Snap Counts: 63 Buckeyes See Action in Ohio State’s Big Ten Opener at Michigan State

While Ohio State leaned mostly on its starters for the first three quarters of its 38-7 win over the Spartans, the Buckeyes put their backups for the fourth quarter to finish out Ohio State’s 31-point win.

The only Buckeyes who made the 74-man travel roster for the first road game of the year that didn’t get on the field in some capacity were quarterbacks Lincoln Kienholz and Chad Ray, running back Sam Williams-Dixon, wide receiver Mylan Graham, offensive linemen Joshua Padilla and Toby Wilson, defensive tackle Tyleik Williams (who was held out of the game while continuing to recover from an injury), safety Jayden Bonsu and backup specialists Austin Snyder, Nick McLarty and Collin Johnson.

The other 63 Buckeyes all played at least two snaps on offense, defense or special teams with 26 Buckeyes getting in the game on offense, 27 Buckeyes getting in the game on defense and 10 more playing on special teams only.

Josh Simmons, Donovan Jackson and Josh Fryar led all offensive players with 65 snaps played while Sonny Styles led all defensive players with 42 snaps played as they were the only starters to play into the fourth quarter before ultimately joining the rest of the starters on the sideline.

We break down how much each of them played and how Ohio State utilized its players at each position below. Snap counts are courtesy of Pro Football Focus’ premium statistics.

Quarterbacks

Will Howard: 58
Julian Sayin: 12
Devin Brown: 7

Howard led Ohio State’s offense for three quarters against Michigan State, attempting passes on just over half of his 58 snaps and going 21-of-31 for 244 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

Brown replaced Howard for one play – and threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Smith on what would be Ohio State’s final offensive play of the first half – after Howard got the wind knocked out of him on a hard hit to the midsection. Howard returned to lead the offense on two more touchdown drives in the third quarter, finishing them off with a 33-yard touchdown connection with Emeka Egbuka on a 4th-and-5 pass and a 6-yard touchdown run on his final play in the game.

RELATED Ohio State vs. Michigan State Notebook: Defense Posts Sound Numbers After Shaky Start, Tyleik Williams Could Have Played in Emergency, Will Howard “All Good”

Brown returned for Ohio State’s first drive of the fourth quarter before giving way to Sayin for the Buckeyes’ final two possessions.

Running Backs

TreVeyon Henderson: 32
Quinshon Judkins: 27
James Peoples: 18

Henderson played five more snaps than Judkins as he made his fourth consecutive start at running back to begin the season, but Judkins ended up with four more touches. The Ole Miss transfer ran for 54 yards on 11 carries and caught two passes for 17 yards while Henderson ran for 69 yards on seven carries and caught two passes for a net loss of one yard.

Peoples played the entire fourth quarter at running back, carrying the ball on 10 of his 18 snaps for a total of 29 yards.

Wide Receivers

Emeka Egbuka: 57
Jeremiah Smith: 57
Carnell Tate: 48
Brandon Inniss: 26
Bryson Rodgers: 23
Jayden Ballard: 19
Kojo Antwi: Special teams only
David Adolph: Special teams only

While Tate played the most snaps among wide receivers in all of Ohio State’s first three games, Egbuka and Smith tied for the most snaps among wideouts against Michigan State as they were both on the field for all but two plays in the game’s first three quarters. Each made the most of their playing time as Smith caught five passes for 83 yards and a touchdown – including two spectacular one-handed catches – and scored another touchdown on the first rushing attempt of his career, while Egbuka caught seven passes for 96 yards and a score.

RELATED Jeremiah Smith’s Rapid Emergence As Superstar Continues with Two Touchdowns, Two One-Handed Catches in First Big Ten Game

Inniss, Rodgers and Ballard also all mixed in for snaps with the first-team offense before playing the entire fourth quarter as Ohio State’s second-string receivers. Inniss was on the field with Egbuka, Smith and Tate every time the Buckeyes used a four-receiver set.

Tight Ends

Gee Scott Jr.: 32
Will Kacmarek: 23
Bennett Christian: 12
Jelani Thurman: 11
Patrick Gurd: Special teams only

After rotating regularly with Scott and Kacmarek in Ohio State’s non-conference games, Thurman was dropped from the first-team rotation against Michigan State, playing all 11 of his snaps in the fourth quarter. Scott and Kacmarek split most of the first-team workload in East Lansing – with Scott playing a season-high 32 snaps and scoring his first touchdown of the year – while Christian occasionally joined Kacmarek on the field in two-tight end packages.

Touchdown, @OhioStateFB pic.twitter.com/7lHhg0EKbi

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 29, 2024

Christian also saw some playing time in the fourth quarter. Gurd was poised to take an offensive snap on Ohio State’s final possession as a second tight end on 4th-and-1 until the Buckeyes called timeout to avoid a delay of game penalty, after which the Buckeyes went back to their base offense; Sayin’s subsequent incompletion would be Ohio State’s final offensive play of the game, so Gurd did not officially record an offensive snap against Michigan State.

