Snap Count Depth Chart - OSU

I hope the players and coaches are doing a good job of getting back to work for Saturday because I am still soaking in the results of this past Saturday. 

When the old season is over, I'll do a full season summary of snaps/game but I wanted to point out a few things relevant to the OSU game:

• I believe the true meritocracy emerged this season and it's nice to see:
  • Rod Moore was the starting safety against OSU. Moore is a freshman who averaged @ 10 plays/game through the MSU game. Indiana saw him get 19, and suddenly he was the starter the last three games of the year. 
  • Junior Colson has been the starter since the Northwestern game as a freshman.
  • Gemon Green was the starting corner through the Nebraska game and then DJ Turner started the rest of the way. 
  • Chuck Filiaga started and played both RG & LG but when the season wound down, it was Zinter and Keegan who Michigan relied on. 
  • Luke Schoonmaker and Erik All are basically both starting TE's. 
  • Mike Sainristil stays on the field not for his prolific production receiving, because he blocks like a mountain goat. 
  • Roman Wilson and Andrel Anthony have earned snaps over Daylen Baldwin.
• Players were ready because they had been rep'd to be ready. Michigan didn't need to try a hand off to a TE who had never done that in a game before or try a pass from the RB to the 4th string TE on the goal line:
  • AJ Henning despite a lower number of touches per game, had touches in every game.
  • Donovan Edwards played in 8 games not simply carrying the ball in clean up time, but running routes out of the backfield and lining up as a receiver. 
  • Michigan could play 1, 2, or 3 LB's at anytime because they had played that way the last three games. 
  • The back-up QB didn't come in nervous for his few change-of-pace snaps because he had been the change of pace in 8 other games.

On to The Game!

Offense:

• This was a game to keep your "players" on the field. It was a very short rotation. 
• Carter Selzer had the last 2 kneel down snaps. The TE snap/play ration was 1.52. That is right on average for the season.
• Cornelius Johnson, Roman Wilson & Mike Sainristil carried the receiver load.
• Haskins yet again was the workhorse, but with only 63 total plays, he was only in on 49 snaps. Significantly less than against Indiana (58 snaps) and PSU (70) when Corum was out. That's probably why he had enough juice left on the last drive to hurdle that fool #26.

Defense:

• OSU ran 81 plays and scored 27 points. Compare that to OSU's first half against MSU and well....math is too big.
• Junior Colson saw the field slightly more than Josh Ross (thank you for that third down thump!)
• Donovan Jeter deserves some love. Yes, I know the off-season hype machine changes the perspective, but he has been a valuable back-up for the DT's. After averaging @ 15 snaps/game to start the year, over the past four games he has logged 25 (Indiana), 22 (PSU), 34 (Maryland), and 30 (OSU) snaps. He also had a helluva play against OSU knifing through their D-Line to come up with a big TFL. Give the big guy some credit. 
• Jaylen Harrell only had two snaps, but he made the most of one of them holding the edge and then making the TFL. 
• Props to DJ Turner & Vincent Gray. They logged the most snaps on defense (79 each) against that receiving unit and was in their face all the way down to the last throw. 
• Aiden Hutchinson, Aiden Hutchinson, Aiden Hutchinson, David Ojabo. 

The Chart: