Ohio State fans got a first look at what the Buckeyes’ depth chart might look like this season as the offense and defense went head-to-head in Saturday’s spring game at Ohio Stadium.
While the players who saw the most playing time in the spring game won’t necessarily be the ones who play the most in the games that actually count this fall, we can get an idea of which Buckeyes could be in line to play the biggest roles this season based upon who started the game with the first-team units, who else rotated in with the starters, who the Buckeyes wanted to get an extended look at and who came out of the game early to protect their health.
The depth chart was impacted significantly by injuries that kept players out of the spring game. Scholarship players that did not play in Saturday’s game due to injuries included quarterback Devin Brown, running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Evan Pryor, wide receivers Emeka Egbuka, Julian Fleming, Xavier Johnson and Caleb Burton, center Jakob James, defensive end Mitchell Melton, linebackers Steele Chambers and Tommy Eichenberg and safeties Ja’Had Carter and Kourt Williams.
Outside of them, though, just about everyone else on Ohio State’s spring roster – along with two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin – saw action in Saturday’s spring-ending scrimmage as 83 total Buckeyes played at least one snap in the spring game.
Leading snap-getters among them included Kyle McCord, Carnell Tate and Tegra Tshabola on offense (57 snaps each) and C.J. Hicks (62 defensive snaps), Sonny Styles (61) and Jyaire Brown (59) on defense.
A full look at how many snaps each Buckeye played at each position, which units those snaps came with and what we can take away from those snap counts can be found below. All snap counts were compiled by Eleven Warriors researcher Matt Gutridge.
For the purposes of this article, all snaps played when McCord was in the game are considered to be first-team snaps, while all snaps played when backup quarterback Tristan Gebbia was in the game are considered to be second-team reps.
Quarterbacks
Kyle McCord: 57
Tristan Gebbia: 54
Mason Maggs: 5
With Devin Brown sidelined by injury, McCord and Gebbia alternated drives for the first 20 possessions of the game. McCord took all of the first-team reps while Gebbia operated the second-team offense, signifying that Gebbia is not in contention for the starting quarterback job. Maggs, a walk-on, took the field for the spring game’s final drive.
Running Backs
Dallan Hayden: 40
Chip Trayanum: 34
Chase Brecht: 22
Miyan Williams: 11
Archie Griffin: 1
Williams played all 11 of his snaps on McCord’s first drives of the game – the only two drives of the game that did not feature actual tackling – before watching from the sideline for the remainder of the day, as the Buckeyes prioritized keeping him healthy after he battled multiple injuries in 2022.
Hayden played most of the snaps with the first-team offense for the remainder of the game, though Trayanum – who ran for a game-high 110 yards including a 65-yard touchdown – also mixed in for some snaps alongside McCord. Trayanum ran mostly with Gebbia and the second-team offense, though Hayden also took some reps with the second-team unit.
All of Brecht’s snaps came in the second half as he played 22 of the exhibition’s final 29 snaps at running back. Griffin took his first snap as a Buckeye in 48 years when he entered the game in the third quarter for a ceremonial 25-yard touchdown run.
Wide Receivers
Carnell Tate: 57
Jayden Ballard: 49
Kojo Antwi: 46
Kaleb Brown: 44
Kyion Grayes: 40
Bryson Rodgers: 22
Noah Rogers: 13
Marvin Harrison Jr.: 12
David Adolph: 5
Joop Mitchell: 5
Kai Saunders: Special teams only
Like Williams, Harrison played only on the two “thud” drives as Ohio State chose to keep its superstar receiver out of harm’s way. Most of the dozen snaps he did play came in the slot as the Buckeyes continued to experiment with Harrison lining up inside.
Tate and Ballard started alongside Harrison and played the most snaps among wide receivers, strengthening their likely positioning as top backups on the outside this fall. Tate was on the field for all 57 of McCord’s snaps at quarterback while Ballard was on the field with all but eight of them.
Grayes also mixed in for a handful of snaps in place of Ballard with the first-team offense. Brown played most of the first-team snaps in the slot after Harrison was done playing, while Rodgers also rotated in for four snaps with McCord.
