Ohio State took care of Tennessee and Pro Football Focus took notice of the play by the biggest stars on the Buckeyes' roster.
JT Tuimoloau and TreVeyon Henderson earned the site's highest grades in Ohio State's 42-17 blowout victory over Tennessee of the mighty SEC in the first round of the College Football Playoff. Will Howard, Jack Sawyer and Jeremiah Smith were among the other Buckeyes who earned high marks from 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 the Volunteers, we compiled the PFF grades for every player from the Tennessee 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 JT Tuimoloau (88.3)
The last time Tuimoloau was in the top five was for his performance against Purdue when he was also Ohio State's top-rated player. This is the second time this season that Tuimoloau has earned the team's highest overall grade and this is his fourth appearance in the top five.
The senior from Washington graded out with a team-high grade of 89.4 in pass rushing with two sacks and seven total quarterback pressures against Nico Iamaleava.
: @JT_Tuimoloau pic.twitter.com/gBqxYvCOE6
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 22, 2024
2. RB TreVeyon Henderson (85.6)
Henderson makes the top five for the fifth time this season after exploding for 134 yards and two touchdowns against Tennessee. The senior running back has come on strong at the end of the season, ranking in PFF’s top five Buckeyes in four of the past five games. Henderson graded out with a team-high grade of 87.4 on pass plays.
3. QB Will Howard (84.9)
Like Henderson, Howard has been a regular in the top five during the tail end of the season. The senior signal-caller's name has been found in the top five for five of the past six games, with the Michigan performance being the outlier. He completed 24 of 29 passing attempts for 311 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 37 yards against the Volunteers.
4. DE Jack Sawyer (79.4)
Sawyer makes the top five for the second straight game and third time in four games after recording five tackles with 1.5 sacks and two pass breakups against Tennessee. The defensive end from Pickerington has graded above 70 in five straight games and 11 of the 13 contests played this season.
5. WR Jeremiah Smith (77.9)
Smith's game-high six catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns stood out against Tennessee. What might have been lost in the eye-popping stats is he also graded out as Ohio State's second-best run blocker (74.4) against Tennessee.
Smith has not graded below 60 in any game this season but somewhat surprisingly, this is his first time making PFF’s top five since his Week 4 performance against Michigan State.
| 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) |
| Northwestern | DE Jack Sawyer (91.8) | QB Will Howard (90.5) | LB Cody Simon (82.2) | RB Quinshon Judkins (79.7) | LB Sonny Styles (77.6) |
| Indiana | QB Will Howard (85.7) | WR Emeka Egbuka (85.4) | LB Cody Simon (81.4) | S Lathan Ransom (75.2) | RB TreVeyon Henderson (74.9) |
| Michigan | LB Arvell Reese (91.2) | DE Jack Sawyer (88.6) | DT Kayden McDonald (80.6) | S Caleb Downs (76.1) | DT Tyleik Williams (74.2) |
| Tennessee | DE JT Tuimolau (88.3) | RB TreVeyon Henderson (85.6) | QB Will Howard (84.9 | DE Jack Sawyer (79.4) | WR Jeremiah Smith (77.9) |
| *Egbuka and McLaughlin tied for 4th | |||||
The Bottom Five
1. CB Aaron Scott Jr. (48.4)
For the third time in four weeks, a cornerback earns Ohio State's lowest grade in a game. Scott’s coverage grade of 47.9 was the lowest of any Buckeye.
2. DT Eddrick Houston (54.4)
Houston’s grades of 21.5 in tackling and 52.2 in run defense were the lowest on the team against Tennessee.
3. C Carson Hinzman (55.7)
Hinzman earned the lowest overall offensive grade (55.7) and lowest run blocking grade (52.4) for any Buckeye with at least 10 snaps against Tennessee. This is the third consecutive game Hinzman has graded below 60 since he moved back to center to replace the injured Seth McLaughlin.
4. WR Carnell Tate (55.8)
Tate makes this unscrupulous list for the second time this season after catching only one pass for 18 yards. He has only graded below 60 three times this season, but his grades against Penn State and Tennessee put him in the bottom five.
