Ohio State has been on a tear on the recruiting trail the past three weeks.
Since the beginning of the month, the Buckeyes have landed six commitments, including a pair on Saturday, giving them 12 commitments for the current cycle. Five-star wideout Mylan Graham, four-star quarterback Air Noland, four-star running back James Peoples, four-star linebacker Payton Pierce, four-star tight end Max LeBlanc and three-star running back Sam Williams-Dixon have all committed to Ohio State since the start of April.
And as of Monday, the Buckeyes now have the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation per 247Sports’ national rankings. OSU trailed only Georgia by 13 points in the standings after Williams-Dixon and LeBlanc committed Saturday, but five-star tight end Landen Thomas flipped from Georgia to Florida State Monday, giving the Buckeyes the No. 1 recruiting class by nearly four points.
Go noles pic.twitter.com/6j2mbVrSHg
— LT (@Landen_Thomas18) April 17, 2023
The Buckeyes also now hold a narrow edge over the Bulldogs in On3's national recruiting rankings.
NOT DONE YET! https://t.co/Rd0BF7eZgN
— Jeremiah Smith (@Jermiah_Smith1) April 17, 2023
OSU will hope to continue its momentum on the recruiting trail in the coming weeks to ensure the Buckeyes remain at the top.
LeBlanc always “had his eye” on Ohio State
Mere moments before Ohio State kicked off its spring game on Saturday, the Buckeyes landed their first tight end commitment in the 2024 class.
Four-star Tennessee prospect Max LeBlanc officially became the first commitment of Keenan Bailey’s tenure as tight ends coach when he chose the Buckeyes over Michigan, North Carolina and Tennessee a few minutes before the Buckeyes took the field at Ohio Stadium.
COMMITTED TO THE #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/iexMfZ8qLJ
— Max LeBlanc (@MaxenceLeblanc5) April 15, 2023
“He’s an unbelievable young man and comes from a great family,” LeBlanc’s high school coach, Erik Kimrey, told Eleven Warriors. “I know very early in the process Ohio State was a school that he had his eye on. When they offered, he was excited. In my role all I try to do is help families make decisions best for their son and give any guide rails they might need from my experiences and help them decide what’s in their heart. Clearly, Ohio State was in his.”
Kimrey has coached LeBlanc for one season at Baylor School (Chattanooga, Tennessee), as the Canadian tight end and his family moved to Chattanooga from Montreal. Kimrey has coached at Baylor School for two seasons, previously serving as South Carolina’s tight ends coach for the 2021 season.
Kimrey said he knew LeBlanc would be a special player the first time he laid eyes on LeBlanc.
“The first time I ever saw him run a route,” Kimrey said of when he knew LeBlanc would be a Power Five player. “I coached tight ends in the SEC two years ago, so I feel like I have a pretty decent eye. The first time you see him, I feel like he impresses you with his stature. He’s almost 6-5, and his hands are circus-level big. Once he started running I saw the fluidity of how he moves and just the natural way in which he catches the football. All it took was two routes before we said ‘Well, this guy is going to have a good year for us at Baylor School.’”
The 6-foot-4, 233-pound LeBlanc caught 39 passes for 695 yards and three touchdowns for Baylor School last season. He was often utilized as a wide receiver, lining up primarily in the slot and on the outside. On running plays, LeBlanc was also occasionally deployed in a traditional tight end position on the line of scrimmage.
“We didn’t ask him to (run block) a ton last year, we had another tight end that graduated and was a very good player so we used Max out wide a bit and then brought him in when we ran 12 personnel stuff,” Kimrey said. “But when he blocks he’s very aggressive, understands leverage and hand placement and finishes blocks. He understands how to move his feet while he’s engaged, so I think it’s something that blocking the C gap is something that’s new to him but I think it’s something he’ll excel at with time.”
Kimrey said LeBlanc’s hands and catch radius are the most college-ready aspects of his game.
“He has elite hands, I don’t care what field you put him on,” Kimrey said. “He understands how to run routes and leverage, but he has such a huge radius to catch the ball because he’s so long and his hands are so good, he could play on Saturdays right now when it comes to that. You take a guy who’s 17 years old and give him another year of maturation before he gets to Ohio State, and they’re going to get a good one.”
LeBlanc earned his Ohio State offer on Jan. 24 and took his first visit to Columbus on March 30.
Per 247Sports' composite rankings, LeBlanc is considered the No. 270 overall prospect in the 2024 class and the 13th-rated tight end.
“We didn’t get into it a whole lot, but I understand that timing is important in this business nowadays especially since spots fill up and things of that nature,” Kimrey said of why LeBlanc committed to OSU. “I thought their coaches did a great job of recruiting him and when he went up on his visit he kind of knew. From there it was double-checking, going through his list and sitting down with his family and making sure that’s exactly what he wanted to do. I don’t think he’s ever really wavered.”
As a former tight ends coach at a Power Five school himself, Kimrey knows LeBlanc may need some time to develop, but is fully optimistic he’ll have a successful college career.
“I think the same thing every 17-to19-year-old needs when playing Power Five football which is a little bit of time and strength,” Kimrey said when asked what aspects of his game will need the most fine-tuning immediately. “You’re blocking 22 to 23-year-old grown men. I’d say the same thing about anybody going to play on that level. It takes time to acclimate to the strength and size of the game, but he’ll be able to do it well.
“He does all the little things right, and is probably the hardest worker on our entire team.”
Underwood to visit OSU in June
The top-rated quarterback in the 2025 recruiting class is planning a return visit to Ohio State. Per 247Sports, five-star Michigan prospect Bryce Underwood is planning on visiting Columbus on June 3.
Underwood, who was offered by the Buckeyes following his visit in December, had planned to visit OSU in March but had to reschedule it for the summer.
Entering his junior year, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound prospect has already won two state championships. In his sophomore year at Belleville High School (Belleville, Michigan), Underwood threw for 2,751 yards and 37 touchdowns while running for 642 yards and eight touchdowns.
