The Buckeyes sparked intrigue when they landed Max Klare out of the transfer portal this offseason, but two games into his Ohio State tenure, fans were waiting on that spark to become a flash.
Against Ohio in the second quarter, after three red zone trips resulted in six total points to start the game for Ohio State, it appeared the Buckeyes would be settling for a field goal again on 3rd-and-10 at the Bobcats’ 16-yard line. Julian Sayin dropped back and found nobody open at first. He scrambled to his right to extend the play.
Klare, who was the underneath post in a double-post concept with wide receiver Carnell Tate, saw Sayin escape the pocket and glanced back at his quarterback to get on the same page. Just then, Ohio linebacker Kaci Seegars collided with Klare as he broke toward the corner of the end zone.
“I was just running a post and I was looking for the ball, and I see the guy,” Klare said. “He just ran right into me and he fell over. And I just kept running, and the ball found me.”
Sayin zipped a toss into Klare’s waiting arms for the game’s first touchdown, and the tight end’s first score as a Buckeye.
“Man, it felt great,” Klare said. “I kind of blacked out. That's probably one of the coolest touchdowns I've ever scored. Just looking up into the helmet stripe (in the crowd), too. It was pretty sweet.”
Max Klare's first touchdown as a Buckeye couldn't have come at a better time pic.twitter.com/XCmHGXjbS4
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 14, 2025
Ohio State will hope Klare’s touchdown – and other plays he made against Ohio – is a sign of things to come in what’s already been a stacked tight end room. And a lethal passing attack.
“I think he's playing faster and faster,” Ryan Day said on Tuesday before the Ohio game. “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.”
Klare finished with two receptions for 30 yards and the touchdown against Ohio, and his first catch showed an equal amount of the skill that brought him to Columbus. Bennett Christian described Klare as the best route runner he’s ever seen at tight end during preseason camp, and he showed it with a speedy over route that cleared the Bobcats’ linebackers for a 14-yard pickup.
In Purdue’s 2024 offense, where he was the primary weapon for the passing game, blocking wasn’t asked as much of Klare. It’s been his main point of emphasis since transferring to Ohio State. On Saturday, he showed strides in that area, too. The Buckeyes worked him out in space on some bubble screens for Carnell Tate and he sprung the star wide receiver for chunk gains, most notably a 30-yarder at the end of the first quarter.
“I think I've become a lot better,” Klare said. “Going against these guys every day, our defense, I mean, some real dudes. You have no option but to look better.”
One massive advantage Klare has in the receiving game from his days at Purdue is the weaponry around him. He led the Boilermakers in receptions, yards and touchdowns in 2024 with 51 catches for 685 yards and four scores. Now he has Jeremiah Smith and Tate to his flanks to make big plays like the two deep touchdown catches they each had against Ohio.
“I saw the ball go up a few times tonight, I was just like, ‘Oh, it's a touchdown, you know? And then you see Carnell just walk into the end zone,” Klare said. “And JJ just go up and get the ball. So it's fun to play with guys like that, and it just opens up the offense as a whole, too. So it's a lot of fun.”
Speaking of weaponry, Klare could be a dynamite aid to Ohio State’s red zone efforts after the Buckeyes scored just two touchdowns in six trips inside the Bobcats’ 20-yard line this weekend. His scoring grab was one of the two red-zone successes, after all.
“You just got to stay steady,” Klare said. “I mean, we know what we're capable of in the red zone. So, we're still confident in what we can do, and we stay confident.”
Ohio State’s tight end depth continues to be a weapon as the Buckeyes have stuck with a heavier-than-ever (at least for the Day era) dose of two- and even three-tight end packages. Will Kacmarek is an elite blocker. With the usual No. 3 tight end Christian out against the Bobcats, freshman Nate Roberts received eight snaps of action while Jelani Thurman played five. It’s the first time this season at least three tight ends didn’t play 20 snaps for OSU.
“Rolling in and out with those guys is a lot of fun,” Klare said. “Kaz, playing with Kaz is fun. So it's been fun to do a lot of different things, and it's a lot of new things that I'm adjusting to and getting a lot better at. So I'm excited about that.”
Klare is loving his Ohio State experience. And as he makes more plays, he’ll love it that much more.
“It's been awesome. I mean, coming out to 100,000-plus fans every week, it's pretty surreal,” Klare said. “It's kind of what you dream of growing up. So it's been sweet.”
