Ohio State ran 121 total plays from scrimmage in Saturday’s spring game. We tallied up which 22 Buckeyes were on the field for every one of them.
In a spring game that functioned as an offense vs. defense scrimmage with the offense playing as the Scarlet team and the defense operating as the Gray side, 47 different Buckeyes played snaps on offense while 41 Ohio State players saw the field on defense as just about every available player got a chance to see some action in front of more than 80,000 fans in Ohio Stadium.
Of course, the snap counts for a spring game can’t be taken at face value the same way they would for an actual game. While the best players typically play the most snaps in a game that counts, Ohio State took its established starters out of the game early in the spring game, preserving their health for the fall while giving its less experienced backups more reps.
With that in mind, you’ll find below not only the number of plays each Buckeye played on offense or defense in the spring game, but additional context on how the Buckeyes divvied up playing time at each position and analysis of what we can take away from how the Buckeyes split up the reps at each position in the spring game.
Eleven Warriors compiled all snap counts below based on the available camera angles of each play on FOX’s broadcast of the spring game. All snap counts should be considered unofficial as they were not provided or confirmed by Ohio State.
Quarterbacks
Julian Sayin: 34
Lincoln Kienholz: 26
Air Noland: 23
Will Howard: 20
Devin Brown: 15
Chad Ray: 3
Howard started the game at quarterback but was on the field for only two drives, both with the first-team offensive line and other offensive starters. Brown, Howard’s top competitor for the starting job, also played just two drives in the first half, though only one of them came with the offensive starters.
Sayin and Kienholz played the most snaps among quarterbacks as each of them saw six drives of action, though neither of them took any reps with the established offensive starters in the spring game, suggesting that they’re competing for the third spot on the depth chart as of now. Noland, who’s been at the back of the depth chart among scholarship quarterbacks in his first semester as a Buckeye, got into the game for three drives in the second half.
Ray, a walk-on in his third year with the team, got into the game for three snaps on the game’s final series.
Running Backs
James Peoples: 31
TC Caffey: 30
Sam Williams-Dixon: 27
TreVeyon Henderson: 15
Quinshon Judkins: 14
Mason Maggs: 4
Henderson and Judkins played all of their snaps on the three “thud” drives – on which the Buckeyes didn’t tackle to protect the health of their established stars – before watching the rest of the scrimmage from the sideline. Each of them played snaps on all three of those possessions as new running backs coach Carlos Locklyn rotated his backs throughout the game, rarely keeping any of them on the field for more than four consecutive plays at a time.
With Henderson and Judkins on load management and Dallan Hayden headed to the transfer portal, most of the running back snaps in the spring game were split by true freshmen Peoples and Williams-Dixon and walk-on Caffey. Each of them took advantage of their opportunity for extended action, combining for 183 yards and three touchdowns from scrimmage on 32 touches.
Maggs, a walk-on quarterback, saw occasional action at running back in the spring game, lining up alongside Kienholz or Sayin for four total snaps and carrying the ball twice for 10 yards.
Wide Receivers
Kyion Grayes: 49
Bryson Rodgers: 45
Joop Mitchell: 44
David Adolph: 36
Brennen Schramm: 35
Kojo Antwi: 33
Carnell Tate: 27
Jayden Ballard: 26
Emeka Egbuka: 23
Jeremiah Smith: 21
Kai Saunders: 8
Nolan Baudo: 7
Egbuka and Tate also saw their only action of the game on the thud drives, an indicator that Tate is viewed as a firm starter alongside Egbuka, who lined up primarily in the slot in the spring game. Ballard started the game with Tate and Egbuka, though Smith also saw action with the first-team offense; neither of them played beyond the opening drive of the second half, as Ryan Day said during an in-game interview that Ohio State would limit Smith’s playing time to keep him healthy even though he didn’t start.
With Brandon Inniss sidelined by injury, Grayes and Rodgers started the game with the second-team offense alongside Smith, and those two ended up playing the most snaps among all receivers as they played in all four quarters. The walk-on trio of Adolph, Mitchell and Schramm also saw extensive playing time with the backup units; Schramm scored the day’s only receiving touchdown on a pass from Brown while Adolph led all receivers with 50 yards on four catches.
