Snap Counts: 88 Buckeyes Play in Season Opener As Ohio State Uses Heavy Rotations vs. Ball State
Offensive Linemen
Ian Moore: 47
Luke Montgomery: 47
Carson Hinzman: 47
Austin Siereveld: 47
Gabe VanSickle: 43
Phillip Daniels: 32
Carter Lowe: 28
Jake Cook: 28
Joshua Padilla: 28
Deontae Armstrong: 28
Max Riley: Special teams only
Ohio State started the game with an offensive line of Moore at left tackle, Montgomery at left guard, Hinzman at center, Siereveld at right guard and Daniels at right tackle. After some early struggles by Daniels, Siereveld kicked out to right tackle for Ohio State’s third and fourth drives of the game, with VanSickle entering the lineup at right guard. Daniels returned for Ohio State’s fifth possession and stayed in for the rest of the snaps with the starters from that point forward, but Day said competition will continue along the offensive line.
After Sayin and the starters came out of the game, the offensive line for the rest of the second half consisted of Lowe at left tackle, Cook at left guard, Padilla at center, VanSickle at right guard and Armstrong at right tackle.
Linebackers
TJ Alford: 34
Riley Pettijohn: 30
Christian Alliegro: 29
Payton Pierce: 26
Garrett Stover: 12
Ty Howard: 5
Braxton Rembert: 3
Alec DelSignore: 2
Zach Hayes: 2
Eli Riggs: 1
CJ Sanna: 1
Alford was a surprise starter for the Buckeyes as Ohio State opened the game in a 4-3 defense, and he ended up playing the most snaps among linebackers, earning Ohio State’s defensive player of the game award with five tackles and an interception. Alliegro and Pierce started alongside Alford, but Pettijohn also rotated in with the starters and ended up playing the second-most snaps among linebackers, recording a team-high six tackles, as Alford and Pettijohn played into the fourth quarter with the second-team defense.
Seven other linebackers, led by Stover, saw playing time late in the game as James Laurinaitis played deep into his bench. The only linebackers who didn’t get on the field in the season opener were five-star freshman Cincere Johnson, sophomore Eli Lee and walk-on freshman Na’il Diggs Jr.