Antwi was on the field for all 46 of Gebbia’s snaps while Brown and Grayes started alongside him on the second-team offense. Rodgers and Rogers mixed in with the second-team unit after Brown and Grayes started getting reps with McCord and the ones. Adolph and Mitchell joined Rodgers on the field for the game’s final drive.
Carnell Tate tied for the most snaps of any offensive player in the spring game.
Tight Ends
Jelani Thurman: 33
Joe Royer: 24
Patrick Gurd: 21
Gee Scott Jr.: 21
Sam Hart: 16
Cade Stover: 13
Bennett Christian: 11
Stover joined Williams and Harrison in playing only on the thud drives before watching for the rest of the day.
All seven of Ohio State’s available tight ends played at least three snaps with McCord and the first-team offense while everyone except Stover also saw playing time with Gebbia and the second unit. Royer was the second tight end to enter the game after Stover, followed by Scott. Thurman was the fourth tight end to enter the game and ended up playing the most snaps among all tight ends thanks to extensive playing time in the second half.
Offensive Line
Tegra Tshabola: 57
Josh Fryar: 54
Ben Christman: 48
Carson Hinzman: 45
Victor Cutler Jr.: 44
George Fitzpatrick: 39
Matthew Jones: 38
Toby Wilson: 33
Donovan Jackson: 32
Zen Michalski: 32
Austin Siereveld: 28
Joshua Padilla: 19
Miles Walker: 19
Enokk Vimahi: 18
Luke Montgomery: 15
Trey Leroux: 11
Quinton Burke: 6
Grant Toutant: 2
The starting offensive line for the spring game consisted of Fryar at left tackle, Jackson at left guard, Hinzman at center, Jones at right guard and Michalski at right tackle. The second-team offensive line to start the game was Fitzpatrick at left tackle, Christman at left guard, Cutler at center, Vimahi at right guard and Tshabola at right tackle.
Tshabola also rotated in for regular playing time with the first-team unit and ended up playing nearly twice as many snaps as Michalski, who also saw snaps with the second-team offensive line. Cutler mixed in for some snaps with the first-team offense while Hinzman also played some snaps with the second-team unit. Jackson played only in the first half and was replaced as the first-team left guard by Christman in the second half, while Jones played just one series in the second half before Wilson replaced him at right guard, where Vimahi played just two series with the second-team offense. Fryar played every one of McCord’s snaps at left tackle until McCord’s final drive, when Fitzpatrick took over at left tackle.
Montgomery (left tackle), Siereveld (left guard), Padilla (center) and Walker (right tackle) made their spring game debuts with the second-team offensive line in the second half. Leroux played 11 snaps at right guard with the second-team offensive line while Burke and Toutant rotated in at RG on the game’s final two series.
Defensive Ends
Kenyatta Jackson: 56
Caden Curry: 55
Omari Abor: 43
Jack Sawyer: 33
Landon Smith: 19
JT Tuimoloau: 10
Tuimoloau was in the group of Buckeyes who played only on the thud drives, speaking to his status as Ohio State’s top defensive end, before watching from the sidelines for the rest of the day. Sawyer joined Tuimoloau in the starting lineup but didn’t get the same white-glove treatment as Tuimoloau, continuing to play into the third quarter with the first-team defense.
Jackson and Curry started with the second-team defense and went on to play the most snaps among defensive linemen. Curry was the first defensive end to move up to the first-team unit after Tuimoloau’s day ended while Jackson also saw significant playing time against Kyle McCord.
Abor mixed in for some first-team snaps as well while playing most of his snaps with the second-team unit behind Curry and Jackson. Smith rounded out the defensive end rotation, with all of his snaps coming when Gebbia and the second-team offense were on the field.
Defensive Tackles
Hero Kanu: 50
Jaden McKenzie: 39
Bryce Prater: 38
Tyleik Williams: 36
Ty Hamilton: 32
Mike Hall: 21
Williams and Hamilton started the game at defensive tackle while Hall rotated with Hamilton at the nose tackle spot with the first-team defensive line through the opening series of the third quarter, which would be Hall’s final snaps of the day. Hamilton and Williams continued to play into the fourth quarter, with Williams playing all the way through the final drive of the game, while McKenzie also mixed in for substantial work with the first-team defense at 3-technique.