Devin Brown connects with Brennen Schramm for the first touchdown of the spring game. pic.twitter.com/2DCY0c6xSR
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) April 13, 2024
Saunders and Baudo, also walk-ons, saw their only action of the spring game on the day’s final drive.
Tight Ends
Will Kacmarek: 35
Jelani Thurman: 31
Bennett Christian: 23
Patrick Gurd: 17
Gee Scott Jr.: 14
Jace Middleton: 10
After drawing praise for his development this spring, Scott got the established starter treatment on Saturday, playing only on each of Howard and Brown’s first drives before watching from the sideline for the rest of the day.
Thurman, Gurd and Kacmarek also each played some snaps with the starters but played the majority of their snaps alongside backups, suggesting that they’re competing to be the No. 2 tight end on the depth chart behind Scott. Most of Christian’s action came in the second half as he played on just one first-half drive – the touchdown drive led by Brown.
Middleton, a walk-on, saw all of his action on the game’s final two drives.
Offensive Linemen
Austin Siereveld: 52
Joshua Padilla: 50
George Fitzpatrick: 47
Deontae Armstrong: 46
Ian Moore: 46
Carson Hinzman: 45
Luke Montgomery: 44
Tegra Tshabola: 43
Zen Michalski: 41
Toby Wilson: 40
Josh Simmons: 28
Donovan Jackson: 28
Josh Fryar: 28
Enokk Vimahi: 22
Seth McLaughlin: 20
Julian Goines-Jackson: 19
Devontae Armstrong: 6
The starting offensive line for the spring game consisted of Simmons at left tackle, Jackson at left guard, McLaughlin at center, Hinzman at right guard and Fryar at right tackle. Simmons, Jackson and Fryar each played all three drives with the first-team offensive line before coming out of the game. Hinzman played one drive at center with the first-team offensive line while Tshabola played two drives at right guard with the top unit; however, both of them also played with the backups while McLaughlin played just two drives at center with the first team, suggesting McLaughlin is close to also winning a starting job on the line.
Tshabola also saw action at right tackle, starting the game at that position with the second-team offensive line, which took the field for the game’s second drive with a lineup of Fitzpatrick at left tackle, Siereveld at left guard, Padilla at center and Montgomery at right guard. Tshabola ended up seeing most of his playing time at right guard – where he and Hinzman appear to be the top candidates to start if Ohio State doesn’t add a transfer offensive lineman – which prompted Fitzpatrick to move over to right tackle and Michalski to enter the lineup at left tackle.
Tegra Tshabola (77) saw work at right guard with the first-team offensive line while Carson Hinzman (75) saw action at both center and right guard.
Deontae Armstrong played left tackle and Moore played right tackle with the third-team offensive line in their first spring game. Fellow true freshman Devontae Armstrong got in for just one series at left guard. Vimahi – who started at right guard in the Cotton Bowl but didn’t see any action with the top units in the spring game – and Wilson also saw backup work at left guard, with Wilson also seeing action at center and Vimahi also seeing action at right guard. Goines-Jackson, a walk-on, got in the game at RG for two of the day’s final three drives.
Defensive Ends
Joshua Mickens: 47
Eddrick Houston: 44
Mitchell Melton: 40
Kenyatta Jackson Jr.: 38
Caden Curry: 34
Jack Sawyer: 17
JT Tuimoloau: 15
Caden Davis: 9
Sawyer and Tuimoloau played their only snaps on the three thud drives before giving way to Ohio State’s defensive end depth.
Curry, Jackson and Melton – the three defensive ends most likely to see regular playing time in the rotation behind Tuimoloau and Sawyer – all mixed in with the starters as well and rotated with each other throughout the game as the second-team defensive ends. Houston and Mickens, the only other two scholarship defensive ends who were on campus for spring practice, ended up playing the most snaps among defensive ends as the third-teamers at the position.
Davis, a walk-on, played all of his snaps on one series in the fourth quarter.
