Snap Counts: Ohio State Leans Mostly on Starters in 30-24 Loss to Michigan

Only three backups saw playing time on offense while only seven backups saw playing time on defense. Five of those defensive backups played only three snaps or fewer.

Ohio State deployed two rotations on defense as Ty Hamilton and Mike Hall split snaps at nose tackle while the Buckeyes alternated between playing three linebackers with Cody Simon in the game or three cornerbacks with Jordan Hancock in the game depending on Michigan’s offensive personnel. The starters at the other nine defensive positions were all on the field for at least 57 of Ohio State’s 60 defensive plays.

The only backup to play double-digit snaps on offense was Chip Trayanum, who got in the game for 12 snaps at running back. The only other non-starters to play at all on offense were Xavier Johnson (eight snaps) and Gee Scott Jr. (six snaps).

In total, 52 Buckeyes saw action against the Wolverines as 20 Buckeyes played on special teams only in Ohio State’s 30-24 loss, a game in which neither team ever held a lead of more than 11 points.

Our full report on how the Buckeyes divvied up snaps on every unit in The Game is below. Pro Football Focus’ premium statistics were used to compile offensive and defensive snap counts while special teams snap counts were compiled by Eleven Warriors researcher Matt Gutridge. All snap counts should be considered unofficial as they were not provided by Ohio State.

Quarterbacks

Kyle McCord: 58

Although Devin Brown was available to play against Michigan, Ohio State decided against using him in the red-zone package that it had used in multiple games prior to his ankle injury against Penn State. That particular decision isn’t one to second-guess in Ohio State’s loss as the Buckeyes scored on all three of their trips into the red zone against the Wolverines.

McCord attempted passes on just over half of Ohio State’s offensive plays against the Wolverines, completing 18 of 30 for 270 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

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Running Backs

TreVeyon Henderson: 45
Chip Trayanum: 12

Trayanum mixed in for snaps on three consecutive drives between the second and third quarter and was effective running the ball when he got in the game, gaining 37 yards on just six carries.

Despite Trayanum’s success on those three drives, Henderson would play every snap at running back on Ohio State’s three remaining possessions of the game. Henderson ran for 60 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries and caught three passes for 19 yards.

Ohio State opted not to play Dallan Hayden against Michigan despite playing him in only three of its first 11 games of the season to preserve his redshirt eligibility while keeping him available for The Game.

Wide Receivers

Marvin Harrison Jr.: 58
Julian Fleming: 53
Emeka Egbuka: 52
Xavier Johnson: 8
David Adolph: Special teams only
Jayden Ballard: Special teams only
Brandon Inniss: Special teams only
Carnell Tate: Special teams only

For just the second time all year (along with the Notre Dame game), Ohio State used only four wide receivers as Johnson – who lined up in the backfield for three of his eight plays – was the only receiver to see playing time off the bench against Michigan. It was also just the second time all season that Tate did not play any snaps on offense.

Harrison was on the field for every offensive snap against Michigan while Fleming left the field for only five plays and Egbuka left the field for only six. It was just the second time all year, along with the Notre Dame game, that all three of Ohio State’s starting receivers played more than 50 snaps.

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Tight Ends

Cade Stover: 56
Gee Scott Jr.: 6
Patrick Gurd: Special teams only

Scott played less than half as many snaps against Michigan as he did in any of Ohio State’s first 11 games of the season as the Buckeyes utilized two-tight end sets on only four plays against the Wolverines. He replaced Stover on just one play; the Buckeyes did not have any tight ends on the field for their final offensive play of the game, on which Johnson entered the game in place of Stover to line up as a running back opposite Henderson in a split-backs formation.

Offensive Linemen

Josh Simmons: 58
Donovan Jackson: 58
Carson Hinzman: 58
Matt Jones: 58
Josh Fryar: 58
Jakob James: Special teams only
Zen Michalski: Special teams only
Luke Montgomery: Special teams only
Tegra Tshabola: Special teams only
Enokk Vimahi: Special teams only

Ohio State did not play any backup offensive linemen against Michigan as its front five of Simmons, Jackson, Hinzman, Jones and Fryar were all on the field for every offensive play.

