Players to Watch: Max Klare should help the Buckeyes get more from tight end position
Jami Jurich via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images

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.

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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.

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Players to Watch: Jackson Courville brings experience to Ohio State’s special teams, kicking game
Cincinnati1968 via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


KALAMAZOO, MI - SEPTEMBER 30: Ball State Cardinals place kicker Jackson Courville (96) kicks a field goal during the college football game between the Ball State Cardinals and Western Michigan Broncos on September 30, 2023, at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo, MI. | Photo by Joseph Weiser/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The Buckeyes’ increased focused on special teams has led to improved results.

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.

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Yes, we are talking about a kicker today. I know what you may be thinking, but Jackson Courville is absolutely worth talking about as a player to watch coming into this season.

Ohio State fans remember the two missed field goals against The Team Up North in 2024. Jayden Fielding missed one from 38 yards in the middle of the second quarter, and then one from 34 yards in the third quarter following a Buckeyes interception that put the ball on the Wolverines' 16-yard line.

Those were two very makeable field goals, and they were missed. Fielding also missed his only field goal attempt in the College Football Playoff in the game against Tennessee before going 2-for-2 against both Oregon and Notre Dame.

With a team as talented as the Buckeyes are going into 2025, missing kicks at critical times in critical games can be a huge Achilles heel — especially when the margins are thin.

Courville, though, can fix that if he ultimately wins out in the kicking competition. In two seasons at Ball State, the former All-Ohio selection from Centerville High School went 26-of-34 on field goals and 54-of-56 on extra points.

A 2024 MAC All-Academic selection, Courville won the Ball State starting kicker job as a true freshman in 2023. His longest field goal in 2023 was 48 yards, and his longest in 2024 was from 52 yards. That 52-yard field goal in 2024 was a game-winner against Northern Illinois to cap off a day where Courville went 4-of-5 on field goal attempts.

In addition to his pension for kicking long field goals in the clutch, Courville is also darn near perfect on extra points. He only missed one PAT in each of his two seasons with the Cardinals.

Three of Fielding’s four missed field goals in 2024 came against Michigan and Tennessee — the two biggest home games of the season. Missed field goals in those caliber of home games can cause restlessness amongst fans, especially Buckeyes fans.

This is why Courville is coming to Columbus, both to push Fielding leading up to the season and potentially during the season. Iron sharpens iron, and a little competition could be good for both players.

We often hear that the game of football can come down to the kicker. It did in “The Game” last season. That alone should be enough to make Courville a player to watch throughout fall camp in the lead-up to the season opener against Texas.

That game very well could come down to the kicker.

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