For the second time this season – and in back-to-back weeks – two Ohio State players received grades above 90 from Pro Football Focus.
According to Pro Football Focus, the two Buckeyes with those high marks in the 24-point win over Northwestern were players who are familiar faces to make the weekly top-five list. In fact, four of this week's top five players have made the list multiple times this season.
| 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 the Wildcats, we compiled the Pro Football Focus grades for every player from the Northwestern game below. We start 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. DE Jack Sawyer (91.8)
Earning his highest grade of the season, Sawyer takes the top spot in this weekly feature for the first time. With an overall grade of 91.8, Sawyer was PFF's best-rated defensive player in the B1G for Week 12.
One of Sawyer's standout plays was his forced fumble that ended Northwestern's promising opening drive of the game. The Wildcats were threatening at the Buckeyes' 18-yard line when Sawyer popped Jack Lausch and dispossessed him of the ball for a forced fumble that Davison Igbinosun recovered.
Jack Sawyer with the punch-out for OSU @NNNSports pic.twitter.com/kYFY2NMzBA
— Anna Watson (@adub_sports) November 16, 2024
Jack Sawyer was all over the place against Northwestern. pic.twitter.com/DXH6liaGZQ
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 17, 2024
2. QB Will Howard (90.5)
This is Howard's fourth appearance in the weekly top five and the second time for the signal-caller to earn the team's best score by an offensive player. Completing 15 of his 24 passes with two touchdowns, Howard had a passing grade of 90.6 and an overall offensive grade of 90.5, which were both tops in the Big Ten for quarterbacks with at least 10 passing attempts last week.
Howard's pass efficiency rating for the season is 181.9. That ranks second in program history for quarterbacks with eight or more starts. He is currently behind C.J Stroud (186.6, 2021) and just ahead of Justin Fields (181.4, 2019).
This might be Will Howards best throw of the season pic.twitter.com/Aa9jESkQKJ
— Stephen Means (@Stephen_Means) November 18, 2024
3. LB Cody Simon (82.2)
Cody Simon makes the top five for the third time this season and the second time in three weeks. Like the previous two occasions when Simon made this list, he lands in the third spot. This is the second time this season for Simon to get a grade above 80.
4. RB Quinshon Judkins (79.7)
Crossing the goal line twice helped Judkins get the highest offensive grade (79.7) and highest rushing grade (78.9) among running backs in the Big Ten in Week 12. This is the first time for Judkins to crack the top five since he did so against Marshall in Week 3.
5. LB Sonny Styles (77.6)
Making his season debut in the top five, Styles' overall grade was boosted by his coverage play against Northwestern. PFF gave the former safety a team-high grade of 78.8 in coverage plays.
| 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) |
| PSU | CB Davison Igbinosun (78.0) | RB TreVeyon Henderson (77.9) | LB Cody Simon (76.9) | DE JT Tuimoloau (74.6) | QB Will Howard (74.3) |
| Purdue | DE JT Tuimoloau (91.7) | S Lathan Ransom (90.1) | WR Jeremiah Smith (80.6) | QB Will Howard (80.4) | RB TreVeyon Henderson (78.7) |
| NU | DE Jack Sawyer (91.8) | QB Will Howard (90.5) | LB Cody Simon (82.2) | Quinshon Judkins RB (79.7) | LB Sonny Styles (77.6) |
| *Egbuka and McLaughlin tied for 4th | |||||
The Bottom Five
For the first time since the Iowa game, at least three of Ohio State's five lowest-graded Buckeyes earned a grade above 50.
1. CB Jermaine Mathews Jr. (45.8)
Mathews finds himself in the bottom five for the first time this season. Not just the bottom five, but he also had the lowest grade on the team.
2. DT Ty Hamilton (47.2)
Against Northwestern, Hamilton graded as Ohio State's second-worst run defender (54.9) and second-worst overall defender (49.6).
3. TE Jelani Thurman (53.8)
Thurman graded out with the team's second-lowest grades for pass plays (54.9) and run blocking (55.7). At least one tight end has made the bottom five list in eight of this season's 10 games.
4. LB C.J. Hicks (54.4)
Hicks' coverage grade of 44.6 was the worst among Buckeye defenders against Northwestern. This is his third time in the bottom five.