Defensive Ends

JT Tuimoloau: 60
Jack Sawyer: 57
Caden Curry: 2
Kenyatta Jackson: 1
Mitchell Melton: Special teams only

Tuimoloau played every snap at defensive end for the second time this season (Notre Dame being the first) as he was on the field for all 60 of Ohio State’s defensive plays. Sawyer, who also played every snap against Notre Dame, came out of the game for just three snaps against Michigan. Jackson spelled Sawyer for one play in the third quarter while Curry spelled Sawyer for two plays in the fourth quarter.

Defensive Tackles

Tyleik Williams: 57
Mike Hall: 35
Ty Hamilton: 28
Hero Kanu: 3

Williams topped 50 defensive snaps for the seventh time this season as he played all but three snaps at 3-technique against Michigan. Kanu replaced him for two plays, while Hall was the only defensive tackle on the field for the one play the Buckeyes used a dime package; all four defensive tackles who played against the Wolverines were on the field for the game’s final play.

Hamilton made his second consecutive start at nose tackle against Michigan but rotated with Hall throughout the game, with Hall ultimately playing more than half of the Buckeyes’ defensive snaps after missing the previous game against Minnesota due to injury.

Linebackers

Steele Chambers: 60
Tommy Eichenberg: 60
Cody Simon: 22
C.J. Hicks: Special teams only
Gabe Powers: Special teams only
Arvell Reese: Special teams only

Chambers and Eichenberg were on the field for all of Ohio State’s 60 defensive plays against Michigan with Eichenberg returning to the lineup after missing the Buckeyes’ previous two games with an arm injury.

Simon joined them on the field for more than a third of Ohio State’s defensive plays as the Buckeyes used a three-linebacker package with regularity for the first time all season in an effort to match up more effectively with Michigan’s multi-tight end personnel packages. That effort didn’t quite work as desired, as Michigan ran for 156 yards and two touchdowns while its tight ends Colston Loveland and AJ Barner combined for 113 of the Wolverines’ 182 receiving yards.

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Cornerbacks

Denzel Burke: 57
Davison Igbinosun: 57
Jordan Hancock: 38
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: Special teams only
Calvin Simpson-Hunt: Special teams only
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: Special teams only

Burke and Igbinosun played every snap at outside cornerback against Michigan, only leaving for a pair of first-quarter goal-line plays and the final play of the game, on which the Buckeyes did not have any cornerbacks on the field. Hancock did not start the game, with Simon starting in his place as a third linebacker, but was still on the field for nearly two-thirds of Ohio State’s defensive snaps as the Buckeyes’ nickelback.

Safeties

Josh Proctor: 60
Sonny Styles: 60
Ja’Had Carter: 2
Malik Hartford: 1

With Lathan Ransom sidelined for a fourth straight game to end the regular season, Styles started in his place and played every snap at strong safety while Proctor played every snap at free safety.

Carter, who had substituted in for occasional snaps at strong safety on which Styles moved to nickel in the Buckeyes’ previous game against Minnesota, played only as a third safety on the aforementioned goal-line plays against Michigan. Hartford played his only snap of the game as a third safety in a dime package in the second quarter, with J.J. McCarthy throwing a 22-yard touchdown pass to Roman Wilson over Burke and Hartford on that play.

Field Goals/Extra Points

Jayden Fielding (kicker): 5
Jesse Mirco (holder): 5
John Ferlmann (long snapper): 5
Enokk Vimahi (wing): 5
Jakob James (end): 5
Josh Simmons (tackle): 5
Donovan Jackson (guard): 5
Tegra Tshabola (guard): 5
Josh Fryar (tackle): 5
Zen Michalski (end): 5
Luke Montgomery (wing): 5

Ohio State used the same 11 players on its placekicking unit against Michigan as it did throughout the final month of the regular season. Fielding went 1-for-2 on field goals against the Wolverines, making a 43-yarder but missing a 52-yarder at the end of the first half, while he made all three of his extra-point attempts.

