All offseason, the word from reporters and coaches alike was that the 2025 Ohio State tight end room is the deepest and best of the Ryan Day era. The talk absolutely got talked. Now the walk is being walked.
Through two games, the Buckeyes are rolling with more 12, and especially more 13 personnel than they’ve ever used under Day. The second digit of those numbers is the number of tight ends on the field, for those unfamiliar. Three tight ends have played at least 20 snaps in both of Ohio State’s games in 2025, something that didn’t happen in any games in 2024 and only once in 2023, when OSU faced FCS Youngstown State in Week 2.
That trend feels like it’s here to stay. Perhaps more than the public realized until recently, it’s something that Day and tight ends coach Keenan Bailey have been building the roster to accommodate for several years.
“As the game has evolved year in and year out, we try to stay a step ahead,” Day said on Tuesday. “A couple years ago, we realized that the tight end position and having wide receivers that can block were critical. So to me, if you're just doing one thing, no good. You have to be able to be a tight end that can run routes or a receiver that can block.
“If you're just a receiver that can run routes or you're just a tight end that can block, you don't bring a lot to the table in terms of value. I'm not saying you can't play, but teams can start to narrow in on what you can do and then they start to really dive into, you know, what they're going to get when you're in the game. So the more versatility you guys have, the better.”
After returning three tight ends with College Football Playoff experience, Bailey reached out and grabbed the No. 1 tight end in the transfer portal in former Purdue star Max Klare. Former Ohio Bobcat Will Kacmarek had a clear role set aside for him after Bailey called him the “best blocking tight end in the country” this spring, but how Jelani Thurman and Bennett Christian could get involved behind them seemed less clear.
Mystery solved through two games. Christian and Thurman have evolved as Ohio State’s second and third-best blockers at the position behind Kacmarek. Christian played 28 snaps while Thurman played seven against Texas, then Thurman played 32 against Grambling State as Christian played four.
Many times when the Buckeyes ran 12 personnel against the Longhorns, Kacmarek and Christian were the pairing. Thurman seems to be the No. 2 receiving option at tight end behind Klare and pulled in three receptions for 44 yards and a touchdown against the Tigers, though Klare has just two catches for 18 yards thus far in his Ohio State journey. Day indicated more targets are on the way, however.
“I think he's playing faster and faster,” Day said of Klare. “You watched the film the other day. He was moving around well. Didn't get as many touches, but the tight ends did. We'll keep building the package for him. But I think he's gotten faster and faster as he's come out of camp. Excited to see where the next couple games go.”
While Klare acclimates, Kacmarek has emerged as the backbone of the position room for Ohio State. It’s easy to see why when he’s walling off one of the nation’s premier edge rushers in Texas’ Colin Simmons.
Favorite example of Competitive Discipline from CFB Week 1. This incredible rep by Ohio State TE Will Kacmarek.
— Brian Kight (@TBrianKight) September 2, 2025
Falls off his block on an inside move by All-American DE Colin Simmons.
But watch him compete, recover, and get the job done.
Game changing!pic.twitter.com/EErFuBVXax
Ohio State got Kacmarek involved in the passing game this past week, too, with a 47-yard reception up the seam against Grambling State for the first of 10 Buckeye touchdowns.
The Buckeyes even got freshman Nate Roberts involved for meaningful snaps as a fullback on the goal line, realizing the true power of their depth for 14 personnel. It’s all been part of Day and Bailey’s years-long strategy.
“This started a couple years ago,” Day said. “When you just stay in 11, there are ways that teams schematically can defend you. If you're just exclusively one thing, after a while – this is what I try to tell the coaches all the time – they're going to get you eventually. And we've been 11 around here for a long time. So the ability to jump into 12 and 13 personnel gives us something different. It's a changeup.”
It’s also a credit to new play-caller Brian Hartline to be open to taking his receivers off the field more often in favor of Bailey’s tight ends. Especially if it benefits the attack as the offense opens up throughout the season. Heavier personnel groupings were part of Ohio State’s overarching conservative play call strategy against Texas, but with legitimate passing threats at the position, they’ll stay involved as the Buckeyes dial it up, too.
“In my opinion, when a defensive player goes from 11 to 12 to 13 back to 11 to tempo to empty, and all these different things come into play, it's harder for them to nail down exactly what you're doing,” Day said. “If you're always in 11, you're always in one tempo, it's a lot easier for them to kind of zero in on what you're doing. So we want to put as much stress, we've always felt that way.”