Kanu started alongside McKenzie with the second-team defense and ended up playing the most snaps of any defensive tackle in the scrimmage. With Will Smith Jr. sidelined by injury, Prater also saw extensive playing time with the backups as the sixth man in the defensive tackle rotation.
Linebackers
C.J. Hicks: 62
Gabe Powers: 56
Reid Carrico: 47
Cody Simon: 35
Jackson Kuwatch: 19
Hicks played the most snaps of any Buckeye in the spring game as he started in place of Steele Chambers at Will linebacker and played every series with the first-team defense as well as the final drive of the game. Simon started at Mike linebacker in place of Tommy Eichenberg but played for only one half.
Powers started the game as the second-team Mike linebacker, then took first-team reps alongside Hicks in the second half. Carrico played every snap at Will linebacker with the second-team defense. Kuwatch, the only other linebacker available on Saturday, mixed in for 19 snaps at Mike linebacker with all but three of his snaps coming in the second half.
Cornerbacks
Jyaire Brown: 59
Davison Igbinosun: 49
Jordan Hancock: 30
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 25
Denzel Burke: 19
Cameron Kittle: 16
Dianté Griffin: 8
Colin Kaufmann: Special teams only
Burke and Hancock started the game at cornerback but played only in the first half, with Burke playing the first four series with the first-team defense and Hancock playing all but five snaps with the first team before halftime. Brown and Igbinosun started the game with the second-team defense; Brown replaced Burke with the first team after Burke exited the game and Igbinosun replaced Hancock with the first team after halftime.
Mathews saw most of his playing time with the second-team defense with eight of his 25 snaps coming after halftime. Kittle played exclusively in the second half with the second-team defense while Griffin, a grandson of Archie, was on the field at cornerback for the exhibition’s final eight plays.
Safeties
Sonny Styles: 61
Malik Hartford: 48
Ryan Turner: 46
Cameron Martinez: 42
Kye Stokes: 32
Brenten “Inky” Jones: 31
Josh Proctor: 30
Lathan Ransom: 30
Andrew Moore: 11
Proctor started at free safety and Ransom started at strong safety, and both of them played five series with the first-team defense before checking out of the game. Martinez started at nickel safety and played into the third quarter.
Styles started at strong safety with the second-team defense but also played some early snaps in place of Martinez with the first-team defense when the offense had two tight ends on the field, effectively playing as a third linebacker in what could be a preview of the “streamlined” role Ohio State expects him to play this season. He also played with the first-team unit at strong safety after Ransom’s day was done.
Stokes started at free safety with the second-team defense, but Hartford was called upon to play most of the first-team snaps at free safety alongside Styles – along with some second-team work throughout the game – after Proctor’s day was done. Turner started at nickel safety with the second-team defense and spent most of the game playing that role, though he moved outside to play a few snaps at cornerback in the second half.
Jones saw playing time at both strong safety and nickel safety in the second half while Moore played 11 snaps at nickel in the fourth quarter.
Sonny Styles played the second-most defensive snaps of any Buckeye in the spring game.
Field Goals/Extra Points
Jayden Fielding (kicker): 3
Parker Lewis (kicker): 2
Casey Magyar (kicker): 1
Jesse Mirco (holder): 6
John Ferlmann (long snapper): 6
Trey Leroux (tackle): 6
Ben Christman (end): 5
Jelani Thurman (wing): 5
Joshua Padilla (guard): 5
Austin Siereveld (guard): 5
Luke Montgomery (tackle): 5
Sam Hart (wing): 4
Toby Wilson (end): 3
Joe Royer (wing): 2
Grant Toutant (end): 2
George Fitzpatrick (end): 1
Enokk Vimahi (end): 1
Josh Fryar (tackle): 1
Donovan Jackson (guard): 1
Tegra Tshabola (guard): 1
Cade Stover (wing): 1
Fielding and Lewis attempted the only field goal attempts of the day, with Fielding missing a 40-yard kick and Lewis making a 38-yard kick. Fielding also made the first two extra points of the game while Lewis made the third extra point and Magyar made the fourth. Mirco and Ferlmann handled holding and long-snapping duties for all three kickers.
A host of offensive linemen and tight ends took snaps with the protection unit. The lineup for the first field goal attempt of the day consisted of Royer and Stover on the wings, Fitzpatrick and Vimahi at end, Fryar and Leroux at tackle and Jackson and Tshabola at guard.
