Snap Counts: Caden Curry, Eddrick Houston, Jermaine Mathews Jr. See Increased Action As 71 Buckeyes Play in 45-0 Rout of Purdue

Even so, several Buckeyes who have been in the rotation played their highest snap counts of the season against the Boilermakers. Most notably, Caden Curry played a career-high 35 snaps as he led all Ohio State defensive ends in playing time, Eddrick Houston played a career-high 27 snaps as the freshman defensive tackle made his first career start and Jermaine Mathews Jr. played a season-high 40 snaps as he led all cornerbacks in playing time against Purdue.

In total, 71 Buckeyes saw action, the most in any Big Ten game this season and the second-most in any game overall behind their 56-0 win over Western Michigan. 32 Buckeyes played on offense and another 32 played on defense while seven – including specialists Jayden Fielding, Joe McGuire and John Ferlmann – played on special teams only.

Our full breakdown of Ohio State’s snap counts against Purdue, using data from Pro Football Focus’ premium statistics, follows below.

Quarterbacks

Will Howard: 52
Julian Sayin: 8
Devin Brown: 6

Howard led seven drives for Ohio State’s offense against Purdue, completing 21 of 26 passing attempts for 260 yards and three touchdowns while also running the ball nine times for a net total of seven yards (26 yards on seven attempts excluding a sack and a slip that cost him 19 combined yards) and a touchdown. The Buckeyes scored on six of those seven drives (five touchdowns and a field goal).

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Brown replaced Howard on Ohio State’s eighth possession. He was replaced after two plays on his second drive in the game by Sayin, whose third game appearance of the season opened with a 19-yard run to convert 3rd-and-12. Sayin finished out that drive and stayed in for Ohio State’s final three-play drive to run out the clock. Neither Sayin nor Brown completed a pass against Purdue.

Running Backs

TreVeyon Henderson: 27
Quinshon Judkins: 27
James Peoples: 12
Sam Williams-Dixon: 3

Judkins made his second consecutive start against Purdue after Henderson started the first seven games of the season. Ultimately, both of them played the exact same number of snaps against the Boilermakers, including three plays where they were both on the field together – one of which resulted in a 19-yard Henderson touchdown run on a play where Judkins was lined up at running back.

Treveyon Henderson to the house @ohiostatefb adds on another in the second half

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Henderson touched the ball on just nine of his 27 plays from scrimmage but still gained 128 yards (85 yards on six rushes, 43 yards on three catches). Judkins had 45 yards from scrimmage on 13 touches (32 yards on 11 rushes, 13 yards on two catches).

Peoples made his first game appearance in four games as he played 12 fourth-quarter snaps and ran the ball three times for 12 yards. Williams-Dixon took over at RB for the Buckeyes’ final three-play drive and carried the ball on all three plays for nine combined yards to run out the clock.

Wide Receivers

Carnell Tate: 43
Emeka Egbuka: 35
Jeremiah Smith: 34
Bryson Rodgers: 24
Brandon Inniss: 23
David Adolph: 13
Mylan Graham: 3
Brennen Schramm: 2
Damarion Witten: 1

Rodgers and Inniss both played more than 20 snaps for the first time in four games as each of them mixed in for playing time with the starters before seeing more playing time with the backups in the fourth quarter. Inniss made his 11th catch of the season for a 17-yard gain while Rodgers was not targeted.

Adolph saw playing time on all of Ohio State’s final four possessions of the game and was targeted three times but did not make a catch. Graham, Schramm and Witten played only on the game’s final drive, with Witten making his first game appearance as a Buckeye.

Smith led all Ohio State receivers against Purdue with seven catches for 87 yards and a touchdown, breaking OSU’s freshman-year records for receptions and receiving touchdowns (having already broken the record for receiving yards) in the process.

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Tight Ends

Gee Scott Jr.: 35
Jelani Thurman: 18
Bennett Christian: 16
Patrick Gurd: 9
Max LeBlanc: 5

Thurman played his highest snap count since non-conference play as he saw regular action with the first-team offense against Purdue in rotation with Scott and Christian. Scott played his lowest snap count since September as the Buckeyes rotated their backup tight ends in more against the Boilermakers, but scored his second touchdown of the season on a catch from 15 yards out while Thurman had a 19-yard catch for the second game in a row.

Gurd and LeBlanc were Ohio State’s tight ends for its final three possessions of the game with LeBlanc making the same game appearance of his freshman season.

