For the first time this season, a wide receiver earned the highest grade from Pro Football Focus in a game for Ohio State. What's surprising is that it wasn't Jeremiah Smith or Emeka Egbuka. It was Carnell Tate.
Tate, Josh Fryar and Jordan Hancock were Ohio State's three highest-graded players in the 21-17 win over Nebraska, according to PFF.
| ELITE | GOOD | ABOVE AVG. | AVG. | BELOW AVG. | POOR | VERY POOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90-100 | 80-89 | 70-79 | 60-69 | 50-59 | 40-49 | Below 40 |
While we all have our own opinions on who Ohio State’s best and worst players were against Nebraska, we compiled the Pro Football Focus grades for every player from the Nebraska game below. We start out by highlighting the Buckeyes who received the five best grades and the five worst grades, excluding those who played fewer than 10 snaps.
The Top Five
1. WR Carnell Tate (80.7)
Tate earned his highest grade of the season against Nebraska as he had a career day against the Cornhuskers, catching four passes for 102 yards and a touchdown in his first 100-yard game.
Ohio State will likely need him to have a repeat performance against Penn State, as Egbuka, Smith and Tate were the only Buckeye wide receivers to take offensive snaps against Nebraska.
Ryan Day said earlier this week that Ohio State would launch some balls at practice to improve its deep passing game. That work looks to have paid off, as Will Howard connected with Carnell Tate for a 40-yard touchdown. pic.twitter.com/FOF2ljIbDy
— Chase Brown (@chaseabrown__) October 26, 2024
2. RT Josh Fryar (77.7)
Fryar led all Ohio State linemen with an impressive score of 83.8 in pass blocking and a respectable grade of 72.7 in run blocking against Nebraska. This is Fryar's first time making the top five this season.
3. S Jordan Hancock (76.5)
Hancock forced a fumble and had a key interception to seal the win against Nebraska. He also had a team-leading grade of 76.9 in pass coverage. This is the second time for Hancock to make the top five in PFF’s Ohio State grades with the Michigan State game being his first.
4. TE Bennett Christian (75.0)
Ohio State's best grade in run blocking didn't come from one of its linemen, it was Christian who earned a team-best 78 in the run game. Like Hancock, Christian also made the top five against the Spartans.
5. LG Donovan Jackson (74.5)
PFF graded Jackson as the Buckeyes' best lineman in run blocking and he earned a grade above 70 for the third time in five games this season.
| GAME | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akron | DE Caden Curry (83.9) | DT Tyleik Williams (81.8) | DE Jack Sawyer (81.2) | CB Denzel Burke (78.5) | S Lathan Ransom (77.8) |
| WMU | RB Quinshon Judkins (92.6) | QB Devin Brown (89.1) | LB Cody Simon (86.3) | DE Jack Sawyer (85.2) | DT Ty Hamilton (83.2) |
| Marshall | G Donovan Jackson (86.6) | OT George Fitzpatrick (86.3) | RB TreVeyon Henderson (85.3) | OT Zen Michalski (84.5) | RB Quinshon Judkins (79.7) |
| MSU | TE Bennett Christian (84.6) | WR Jeremiah Smith (80.0) | S Caleb Downs (79.6) | CB Jordan Hancock (79.1) | WR Emeka Egbuka (76.8) |
| Iowa | DT Ty Hamilton (91.3) | DE Jack Sawyer (89.3) | DT Tyleik Williams (86.6) | WR Emeka Egbuka (76.3)* | C Seth McLaughlin (76.3)* |
| Oregon | S Lathan Ransom (78.0) | QB Will Howard (75.2) | WR Emeka Egbuka (74.5) | DE JT Tuimoloau (73.8) | S Caleb Downs (73.2) |
| Nebraska | WR Carnell Tate (80.7) | OT Josh Fryar (77.7) | CB Jordan Hancock (76.5) | TE Bennett Christian (75.0) | G Donovan Jackson (74.5) |
| *Egbuka and McLaughlin tied for 4th | |||||
The Bottom Five
The lowest grades against Nebraska were better than against Oregon, but three players were still below 50.
1. LB Arvell Reese (41.4)
Reese had a grade in the 40s for the second consecutive week. The linebacker started the season with three straight games with grades above 72 but hasn’t performed as well in Big Ten play.
2. CB Lorenzo Styles Jr. (43.2)
Styles Jr. had the lowest coverage grade on the team at 41.2. His overall defensive grade against Nebraska was his lowest of the season and his second consecutive overall grade below 49.
3. DT Kayden McDonald (49.0)
The team's lowest grades for tackling and running defense against Nebraska belonged to McDonald. PFF gave him a tackling grade of 21.8 and a run defense grade of 50.4.
