Ohio State’s top performers in the national championship game were all on the offensive side of the ball, according to Pro Football Focus.
The seven Ohio State players who received the highest grades from PFF in the Buckeyes’ 34-23 victory over Notre Dame were all on the offensive side of the ball. Will Howard and Quinshon Judkins accounted for Ohio State's four touchdowns and earned the site's highest grades. Jeremiah Smith, TreVeyon Henderson and Will Kacmarek were among the other Buckeyes who earned PFF's highest marks.
| ELITE | GOOD | ABOVE AVG. | AVG. | BELOW AVG. | POOR | VERY POOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90-100 | 80-89 | 70-79 | 60-69 | 50-59 | 40-49 | Below 40 |
PFF’s top three Ohio State players for the national championship game aligned with our Three Stars of the Game, where Howard, Judkins and Smith also earned the top marks.
We compiled the PFF grades for every player from the CFP national championship game below. We start by highlighting the Buckeyes who received the five best grades, excluding those who played fewer than 10 snaps.
The Top Five
1. QB Will Howard (88.6)
For the last and most important game of the season, Will Howard came through with one of his best performances. His grade of 88.6 against Notre Dame was his second-highest as a Buckeye, landing just behind his grade of 90.5 against Northwestern at Wrigley Field.
Howard completed 17 of his 21 passes, setting an Ohio State record for a national championship game or bowl game with an 81% completion percentage, surpassing Stroud’s 80.4% performance against Utah in the 2022 Rose Bowl. (Howard also completed 82.8% of his passing attempts in Ohio State’s first-round CFP game against Tennessee, but that did not count as a bowl game.)
Will Howard is named the National Championship Offensive MVP pic.twitter.com/40s1mbEgLT
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) January 21, 2025
2. RB Quinshon Judkins (76.9)
Judkins' grade of 76.9 was the highest among the running backs who played in the CFP national championship game. His 70-yard run to the Notre Dame 5-yard line near the end of the third quarter set up his game-high third touchdown.
The talented back finished with 100 rushing yards in the title game for his third game of breaking the century mark this season.
A 3-TD National Championship Performance
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) January 21, 2025
Quinshon Judkins was UNSTOPPABLE for @OhiostateFB #B1GFootball x #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/lDeaBzDLwR
3. WR Jeremiah Smith (74.5)
For the season, Smith received an overall offensive grade of 89.7, which ranked third in the NCAA among receivers with at least 100 targets.
More importantly, Smith scored Ohio State's first touchdown against Notre Dame, then put the game on ice with his iconic 56-yard catch with the Buckeyes facing 3rd-and-11 late in the 4th quarter.
Somehow just getting around to posting these, but still an incredible play from Jeremiah Smith and Will Howard to essentially seal a national championship for Ohio State. pic.twitter.com/31rfcteLkn
— Garrick Hodge (@Garrick_Hodge) January 22, 2025
4. RB TreVeyon Henderson (72.6)
Judkins scored all of the touchdowns, but Henderson earned the highest running grade (74.0) from PFF in the CFP national championship game.
Henderson finished the season with PFF's fifth-highest grade among all running backs with at least 100 snaps in college football this season with an overall season grade of 87.9. He also had a key block on Smith's epic catch.
Little things like this makes TreVeyon Henderson such a good RB prospect.
— Jordan Reid (@Jordan_Reid) January 21, 2025
Had a crucial block to help seal the win. pic.twitter.com/jzM1lxVFYS
5. TE Will Kacmarek (71.1)
Will Kacmarek played a season-high 38 snaps against Notre Dame and earned his second-highest grade from PFF for the season. Kacmarek led all tight ends and offensive linemen with a grade of 71.6 in run blocking.
Theres nothing better than seeing your guys consistent hard work show up in the biggest moments
— Keenan Bailey (@CoachKee) January 21, 2025
Couldnt be more proud of this unit#OhioStaTE
(PS: it was THEIR idea to keep our drills outside throughout the playoffs) pic.twitter.com/JcvKKS8MWx
| 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) |
| Oregon | WR Jeremiah Smith (94.5) | DT Eddrick Houston (79.3) | DT Tyleik Williams (77.0) | S Caleb Downs (75.5) | RB Quinshon Judkins (75.3) |
| Texas | DE Jack Sawyer (89.8) | DE JT Tuimoloau (81.7) | CB Jordan Hancock (78.4) | RB Quinshon Judkins (75.9) | LB Cody Simon (74.2) |
| Notre Dame | QB Will Howard (88.6) | RB Quinshon Judkins (76.9) | WR Jeremiah Smith (74.5) | RB TreVeyon Henderson (72.6) | TE Will Kacmarek (71.1) |
| *Egbuka and McLaughlin tied for 4th | |||||
Offensive Rankings By Position
Quarterbacks
Will Howard: 88.6 (64 snaps)
Running Backs
Quinshon Judkins: 76.9 (22 snaps)
TreVeyon Henderson: 72.6 (41 snaps)
Wide Receivers
Jeremiah Smith: 74.5 (62 snaps)
Brandon Inniss: 72.9 (6 snaps)
Emeka Egbuka: 63.3 (54 snaps)
Carnell Tate: 62.4 (43 snaps)
Tight Ends
Will Kacmarek: 71.1 (38 snaps)
Jelani Thurman: 60.6 (7 snaps)
Gee Scott Jr.: 58.3 (31 snaps)
Patrick Gurd: 50.7 (3 snaps)
Bennett Christian: 46.9 (13 snaps)
Offensive Line
Donovan Jackson: 70.7 (64 snaps)
Tegra Tshabola: 65.1 (45 snaps)
Austin Siereveld: 59.3 (19 snaps)
Carson Hinzman: 56.4 (64 snaps)
Luke Montgomery: 56.2 (64 snaps)
Josh Fryar: 55.7 (64 snaps)
| QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DE | DT | LB | CB | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Will Howard | Quinshon Judkins | Jeremiah Smith | Will Kacmarek | Donovan Jackson | Kenyatta Jackson Jr. | Eddrick Houston | Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles | Denzel Burke | Caleb Downs |
| 88.6 | 76.9 | 74.5 | 71.1 | 70.7 | 70.5 | 68.8 | 69.7 | 59.2 | 64.6 |
Defensive Ratings by Position
Defensive Ends
Kenyatta Jackson Jr.: 70.5 (15 snaps)
Mitchell Melton: 70.2 (8 snaps)
JT Tuimoloau: 68.1 (49 snaps)
Caden Curry: 60.3 (6 snaps)
Jack Sawyer: 57.8 (50 snaps)
Defensive Tackles
Eddrick Houston: 68.8 (11 snaps)
Tyleik Williams: 67.6 (47 snaps)
Ty Hamilton: 60.3 (47snaps)
Tywone Malone Jr.: 59.7 (2 snaps)
Hero Kanu: 59.0 (3 snaps)
Kayden McDonald: 39.9 (8 snaps)
Linebackers
Arvell Reese: 69.7 (6 snaps)
Sonny Styles: 69.7 (63 snaps)
Cody Simon: 56.6 (63 snaps)
Cornerbacks
Denzel Burke: 59.2 (54 snaps)
Davison Igbinosun: 57.9 (48 snaps)
Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 57.9 (24 snaps)
Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 53.8 (5 snaps)
Jordan Hancock: 53.1 (58 snaps)
Safeties
Caleb Downs: 64.6 (63 snaps)
Lathan Ransom: 62.2 (63 snaps)