5. TE Bennett Christian (55.4)
For the fourth time this season, two tight ends make the bottom five. The player that Thurman was behind in the pass plays and blocking grades? Christian, the Georgia native, had a team-worst 52.7 in pass plays and 55.6 in run blocking.
| 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 (37.6) | 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) |
| PSU | TE Bennett Christian (30.4) | LT Donovan Jackson (39.4) | LB Arvell Reese (44.1) | WR Emeka Egbuka (51.5) | WR Carnell Tate (52.8) |
| Purdue | WR Brandon Inniss (29.7) | CB Lorenzo Styles Jr. (41.6) | CB Aaron Scott Jr. (44.4) | TE Gee Scott Jr. (44.9) | DT Tywone Malone (49.9) |
| NW | CB Jermaine Mathews Jr. (45.8) | DT Ty Hamilton (47.2) | TE Jelani Thurman (53.8) | LB C.J. Hicks (54.4) | TE Bennett Christian (55.4) |
Offensive Ratings By Position
Quarterbacks
Will Howard: 90.5 (55 snaps)
Devin Brown: 60.0 (3 snaps)
Running Backs
Quinshon Judkins: 79.7 (24 snaps)
James Peoples: 74.6 (4 snaps)
TreVeyon Henderson: 69.1 (32 snaps)
Wide Receivers
Jeremiah Smith: 75.1 (46 snaps)
Brandon Inniss: 71.3 (10 snaps)
Carnell Tate: 71.1 (45 snaps)
Emeka Egbuka: 60.4 (47 snaps)
Bryson Rodgers: 59.6 (6 snap)
Tight Ends
Gee Scott Jr.: 68.1 (29 snaps)
Max LeBlanc: 60.0 (1 snaps)
Patrick Gurd: 59.2 (5 snaps)
Bennett Christian: 55.4 (23 snaps)
Jelani Thurman: 53.8 (18 snaps)
Offensive Line
Donovan Jackson: 67.2 (55 snaps)
Austin Siereveld: 66.1 (3 snaps)
Ian Moore: 64.9 (3 snaps)
Tegra Tshabola: 62.0 (55 snaps)
Joshua Padilla: 61.4 (3 snaps)
Carson Hinzman: 60.5 (55 snaps)
Seth McLaughlin: 60.5 (55 snaps)
George Fitzpatrick: 60.1 (3 snaps)
Josh Fryar: 58.7 (55 snaps)
Luke Montgomery: 58.2 (3 snaps)
| QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DE | DT | LB | CB | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Will Howard | TreVeyon Henderson | Jeremiah Smith | Jelani Thurman | Seth McLaughlin | JT Tuimoloau | Kayden McDonald | Payton Pierce | Jordan Hancock | Lathan Ransom |
| 80.4 | 78.7 | 80.6 | 70.2 | 70.5 | 91.7 | 67.3 | 66.5 | 75.5 | 90.1 |
Defensive Ratings by Position
Defensive Ends
Jack Sawyer: 91.8 (37 snaps)
Kenyatta Jackson Jr.: 76.3 (29 snaps)
Caden Curry: 61.5 (29 snaps)
JT Tuimoloau: 61.1 (37 snaps)
Joshua Mickens: 56.0 (4 snaps)
Defensive Tackles
Will Smith Jr.: 62.7 (7 snaps)
Tyleik Williams: 61.7 (40 snaps)
Hero Kanu: 59.5 (5 snaps)
Eddrick Houston: 59.3 (16 snaps)
Kayden McDonald: 56.7 (21 snaps)
Tywone Malone Jr.: 55.1 (8 snaps)
Ty Hamilton: 47.2 (36 snaps)
Linebackers
Cody Simon: 82.2 (46 snaps)
Sonny Styles: 77.6 (49 snaps)
Arvell Reese: 72.1 (34 snaps)
C.J. Hicks: 54.4 (20 snap)
Cornerbacks
Denzel Burke: 71.4 (46 snaps)
Jordan Hancock: 69.4 (37 snaps)
Bryce West: 66.5 (11 snaps)
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 66.3 (20 snaps)
Davison Igbinosun: 64.0 (42 snaps)
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 45.8 (36 snaps)
Safeties
Malik Hartford: 74.4 (17 snaps)
Jaylen McClain: 66.7 (14 snaps)
Lathan Ransom: 62.4 (46 snaps)
Caleb Downs: 61.8 (50 snaps)