4. RG Tegra Tshabola (53.9)
Tshabola lands in the bottom five in back-to-back weeks and the third time this season. He graded with a team-worst 55.1 in run blocking against the Cornhuskers.
5. G Austin Siereveld (55.2)
Zen Michalski didn't make the bottom five, but he did have the team’s worst pass-blocking grade of 14.2. Siereveld was just behind him with 21.2 followed by Tshabola at 36.3.
| GAME | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akron | QB Devin Brown (52.3) | TE Jelani Thurman (53.1) | LB C.J. Hicks (54.0) | TE Gee Scott Jr. (54.5) | WR Brandon Inniss (54.8) |
| WMU | LB C.J. Hicks (45.5) | DE Caden Curry (54.5) | TE Gee Scott Jr. (55.7) | G Tegra Tshabola (56.2) | CB Denzel Burke (56.5) |
| Marshall | TE Gee Scott Jr. (44.8) | WR Bryson Rodgers (49.3) | OT Josh Fryar (52.6) | TE Jelani Thurman (54.5) | DE Caden Curry (55.2) |
| MSU | G Carson Hinzman (45.2) | QB Julian Sayin (46.6) | CB Davison Igbinosun (47.2) | TE Will Kacmarek (47.4) | OT Josh Fryar (48.7) |
| Iowa | TE Gee Scott Jr. (52.5) | LB Arvell Reese (55.1) | WR Bryson Rodgers (55.9) | DE Kenyatta Jackson Jr. (56.5) | TE Bennett Christian (58.6) |
| Oregon | OT Zen Michalski (57.2) | OT Josh Simmons (38.3) | G Tegra Tshabola (41.7) | CB Denzel Burke (41.8) | OT Josh Fryar (52.0) |
| Nebraska | LB Arvell Reese (41.4) | CB Lorenzo Styles Jr. (43.2) | DT Kayden McDonald (49.0) | G Tegra Tshabola (53.9) | G Austin Siereveld (55.2) |
Offensive Ratings By Position
Quarterbacks
Will Howard: 67.3 (48 snaps)
Running Backs
Quinshon Judkins: 64.5 (26 snaps)
TreVeyon Henderson: 63.9 (25 snaps)
Wide Receivers
Carnell Tate: 80.7 (39 snaps)
Jeremiah Smith: 64.0 (41 snaps)
Emeka Egbuka: 62.0 (42 snaps)
Tight Ends
Bennett Christian: 75.0 (13 snaps)
Gee Scott Jr.: 65.8 (44 snaps)
Jelani Thurman: 56.7 (10 snaps)
Offensive Line
Josh Fryar: 77.7 (48 snaps)
Donovan Jackson: 74.5 (48 snaps)
Seth McLaughlin: 68.8 (48 snaps)
Luke Montgomery: 60.0 (4 snaps)
Zen Michalski: 57.2 (44 snaps)
Austin Siereveld: 52.0 (10 snaps)
Tegra Tshabola: 53.9 (38 snaps)
| QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DE | DT | LB | CB | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Will Howard | Quinshon Judkins | Carnell Tate | Bennett Christian | Josh Fryar | Kenyatta Jackson Jr. | Tyleik Williams | Sonny Styles | Davison Igbinosun | Lathan Ransom |
| 67.3 | 64.5 | 80.7 | 75.0 | 77.7 | 72.7 | 67.5 | 71.5 | 61.6 | 78.0 |
Defensive Ratings by Position
Defensive Ends
Caden Curry: 73.6 (9 snaps)
Kenyatta Jackson Jr.: 72.7 (15 snaps)
Jack Sawyer: 70.4 (64 snaps)
JT Tuimoloau: 66.9 (58 snaps)
Mitchell Melton: 59.5 (5 snaps)
Defensive Tackles
Tyleik Williams: 67.5 (61 snaps)
Eddrick Houston: 62.7 (5 snaps)
Jason Moore: 60.6 (2 snaps)
Ty Hamilton: 56.3 (60 snaps)
Kayden McDonald: 49.0 (10 snaps)
Hero Kanu: 38.5 (2 snaps)
Linebackers
Cody Simon: 65.8 (64 snaps)
Sonny Styles: 61.3 (72 snaps)
Arvell Reese: 41.4 (24 snaps)
Cornerbacks
Denzel Burke: 70.1 (68 snaps)
Davison Igbinosun: 57.6 (67 snaps)
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 55.7 (35 snaps)
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 43.2 (29 snaps)
Safeties
Jordan Hancock: 76.5 (55 snaps)
Caleb Downs: 67.7 (72 snaps)
Jaylen McClain: 61.6 (15 snaps
