tuimoloau started for the second week in a row. They played the most snaps at defensive end alongside Sawyer, who continued to play most of his snaps as a Jack linebacker rather than as a traditional defensive end. Fifth-year seniors Jean-Baptiste and Friday also mixed in with the first-team defensive end rotation, with Friday also playing a few snaps inside as a 3-technique defensive tackle.

Curry checked into the game on the final play of the third quarter and made the most of his first 12 snaps as a Buckeye, recording four total tackles, including a tackle for loss. Fellow true freshmen Jackson and Abor made their Ohio State debuts on the final two series of the game, with Jackson also recording a tackle.

Defensive Tackles

Mike Hall: 28
Ty Hamilton: 26
Tyleik Williams: 25
Taron Vincent: 22
Jaden McKenzie: 21
Jerron Cage: 17
Hero Kanu: 11

Like at defensive end, Larry Johnson played his entire roster of scholarship defensive tackles – seven in total – against Arkansas State.

Hall and Vincent started at defensive tackle for the second week in a row. Hall played the most snaps among defensive tackles even though he left the game in the third quarter with a shoulder injury (which is not expected to force him to miss any time). Vincent watched from the sideline's second half after being called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at the end of the first half.

Williams and Cage were the second pair of defensive tackles into the game behind Vincent and Hall. Still, Hamilton ended up playing the second-most snaps of any defensive tackle as he remained in the rotation through the game's final drive.

McKenzie also entered the rotation for the first time this season, with most of his snaps coming in the second half. At the same time, Kanu played his first snaps as a Buckeye as the 3-tech defensive tackle for Arkansas State’s final two possessions of the game.

RELATED Players of the Game: Marvin Harrison Jr., Mike Hall Earn Top Honors for Ohio State’s Win over Arkansas State

Linebackers

Tommy Eichenberg: 63
Cody Simon: 48
Steele Chambers: 30
Chip Trayanum: 15
Palaie Gaoteote IV: Special teams only
C.J. Hicks: Special teams only
Teradja Mitchell: Special teams only

Jim Knowles didn’t change his linebacker rotation much from Week 1 to Week 2.

Eichenberg played every snap at Mike linebacker (and the most snaps of any Buckeye against Arkansas State) until the Red Wolves’ final three possessions of the game. At that point, Trayanum took his place for his first defensive snaps of the season. Chambers and Simon continued regularly rotating at Will linebacker with the first-team defense. However, Simon also played the entire fourth quarter with the second-team defense, which resulted in him playing 18 more snaps than Chambers.

Cornerbacks

JK Johnson: 50
Cameron Brown: 48
Denzel Burke: 43
Jyaire Brown: 15

While Burke and Cameron Brown were the only cornerbacks who played on defense against Notre Dame, Johnson saw substantial playing time in the cornerback rotation against Arkansas State, initially entering the game in the second quarter to replace Burke just one series after Burke gave up a 58-yard catch to Red Wolves receiver Champ Flemings.

Burke eventually reentered the game for the start of the second half, while Johnson also played some second-half snaps in place of Cameron Brown with the first-team defense. Johnson remained in the lineup with the second-team defense to finish the game opposite Jyaire Brown, who played the most snaps from scrimmage of any true freshman against Arkansas State as he was on the field for every play of the Red Wolves’ final three possessions.

Jyaire Brown played the most snaps from scrimmage of any true freshman against Arkansas State.

Safeties

Ronnie Hickman: 57
Tanner McCalister: 40
Cameron Martinez: 39
Lathan Ransom: 39
Josh Proctor: 38
Kourt Williams: 15
Kye Stokes: 7
Jantzen Dunn: Special teams only
Sonny Styles: Special teams only

Hickman played the second-most snaps of any Buckeye against Arkansas State, as he was on the field for every defensive play until the Red Wolves’ final four possessions. Ransom took his place at adjuster until the final seven plays of the game when Stokes checked in for the first snaps of his Ohio State career.

Proctor returned to the starting lineup after playing only five defensive snaps against Notre Dame, but Ransom also mixed in for regular playing time with the first-team defense at bandit. The Buckeyes deployed a similar rotation against Arkansas State at nickel safety, where McCalister started the game, but Martinez also substituted for substantial playing time.

Williams entered the game at bandit for Arkansas State’s final three possessions for his first 15 defensive snaps of the season.

Field Goals/Extra Points

Noah Ruggles (kicker): 7
Jesse Mirco (holder): 7
Bradley Robinson (long snapper): 7
Caden Curry (wing): 7
Zen Michalski (end): 7
Donovan Jackson (guard): 7
Enokk Vimahi (guard): 7
Dawand Jones (tackle): 7
Jakob James (end): 7
Cade Stover (wing): 7
Paris Johnson Jr. (tackle): 6
Josh Fryar (tackle): 1

The Buckeyes made just one change to their field goal unit against Arkansas State, with James replacing Fryar as an end, though Fryar was on the unit in place of Johnson for Ruggles’ first extra point of the second half.

