If Klare managed impressive numbers against high-powered opponents at Purdue last season, there’s no telling what he can do at Ohio State.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about the Buckeyes we expect to excel this season. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all our “Players to Watch” articles here.
Given Ohio State’s stacked roster of running backs and wide receivers, its tight ends aren’t always utilized to their maximum potential. That didn’t deter Max Klare—the top tight end in this year’s transfer portal—from committing to the Buckeyes for the 2025 season.
Klare, who has two years of eligibility remaining, grew up outside of Cincinnati in Guilford, Indiana, and played high school football at powerhouse St. Xavier High School.
Now, he comes to Columbus by way of Purdue, where the junior had an impressive and productive 2024 season, finishing with 685 yards and four touchdowns on 51 receptions, an average of 13.4 yards per catch.
While Klare caught the eye of schools like Texas and Michigan upon entering the portal, he opted to don Scarlet & Gray despite the fact that the Buckeyes have several returners at tight end, including Will Kacmarek, Jelani Thurman, and Bennett Christian.
According to Klare, this is largely because of OSU’s developmental process, which he believes will prepare him well for an NFL career, along with the program’s high standard of play.
But Klare won’t be the only one who benefits from his decisions—with his speed and ability to make plays, Klare is poised to be not just the Buckeyes’ starting tight end but to become another weapon in the Buckeyes’ offensive arsenal.
In what was a brutal, one-win season for Purdue, Klare still managed to create opportunities for the Boilermakers, even putting up big plays against high-powered teams like Notre Dame, the eventual runner-up in the National Championship. Klare was good for a 21-yard reception against the Fighting Irish, along with a 23-yard reception against Oregon and an impressive 29-yard reception against Penn State.
His season-best reception was a 62-yard play against Illinois, a game the ranked Illini won by just one point in overtime. Klare only played two games last season, where he averaged fewer than 10 yards per reception, and while the game against the Buckeyes was his weakest showing, he still managed to average 6.5 yards per reception against the eventual National Champions.
All this to say, if Klare could hang at Purdue, Klare can hang with the Buckeyes.
He got off to a strong start this spring, with a solid showing in the Spring Game, during which he was good for 28 yards on two receptions, one of which was possibly the highlight of the scrimmage game on a perfect pass from quarterback Julian Sayin.
If Klare was able to produce at the level he did last season for Purdue, even in games in which the Boilermakers were arguably mismatched, it’s hard to predict what his ceiling might be for the Buckeyes this year.
While he will certainly have the share the wealth with more receiving targets as a Buckeye, it’s exciting to see OSU look to really utilize its tight end position with a versatile talent like Klare, and I’m eager to see how this plays out in game-time situations.