Offensive Linemen

Seth McLaughlin: 52
Tegra Tshabola: 52
Josh Fryar: 52
Donovan Jackson: 50
Carson Hinzman: 50
George Fitzpatrick: 16
Luke Montgomery: 14
Ian Moore: 14
Joshua Padilla: 14​
Austin Siereveld: 13
Toby Wilson: 3

Ohio State used the same starting lineup on the offensive line as it did against Penn State with Jackson starting at left tackle and Hinzman starting at left guard. Hinzman left the game for Ohio State’s final two plays of the first half after suffering an apparent knee injury and was replaced by Siereveld, but Hinzman returned for the start of the second half. Jackson came out of the game at the start of the fourth quarter – two plays before the rest of Ohio State’s starters – and was replaced by Fitzpatrick at left tackle after he was slow to get up on Ohio State’s second-to-last play of the third quarter.

Fitzpatrick remained in the game for the entire fourth quarter with the second-team offensive line, which also consisted of Montgomery at left guard, Padilla at center, Siereveld at right guard and Moore at right tackle. Wilson, a self-described glue guy, saw his first offensive snaps of the year when he replaced Siereveld at RG for the game’s final series.

Defensive Ends

Caden Curry: 35
Kenyatta Jackson Jr.: 26
Jack Sawyer: 25
JT Tuimoloau: 25
Joshua Mickens: 7
Mitchell Melton: 4
Dominic Kirks: 2

For the first time all season, Sawyer and Tuimoloau didn’t play the most snaps among defensive ends as the Buckeyes’ second-string DEs saw extensive playing time against Purdue. Curry played a career-high 35 snaps at defensive end after blocking a punt in the first quarter while Jackson played his second-highest total of snaps this season.

Sawyer and Tuimoloau made the most of the 25 snaps they did play as both of them were dominant against the Boilermakers, sharing Ohio State’s Silver Bullet of the Game award. Tuimoloau recorded four tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss and a half-sack, broke up a pass and forced a fumble which Sawyer returned for a touchdown in addition to recording five tackles with a half-sack.

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Melton played four snaps on Ohio State’s third defensive series of the game as a Jack linebacker but was ruled out with an injury sometime after that and did not play any more defensive snaps.

Mickens played seven snaps in the fourth quarter in his fourth game appearance of the season and recorded his first career sack. Kirks was on the field for Ohio State’s final two defensive plays and recorded his first career tackle on his first play in the game.

Defensive Tackles

Ty Hamilton: 28
Eddrick Houston: 27
Kayden McDonald: 21
Tywone Malone Jr.: 16
Hero Kanu: 11
Will Smith Jr.: 5
Jason Moore: 3

Houston made his first career start and played a career-high 27 snaps as the Buckeyes held Tyleik Williams out of action – though Ryan Day said after the game that Williams could have played if needed – after he left the Penn State game with an injury in the fourth quarter.

McDonald was the first defensive tackle off the bench behind Hamilton at nose tackle while Malone, who had not played any defensive snaps in Ohio State’s previous three games, was the second man in at 3-technique behind Houston. Kanu rotated in at both defensive tackle spots. Smith and Moore played their only snaps of the game in the fourth quarter after the Buckeyes had already scored their 45 points.

Linebackers

Sonny Styles: 37
Cody Simon: 35
Arvell Reese: 22
C.J. Hicks: 16
Payton Pierce: 11
Gabe Powers: 9
Garrett Stover: 1
Joey Velazquez: Special teams only

Styles and Simon both played more than half of Ohio State’s 60 defensive plays as the Buckeyes’ starting linebackers, but Reese and Hicks also rotated in for snaps with the first-team defense against Purdue, including some action for both in three-linebacker packages.

Five Ohio State linebackers played double-digit defensive snaps for the first time all season as Pierce got in the game for 11 snaps in the fourth quarter while Powers also played a season-high nine snaps. Stover played his first career defensive snap on Ohio State’s final defensive series of the game.

Cornerbacks

Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 40
Jordan Hancock: 35
Davison Igbinosun: 32
Denzel Burke: 27
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 24
Aaron Scott Jr.: 15
Bryce West: 6

Ohio State rotated Mathews in with Burke and Igbinosun at cornerback for a third game in a row, and he played a season-high 40 snaps as a result. Igbinosun played his lowest snap count of the season while Burke played his second-lowest behind only the Western Michigan game, from which he was ejected in the first quarter for a targeting penalty.

Hancock played all but eight snaps with the starting defense, occasionally rotating back to safety in third-down situations with Styles taking his place at nickel. Styles played his second-highest snap count of the season as he finished out the game at nickel with the second-team defense.

Mathews and Scott played most of the fourth quarter as Ohio State’s outside cornerbacks with West replacing Mathews on Purdue’s final drive for his first defensive snaps as a Buckeye. Mathews returned to the field for Purdue’s final two offensive plays after Scott landed hard on the turf while defending a deep ball and went back to the locker room early.