Kickoffs

Jayden Fielding (kicker): 8
Palaie Gaoteote IV: 8
JK Johnson: 8
Cameron Martinez: 8
Tanner McCalister: 8
Teradja Mitchell: 8
Cody Simon: 8
Chip Trayanum: 8
Josh Proctor: 7
Kourt Williams: 6
Xavier Johnson: 5
Sonny Styles: 3
Ronnie Hickman: 2
Jayden Ballard: 1

Fielding continued to handle kickoff duties against Arkansas State and was surrounded by most of the same players who made up the kickoff coverage unit against Notre Dame. One notable new addition to the kickoff coverage unit was Styles, who replaced Xavier Johnson on three of Fielding’s eight kickoffs as he saw his first game action as a Buckeye.

Kickoff Returns

Chip Trayanum (returner): 5
Jayden Ballard: 5
Palaie Gaoteote IV: 5
Xavier Johnson: 5
Tanner McCalister: 5
Mitch Rossi: 5
Cody Simon: 5
Gee Scott Jr.: 5
Sonny Styles: 5
Kourt Williams: 5
Steele Chambers: 4
Teradja Mitchell: 1

In what was presumably a short-term experiment given Emeka Egbuka’s performance as a kickoff returner dating back to last season, he was replaced in that role against Arkansas State by Trayanum, who did not end up returning any kickoffs against the Red Wolves.

Styles was a new regular on the kickoff return unit against Arkansas State, replacing Joe Royer, who was on the field for all three of Notre Dame’s kickoffs in the season opener.

Punts

Jesse Mirco (punter): 5
Bradley Robinson (long snapper): 5
Tommy Eichenberg (upback): 5
Mitch Rossi (upback): 5
Steele Chambers (guard): 5
Kourt Williams (guard): 5
Emeka Egbuka (tackle): 5
Xavier Johnson (tackle): 5
Cade Stover (wing): 5
Jayden Ballard (gunner): 5
Josh Proctor (gunner): 5

Ohio State made no changes to its punting unit between the first two games of the season, with Proctor taking the field as a gunner for all five of Mirco’s punts against Arkansas State after sharing that role with Marvin Harrison Jr. and Jaxon Smith-Njigba for the Notre Dame game.

Punt Blocks/Returns

Lathan Ransom: 8
JK Johnson: 8
Emeka Egbuka (returner): 7
Palaie Gaoteote IV: 7
Xavier Johnson: 7
Teradja Mitchell: 7
Sonny Styles: 7
Chip Trayanum: 7
Gee Scott Jr.: 6
Jantzen Dunn: 5
C.J. Hicks: 5
Jyaire Brown: 2
Cameron Martinez (returner): 2
Joe Royer: 2
Denzel Burke: 1
Caden Curry: 1
Tommy Eichenberg: 1
Tyler Friday: 1
Patrick Gurd: 1
Ty Hamilton: 1
Jaden McKenzie: 1
Josh Proctor: 1

Egbuka continued to handle punt return duties against Arkansas State after replacing Smith-Njigba in that role against Notre Dame (except for Arkansas State’s final punt of the game, on which Martinez lined up as the deep returner). Egbuka nearly scored Ohio State’s first punt return touchdown since 2014 when he took a punt 78 yards to the house, but that return touchdown was nullified by a pair of penalties against Mitchell and JK Johnson.

Ransom was on the field for every punt return for the second week in a row along with JK Johnson, as both of them were on the primary punt block unit and were also in the game for the one time the Buckeyes kept their defense on the field to play punt safe. Styles added to his special teams repertoire by becoming a regular on the punt block unit, replacing Marvin Harrison Jr. in that capacity. At the same time, fellow true freshman Hicks was also on the field for five of Arkansas State’s final six punts for the first playing time of his Ohio State career.

Sonny Styles made his Ohio State debut by playing on three special teams units against Arkansas State, including the punt block unit.

Field Goal Block

Tommy Eichenberg: 4
Ronnie Hickman: 4
Cameron Brown: 3
Denzel Burke: 3
Jack Sawyer: 3
Cody Simon: 3
Ty Hamilton: 2
Javontae Jean-Baptiste: 2
JK Johnson: 2
Cameron Martinez: 2
Tanner McCalister: 2
Josh Proctor: 2
Lathan Ransom: 2
J.T. Tuimoloau: 2
Taron Vincent: 2
Tyleik Williams: 2
Jerron Cage: 1
Steele Chambers: 1
Mike Hall: 1
Zach Harrison: 1

Per usual, the players on the field for Arkansas State’s field goal attempts mostly corresponded with which players were on the field for the previous defensive play – which meant Eichenberg and Hickman, who never left the field on defense in the first three quarters, were also in the lineup for all four of Dominic Zvada’s field goals.