From now until preseason camp starts on July 31, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about the players who will shine this season. Whether they are superstars, diamonds in the rough, or journeymen, these are the Buckeyes who will define the 2025-26 season. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content hereand all of our ”Player of the Year” articles here.
With four of six tight ends from Ohio State’s 2024 National Championship-winning
roster returning this season, the room’s foundation looks rock solid.
Will Kacmarek, who missed part of last season with an injury, took 296 offensive snaps in 12 games, good for 86 yards on eight receptions. Bennett Christian followed Kacmarek with two receptions, 61 yards, and a touchdown on 235 snaps. Jelani Thurman netted 42 yards and a touchdown on four receptions. All three are returning this season, along with Max LeBlanc, who redshirted but saw action in four games (the maximum number allowed without losing the year of eligibility), including the CFP game against Tennessee.
In spite of all that, it’s possible the tight end deserving of the most fanfare will be the new kid in town: Max Klare.
Klare transferred to Ohio State from Purdue during the offseason, ranked as the No. 1 tight end in the portal after an impressive season with the Boilermakers. Averaging 13.4 yards per play, he totaled 685 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 51 catches, numbers that are even more impressive when you consider he accrued them on a team that lost 11-straight during their one-win season.
Klare not only led the team; he blew everyone else out of the water, with 300 more receiving yards and more than double the receptions of the next-highest guy on the team. No other Boilermaker scored more than twice.
No Buckeye tight end scored twice either, and while this is in large part due to the fact that OSU doesn’t have to rely as heavily on its tight ends as receivers given the wealth of other offensive weapons to choose from in its wide receiver and running back rooms, Klare provides the team with an opportunity to complement an already-dominant offense with an additional receiving option.
He brings a skill set to his new team that differs from some of his tight end counterparts. While Kacmarek and Christian are known for their blocking acumen, Klare’s strengths are more on the pass-catching side of the tight end duties, making the room more well-rounded. He’s a strong route-runner with great ball skills.
At Purdue, Klare managed to not only produce offensively, but he also generated offensive opportunities for a team that offered him far less offensive line support than he will see with the Buckeyes. If there’s a hole in coverage, expect Klare to find it.
We’ve already seen flashes of it: In this year’s spring game, he was good for 28 yards on two receptions, one of which was possibly the highlight of the scrimmage. Klare found a hole in coverage, and then he found the endzone on a 26-yard perfect pass from quarterback Julian Sayin.
Because of the structure of the Buckeyes’ offense, Klare’s receiving duties won’t carry the same weight they did at Purdue, where he was the primary offensive target. Ohio State already has wide receivers like Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate, and Brandon Inniss for that.
But Klare presents an additional possibility, and it allows the Buckeyes to utilize their tight ends to their full potential. I previously made the case for Klare to be the top-producing tight end in the NCAA, and while that might be a stretch, there is no doubt he should be the top-producing tight end for the Buckeyes this season, outscoring the rest of a room that is better than it’s been in years.
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