Kickoffs
Jayden Fielding (kicker): 2
Casey Magyar (kicker): 1
Kojo Antwi: 3
Reid Carrico: 3
Kyion Grayes: 3
Patrick Gurd: 3
Jackson Kuwatch: 3
Kye Stokes: 3
Jyaire Brown: 2
Kaleb Brown: 2
Sonny Styles: 2
Ryan Turner: 2
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 1
Andrew Moore: 1
Gabe Powers: 1
Bryson Rodgers: 1
There were only three actual kickoffs in the spring game, the first two of which were handled by Fielding while Magyar kicked the third. The starters around Fielding on the kickoff coverage unit were Antwi, Carrico, Grayes, Gurd, Kuwatch, Stokes, Jyaire Brown, Kaleb Brown, Styles and Turner, though there were no live returns in the spring game.
Kickoff Returns
Carnell Tate (returner): 3
While there was no kickoff return unit for the spring game, Tate fielded all three kickoffs. While last year’s lead kickoff returner Xavier Johnson was unavailable for the spring game, Tate could be another option to return kicks this fall – especially if the Buckeyes want to find ways to get him on the field this year while he waits his turn for a starting job.
Punts
Jesse Mirco (punter): 6
John Ferlmann (long snapper): 6
Caden Curry (upback): 6
Cody Simon (upback): 6
Sonny Styles (guard): 6
Reid Carrico (guard): 6
Lathan Ransom (tackle): 6
Jelani Thurman (wing): 4
Josh Proctor (gunner): 4
Kojo Antwi (gunner): 4
Joe Royer (tackle): 3
Chip Trayanum (tackle): 3
Cade Stover (wing): 2
Kyion Grayes (gunner): 2
Jayden Ballard (gunner): 1
Kye Stokes (gunner): 1
Mirco, Ferlmann, Curry, Simon, Styles, Carrico and Ransom were all staples on the punt team in the spring game, which took the field for six punts in the first half before Ohio State opted not to do actual punts in the second half. Antwi and Proctor were the starting gunners, with Grayes, Ballard and Stokes also mixing for reps outside. Royer and Stover started the game on the punt team, but Thurman replaced Stover after two punts and Trayanum replaced Royer after three punts.
Punt Blocks/Returns
Jayden Ballard (returner): 4
Kaleb Brown (returner): 2
David Adolph: 6
Chase Brecht: 6
Malik Hartford: 6
Brenten “Inky” Jones: 6
Colin Kaufmann: 6
Cameron Kittle: 6
Joop Mitchell: 6
Andrew Moore: 6
Gabe Powers: 6
Kai Saunders: 6
With Emeka Egbuka unavailable, Ballard and Brown lined up as the punt returners in the spring game, with Ballard fielding four punts – one of which he muffed after running to chase down a 64-yard punt by Mirco – and Brown fielding two.
The punt block lineup the Buckeyes use in actual games is likely to look very different than the one it fielded in the spring game, as the players who got those snaps on Saturday were all walk-ons – with Kaufmann and Saunders getting their only snaps of the game on the punt block team, which did not actually attempt to block any punts in the spring game – with the exception of Hartford and Powers.
Field Goal/Extra Point Block
Malik Hartford: 4
Davison Igbinosun: 4
Hero Kanu: 4
Sonny Styles: 4
Omari Abor: 3
Jyaire Brown: 3
Reid Carrico: 3
Caden Curry: 3
C.J. Hicks: 3
Kenyatta Jackson: 3
Gabe Powers: 3
Brenten “Inky” Jones: 2
Jackson Kuwatch: 2
Cameron Martinez: 2
Jaden McKenzie: 2
Bryce Prater: 2
Landon Smith: 2
Ryan Turner: 2
Tyleik Williams: 2
Denzel Burke: 1
Dianté Griffin: 1
Mike Hall Jr.: 1
Ty Hamilton: 1
Jordan Hancock: 1
Cameron Kittle: 1
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 1
Andrew Moore: 1
Josh Proctor: 1
Lathan Ransom: 1
Jack Sawyer: 1
Cody Simon: 1
Kye Stokes: 1
The players on the field for each field goal and extra point attempt were the players who had been on the field for the previous defensive play.