Offensive Linemen

Josh Fryar: 65
Donovan Jackson: 65
Josh Simmons: 65
Seth McLaughlin: 59
Tegra Tshabola: 47
Austin Siereveld: 30
Carson Hinzman: 18
George Fitzpatrick: 12
Zen Michalski: 12
Luke Montgomery: 12

Ohio State rotated Tshabola and Siereveld at right guard for the second week in a row; Tshabola started the game and played five series with the first-team offense, while Siereveld played three drives with the starters in the second and third quarters and remained in for the entire fourth quarter.

Simmons, Jackson and Fryar all played through the opening drive of the fourth quarter; Michalski replaced Simmons at left tackle, Mongomery replaced Jackson at left guard and Fitzpatrick replaced Fryar at right tackle when Sayin entered the game. Hinzman played the entire fourth quarter as he replaced McLaughlin at center when Brown replaced Howard at quarterback.

Defensive Ends

Jack Sawyer: 33
JT Tuimoloau: 33
Caden Curry: 19
Kenyatta Jackson Jr.: 19
Mitchell Melton: 16
Eddrick Houston: 2

Sawyer and Tuimoloau played the vast majority of defensive end snaps that mattered against Michigan State as they were each on the field for 33 of 39 plays in the first three quarters. Curry and Jackson both joined them on the field for several third-down Rushmen packages, with Melton also mixing for a couple of Rushmen plays, before those three split the primary defensive end snaps for the Spartans’ final four possessions.

Houston played his only two snaps of the game as a defensive tackle alongside Curry – with Jackson and Melton outside – in the backup Rushmen package for a pair of plays in the fourth quarter.

Defensive Tackles

Ty Hamilton: 24
Kayden McDonald: 18
Tywone Malone Jr.: 17
Hero Kanu: 13
Jason Moore: 10

Malone made his first career start against Michigan State as Tyleik Williams was held out for a second consecutive week with an undisclosed injury despite being cleared to play against the Spartans. Malone and Kanu rotated at 3-technique in the base defense for the first three quarters – in which the Buckeyes ran only 30 plays with two traditional defensive tackles – while Moore took over at 3-technique for the fourth quarter after Ohio State’s win was well in hand.

Hamilton played most of the snaps at nose tackle for Michigan State’s first eight possessions, with McDonald rotating in occasionally, before McDonald finished out the game on the Spartans’ final four drives. Hamilton’s snaps included two plays on which he was the only true defensive tackle on the field; one on which the Buckeyes lined up in a 3-2-6 dime package on 3rd-and-14 and a first-down play on which the Buckeyes used a “Double Eagle” five-lineman package with Hamilton at nose tackle, Curry and Sawyer next to him and Melton and Tuimoloau lined up wide.

Linebackers

Sonny Styles: 42
Cody Simon: 38
C.J. Hicks: 18
Arvell Reese: 18
Gabe Powers: 6
Payton Pierce: 5
Joey Velazquez: Special teams only

Ohio State had three linebackers on the field on more than half of its 51 defensive plays against Michigan State. Reese made his first career start at Mike linebacker as the Buckeyes began the game in their 4-3 package with Simon at Will linebacker and Styles playing Sam. Hicks also saw some action in place of Reese with the first-team defense in three-linebacker packages.

Styles played the most snaps of any Ohio State defender against Michigan State as he was on the field for every defensive play of the first three quarters and stayed in the game for some snaps alongside Hicks and Reese in the 4-3 defense on Michigan State’s first possession of the fourth quarter. Simon was on the field for every play but one in the first three quarters.

Powers and Pierce played all of their snaps on Michigan State’s final two possessions, on which the Buckeyes had Pierce on the field as a third linebacker alongside Hicks and Powers for all but one of the Spartans’ last six plays.

Cornerbacks

Davison Igbinosun: 39
Denzel Burke: 36
Jordan Hancock: 20
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 16
Aaron Scott Jr.: 12
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 5
Calvin Simpson-Hunt: Special teams only

Because Jim Knowles used a heavy dose of three-linebacker packages against Michigan State, Hancock played a season-low 20 snaps in his nickel cornerback role. Similarly, Styles only had the opportunity to play five snaps as Ohio State’s backup nickel, with one of those snaps coming on Michigan State’s opening drive of the third quarter when he was brought in as a sixth defensive back.

Igbinosun played all of Ohio State’s defensive snaps in the first three quarters; Burke played every snap until Michigan State’s final possession of the third quarter, on which Mathews relieved him one drive before the rest of the starting secondary checked out of the game. Mathews, who also played one snap in the second quarter as a fourth cornerback in a third-down dime package, played every snap of the fourth quarter along with Aaron Scott Jr. as the Buckeyes’ second-string outside corners.