Jermaine Mathews Jr. played the most snaps among Ohio State cornerbacks (40) vs. Purdue. (Photo: Samantha Madar – Imagn Images)

Safeties

Caleb Downs: 43
Lathan Ransom: 38
Malik Hartford: 17
Jaylen McClain: 17
Brenten "Inky" Jones: Special teams only
Keenan Nelson Jr.: Special teams only
Leroy Roker III: Special teams only

Downs played the most snaps of any Ohio State defender vs. Purdue as he was on the field for every defensive play of the first three quarters. Ransom was on the field for all but five of those plays, only subbing out on plays when Hancock shifted back to safety.

As has been the case all season, Hartford and McClain were the only backup safeties to see playing time on defense as both of them played every snap of Purdue’s final three possessions.

Field Goals/Extra Points

Jayden Fielding (kicker): 7
Joe McGuire (punter): 7
John Ferlmann (long snapper): 7
Bennett Christian: 7
George Fitzpatrick: 7
Josh Fryar: 7
Luke Montgomery: 7
Joshua Padilla: 7
Austin Siereveld: 7
Jelani Thurman: 7
Tegra Tshabola: 7

Fielding improved to 6-of-7 on the season on field goals and 44-for-44 on extra points as he made a 42-yard field goal and six extra points against Purdue.

Kickoffs

Jayden Fielding (kicker): 8
C.J. Hicks: 8
Payton Pierce: 8
Jaylen McClain: 7
Arvell Reese: 7
Caden Curry: 6
Gabe Powers: 6
Bryce West: 6
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 5
Aaron Scott Jr.: 5
Garrett Stover: 4
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 4
Denzel Burke: 3
James Peoples: 3
Jordan Hancock: 2
Leroy Roker III: 2
Joey Velazquez: 2
Brenten “Inky” Jones: 1
Patrick Gurd: 1

Ohio State used 18 different players on its kickoff coverage team alongside Jayden Fielding against Purdue, with Roker playing his only snaps of the game and first snaps of his Buckeye career on the unit in the second half. Purdue did not return any of Fielding’s eight kickoffs.

Kickoff Returns

TreVeyon Henderson (returner): 1
David Adolph: 1
Bennett Christian: 1
Patrick Gurd: 1
C.J. Hicks: 1
Jaylen McClain: 1
Gabe Powers: 1
Bryson Rodgers: 1
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 1
Jelani Thurman: 1
Joey Velazquez: 1

Henderson saw his first action at kickoff returner at Purdue since the first game of his freshman year. Day said after the game that Ohio State “didn't quite get what we wanted there” as Henderson was stopped at the 18-yard line on his only return of the day.

Punts

Joe McGuire (punter): 2
John Ferlmann (long snapper): 2
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 2
Gee Scott Jr.: 2
Bennett Christian: 1
Caden Curry: 1
Caleb Downs: 1
Patrick Gurd: 1
Malik Hartford: 1
C.J. Hicks: 1
Brenten “Inky” Jones: 1
Jaylen McClain: 1
Gabe Powers: 1
Lathan Ransom: 1
Arvell Reese: 1
Cody Simon: 1
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 1
Sonny Styles: 1

McGuire had two strong punts of 48 and 44 yards against Purdue, downing both of them inside the 20-yard line.

Punt Blocks/Returns

David Adolph: 4
Jaylen McClain: 4
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 4
Denzel Burke: 3
Caden Curry: 3
Brenten “Inky” Jones: 3
Arvell Reese: 3
Carnell Tate: 3
Caleb Downs (returner): 2
Brandon Inniss (returner): 2
C.J. Hicks: 2
Mitchell Melton: 2
Gabe Powers: 2
Joey Velazquez: 2
Bennett Christian: 1
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 1
Keenan Nelson Jr.: 1
Payton Pierce: 1
Lathan Ransom: 1

Curry blocked Ohio State’s punt since 2022 on Purdue’s first punt of the game. Day said after the game that the Buckeyes specifically put Curry and Melton where they did in their punt block formation because Ohio State thought they could exploit a matchup against Purdue’s smaller punt protection unit.

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Downs and Inniss continued to split time at punt returner against Purdue as they have for the last three weeks. Neither of them returned a punt against Purdue.

Field Goal Block

Hero Kanu: 2
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 2
Denzel Burke: 1
Caleb Downs: 1
Ty Hamilton: 1
Jordan Hancock: 1
Malik Hartford: 1
C.J. Hicks: 1
Eddrick Houston: 1
Kenyatta Jackson Jr.: 1
Jaylen McClain: 1
Kayden McDonald: 1
Lathan Ransom: 1
Arvell Reese: 1
Aaron Scott Jr.: 1
Cody Simon: 1
Will Smith Jr.: 1
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 1
Sonny Styles: 1

Ohio State didn’t get its hands on either of Spencer Porath’s field goal attempts, but it didn’t need to as the Purdue kicker missed them both (from just 21 and 38 yards out) to preserve the Buckeyes’ second shutout of the season.