Kickoffs

Jayden Fielding (kicker): 5
Caden Curry: 5
C.J. Hicks: 5
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 5
Gabe Powers: 5
Cody Simon: 5
Calvin Simpson-Hunt: 5
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 5
Chip Trayanum: 5
Denzel Burke: 4
Xavier Johnson: 4
Sonny Styles: 1
Carnell Tate: 1

Styles Jr. returned to the kickoff unit for his first action since the Penn State game as he played in his fourth game of the season in which he will take a redshirt. Simon also rejoined the kickoff coverage against Michigan; Ja’Had Carter and Arvell Reese, who started on the kickoff team against Minnesota, did not play any snaps on the unit against Michigan.

Tate and Sonny Styles replaced Burke and Johnson on the Buckeyes’ final kickoff of the game.

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Kickoff Returns

Xavier Johnson (returner): 7
David Adolph: 7
Caden Curry: 7
Julian Fleming: 7
Patrick Gurd: 7
Brandon Inniss: 7
Gabe Powers: 7
Arvell Reese: 7
Cody Simon: 7
Carnell Tate: 7
Chip Trayanum: 7

After splitting snaps on the kickoff return unit against Minnesota, Inniss and Reese were both on the field for all seven of Michigan’s kickoffs. They, along with Simon, replaced C.J. Hicks and Mitchell Melton on the kickoff return team from the previous game. Johnson returned two of Michigan’s kickoffs for a combined 42 yards, though his decision to do so before the Buckeyes’ final possession cost Ohio State some yardage as he was stopped at the 19-yard line.

Punts

Jesse Mirco (punter): 3
John Ferlmann (long snapper): 3
Caden Curry (upback): 3
Cody Simon (upback): 3
Gee Scott Jr. (guard): 3
Sonny Styles (guard): 3
Chip Trayanum (tackle): 3
Cade Stover (wing): 3
Jayden Ballard (gunner): 3
Lorenzo Styles Jr. (gunner): 3
Xavier Johnson (gunner): 3

Stover and Fleming returned to Ohio State’s punt team against Michigan, replacing Mitchell Melton and Jermaine Mathews Jr., who had taken their places in recent weeks. Curry continued to play in place of Tommy Eichenberg on the punt team for the third week in a row even though Eichenberg was able to play every snap on defense.

Mirco had one of his worst outings as a Buckeye in The Game, averaging a career-low 36.7 yards per punt on three punts.

Punt Blocks/Returns

Emeka Egbuka (returner): 3
Davison Igbinosun: 3
Denzel Burke: 2
Steele Chambers: 2
Tommy Eichenberg: 2
Josh Proctor: 2
Jack Sawyer: 2
Sonny Styles: 2
JT Tuimoloau: 2
Tyleik Williams: 2
David Adolph: 1
Caden Curry: 1
Mike Hall: 1
Ty Hamilton: 1
Brandon Inniss: 1
Xavier Johnson: 1
Mitchell Melton: 1
Gee Scott Jr.: 1
Calvin Simpson-Hunt: 1
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 1
Carnell Tate: 1

After Jayden Ballard had issues fielding multiple punts against Minnesota, Egbuka returned to punt returner duty for the first time since he injured his ankle against Maryland. He did not return any of Michigan’s three punts.

Ohio State kept its defense on the field to play punt safe for the latter two of Michigan’s three punts. The punt block unit for Michigan’s first punt of the day consisted of Igbinosun, Adolph, Curry, Inniss, Johnson, Melton, Scott, Simpson-Hunt, Styles Jr. and Tate.

Field Goal/Extra Point Block

Denzel Burke: 6
Steele Chambers: 6
Tommy Eichenberg: 6
Davison Igbinosun: 6
Josh Proctor: 6
Jack Sawyer: 6
Sonny Styles: 6
JT Tuimoloau: 6
Mike Hall: 5
Jordan Hancock: 5
Tyleik Williams: 5
Ty Hamilton: 1
Hero Kanu: 1
Cody Simon: 1

All of the 14 defenders who played at least three snaps against Michigan were on the field for at least one of the Wolverines’ field goals or extra points.