Safeties

Caleb Downs: 39
Lathan Ransom: 39
Malik Hartford: 12
Jaylen McClain: 12
Brenten “Inky” Jones: Special teams only
Keenan Nelson Jr.: Special teams only

As has been the case in every game so far this season, Ohio State didn’t play beyond its two-deep at safety. Downs and Ransom played every snap of the first three quarters while Hartford and McClain replaced them for the fourth quarter.

Field Goals/Extra Points

Jayden Fielding (kicker): 6
Joe McGuire (holder): 6
John Ferlmann (long snapper): 6
Will Kacmarek (wing): 6
Zen Michalski (end): 6
Josh Simmons (tackle): 6
Austin Siereveld (guard): 6
Tegra Tshabola (guard): 6
Josh Fryar (tackle): 6
George Fitzpatrick (end): 6
Jelani Thurman (wing): 6

Fielding handled kicking duties for the entire game against Michigan State, making his only field goal attempt of the game from 30 yards out and all five of his extra point opportunities, after being replaced by Austin Snyder in the second half of Ohio State’s previous game against Marshall. Ohio State made no other changes to its field goal kicking unit against MSU.

Kickoffs

Jayden Fielding (kicker): 7
Brenten “Inky” Jones: 7
Jaylen McClain: 7
Gabe Powers: 7
Calvin Simpson-Hunt: 7
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 7
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 6
C.J. Hicks: 5
Keenan Nelson Jr.: 5
Patrick Gurd: 4
Arvell Reese: 4
Caden Curry: 3
Joey Velazquez: 3
Denzel Burke: 2
Payton Pierce: 2
Kojo Antwi: 1

After three straight kickoffs out of bounds in the second quarter against Marshall, prompting his benching for the remainder of that game, Fielding resumed kickoff duties against Michigan State and had no issues in East Lansing, booting all seven of his kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks.

Kickoff Returns

Emeka Egbuka (returner): 2
David Adolph: 2
Bennett Christian: 2
Brandon Inniss: 2
Will Kacmarek: 2
Gabe Powers: 2
Bryson Rodgers: 2
Gee Scott Jr.: 2
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 2
Joey Velazquez: 2
Denzel Burke: 1
Jaylen McClain: 1

Ohio State made a kickoff returner change for the second game in a row as Egbuka handled kickoff return duties for the first time this season. He replaced Inniss, who moved back into a blocking role on the unit after serving as the kick returner against Marshall. Jayden Ballard was Ohio State’s kickoff returner for the first two games.

Egbuka did not return either of Michigan State’s two kickoffs as both went through the end zone for touchbacks.

Punts

Joe McGuire (punter): 3
John Ferlmann (long snapper): 3
Caden Curry: 2
Caleb Downs: 2
C.J. Hicks: 2
Lathan Ransom: 2
Gee Scott Jr.: 2
Cody Simon: 2
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 2
Sonny Styles: 2
Kojo Antwi: 1
Jayden Ballard: 1
Bennett Christian: 1
Patrick Gurd: 1
Malik Hartford: 1
Brenten “Inky” Jones: 1
Mitchell Melton: 1
Gabe Powers: 1
Arvell Reese: 1
Bryson Rodgers: 1
Calvin Simpson-Hunt: 1

While Ohio State brought in Nick McLarty for its final punt in each of its last two games, it had McGuire handled all three of its punts at Michigan State. The Buckeyes swapped out the rest of their punt team outside of McGuire and Ferlmann for their final punt of the night, which came with less than five minutes remaining and Ohio State up 31.

Punt Returns

Brandon Inniss (returner): 5
David Adolph: 5
Jaylen McClain: 5
Payton Pierce: 5
Gabe Powers: 5
Calvin Simpson-Hunt: 5
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 5
Caden Curry: 4
Kojo Antwi: 3
Arvell Reese: 3
Joey Velazquez: 3
Patrick Gurd: 2
C.J. Hicks: 2
Jeremiah Smith: 2
Bennett Christian: 1

Inniss returned two of Michigan State’s five punts for a total of 19 yards, bringing him to 106 punt return yards for the season. On 11 returns through four games, Inniss is already the first Buckeye since 2017 (K.J. Hill, 144 yards on 26 returns) to top 100 punt return yards in a season.

Extra Point Block

Denzel Burke: 1
Caleb Downs: 1
Jordan Hancock: 1
Davison Igbinosun: 1
Hero Kanu: 1
Kayden McDonald: 1
Lathan Ransom: 1
Jack Sawyer: 1
Cody Simon: 1
Sonny Styles: 1
JT Tuimoloau: 1

The extra point block consisted of the 11 defenders who were on the field for Michigan State’s lone touchdown of the game, a 12-yard passing connection from Aidan Chiles to Jaron Glover on a one-play drive after Howard threw his lone interception of the game.