5. DT Kayden McDonald (56.7)
McDonald earned a spot in the top five for his performance against Michigan but finds himself in the bottom five for his play against Tennessee after recording no tackles on his 10 plays in the game.
| 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) |
| Penn State | 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) |
| Northwestern | 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) |
| Indiana | CB Davison Igbinosun (46.5) | TE Bennett Christian (47.1) | DE Kenyatta Jackson (47.7) | CB Jordan Hancock (50.0) | LT Donovan Jackson (52.3) |
| Michigan | C Carson Hinzman (42.3) | LB Sonny Styles (45.0) | G Tegra Tshabola (46.5) | G Austin Siereveld (49.2) | TE Gee Scott Jr. (50.4) |
| Tennessee | CB Aaron Scott Jr. (48.4) | DT Eddrick Houston (54.4) | C Carson Hinzman (55.7) | WR Carnell Tate (55.8) | DT Kayden McDonald (56.7) |
Offensive Ratings By Position
Quarterbacks
Will Howard: 84.9 (58 snaps)
Devin Brown: 61.2 (3 snaps)
Lincoln Kieholz: 60.0 (3 snaps)
Julian Sayin: 48.3 (3 snaps)
Running Backs
TreVeyon Henderson: 85.6 (28 snaps)
Quinshon Judkins: 62.9 (33 snaps)
James Peoples: 55.7 (9 snaps)
Wide Receivers
Jeremiah Smith: 77.9 (55 snaps)
Emeka Egbuka: 77.5 (35 snaps)
Mylan Graham: 58.9 (7 snaps)
Brandon Inniss: 58.9 (11 snaps)
Bryson Rodgers: 57.1 (10 snaps)
Carnell Tate: 55.8 (48 snaps)
Tight Ends
Patrick Gurd: 64.5 (5 snaps)
Bennett Christian: 63.5 (18 snaps)
Jelani Thurman: 61.1 (7 snaps)
Max LeBlanc: 60.0 (3 snaps)
Gee Scott Jr.: 59.6 (34 snaps)
Will Kacmarek: 57.2 (32 snaps)
Offensive Line
Luke Montgomery: 70.4 (31 snaps)
Donovan Jackson: 69.1 (58 snaps)
Tegra Tshabola: 68.1 (39 snaps)
Zen Michalski: 66.5 (9 snaps)
Josh Fryar: 66.4 (58 snaps)
Austin Siereveld: 64.6 (46 snaps)
Joshua Padilla: 57.2 (9 snaps)
Carson Hinzman: 55.7 (58 snaps)
Toby Wilson: 53.4 (9 snaps)
| QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DE | DT | LB | CB | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Will Howard | TreVeyon Henderson | Jeremiah Smith | Bennett Christian | Luke Montgomery | JT Tuimoloau | Tyleik Williams | Cody Simon | Bryce West | Jaylen McClain |
| 84.9 | 85.6 | 77.9 | 63.5 | 70.4 | 88.3 | 68.7 | 75.4 | 77.3 | 77.4 |
Defensive Ratings by Position
Defensive Ends
JT Tuimoloau: 88.3 (39 snaps)
Jack Sawyer: 79.4 (43 snaps)
Kenyatta Jackson Jr.: 73.1 (23 snaps)
Caden Curry: 68.4 (17 snaps)
Mitchell Melton: 64.3 (20 snaps)
Defensive Tackles
Tyleik Williams: 68.7 (44 snaps)
Tywone Malone Jr.: 67.9 (6 snaps)
Hero Kanu: 64.3 (14 snaps)
Jason Moore: 64.3 (5 snap)
Will Smith Jr.: 62.1 (5 snaps)
Ty Hamilton: 59.5 (42 snaps)
Kayden McDonald: 56.7 (10 snaps)
Eddrick Houston: 54.4 (16 snaps)
Linebackers
Cody Simon: 75.4 (56 snaps)
Sonny Styles: 71.9 (59 snaps)
Arvell Reese: 70.5 (19 snaps)
C.J. Hicks: 58.7 (12 snaps)
Cornerbacks
Bryce West: 77.3 (12 snaps)
Davison Igbinosun: 71.6 (50 snaps)
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 68.0 (27 snaps)
Denzel Burke: 64.8 (50 snaps)
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 64.1 (1 snap)
Jordan Hancock: 63.4 (58 snaps)
Aaron Scott Jr.: 48.4 (12 snaps)
Safeties
Jaylen McClain: 77.4 (12 snap)
Caleb Downs: 70.5 (59 snaps)
Lathan Ransom: 67.8 (58 snaps)
Malik Hartford: 65.5 (12 snaps)