Defensive Tackles
Kayden McDonald: 52
Hero Kanu: 40
Jason Moore: 38
Will Smith Jr.: 26
Eric Mensah: 23
Tywone Malone: 22
Bryce Prater: 20
Ty Hamilton: 17
Cade Casto: 3
Tyleik Williams didn’t play in the spring game and was replaced in the starting lineup by Kanu. Hamilton played only on the thud drives as an established starter, but Kanu continued to play throughout the game.
McDonald and Malone also mixed in with the first-team defense with McDonald and Kanu ultimately playing the most snaps among all DTs for the day. Moore and Smith, who are also candidates to earn some snaps in the rotation this year, ended up playing the third- and fourth-most snaps among defensive tackles, though all of their spring game action came with and against backups.
Mensah and Prater, who are less likely to factor into this year’s rotation, also mixed in for occasional playing time throughout the game. Casto, a walk-on, played all of his snaps in the fourth quarter when the Buckeyes were playing deep into their bench.
Linebackers
C.J. Hicks: 46
Gabe Powers: 45
Sonny Styles: 45
Arvell Reese: 44
Garrett Stover: 27
Cody Simon: 22
Joey Velazquez: 16
Nigel Glover: 7
Jalen Pace: 3
Alec DelSignore: 1
Hicks started the spring game at Will linebacker but continued to play all the way through the final series of the game. While Simon got the established starter treatment, playing only on the three thud drives, each of the next four linebackers in Ohio State’s pecking order – Hicks, Styles, Powers and Reese – played nearly an identical number of snaps as they vie for the position on the depth chart.
Hicks and Styles rotated as the top two Will linebackers while also playing some snaps on the field together in three-linebacker packages. Powers was the first Mike linebacker off the bench with Reese also seeing substantial action at that spot.
C.J. Hicks (11) started the spring game at Will linebacker but continued to play through the final drive of the day.
Stover also mixed in at Will linebacker in both halves. Velazquez, Glover, Pace and DelSignore played all of their snaps in the fourth quarter, with Glover, Pace and DelSignore seeing their only action on the game’s final possession.
Cornerbacks
Aaron Scott Jr.: 72
Miles Lockhart: 52
Calvin Simpson-Hunt: 46
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 43
Dianté Griffin: 43
Jordan Hancock: 28
Davison Igbinosun: 28
Denzel Burke: 22
Hancock and Igbinosun each played the entirety of the three thud drives while Burke played two-and-a-half series before being replaced by Mathews.
While Mathews played primarily on the outside as a freshman, he played mostly in the slot in the spring game, showing his versatility as he manned that spot for most of the day with the second-team defense with Lorenzo Styles Jr. sidelined by an upper-body injury. Scott and Simpson-Hunt were the outside cornerbacks for most of those plays, with Scott playing the most snaps of any player in the spring game by a significant margin, as he played at least one snap on all but one of the game’s final 14 drives.
Lockhart and Griffin didn’t get into the game until the second quarter but saw extensive work with the backups, with Lockhart playing the slot and Griffin lining up outside.
Safeties
Jayden Bonsu: 58
Inky Jones: 52
Jaylen McClain: 47
Cedrick Hawkins: 46
Caleb Downs: 28
Ryan Rudzinski: 25
Despite not playing a single snap as a true freshman, Bonsu started at strong safety in place of Lathan Ransom, who was held out of the spring game while continuing to work his way back from the Lisfranc foot injury that ended his 2023 season prematurely. With Malik Hartford and Ja’Had Carter also sidelined for the spring game, Bonsu played the second-most snaps of any player behind only Scott as he remained in the rotation through the fourth quarter.
Downs played only on the three thud drives as the starting free safety. McClain spent the rest of the game lining up alongside Bonsu after beginning the game on the second-team defense alongside Jones, who saw action at both free safety and cornerback in the spring game.
Hawkins didn’t play until the game’s sixth possession but moved into the top four of the safety rotation after Downs’ day was done. Rudzinski also made his first appearance of the game on the day’s sixth series, then returned to play two more series in the second half on drives where Jones was playing cornerback.
