On the second Saturday of November 2024, Max Klare played at Ohio Stadium as a Purdue Boilermaker. On the second Saturday of November 2025, Max Klare will play at Ross-Ade Stadium as an Ohio State Buckeye.
When Klare played against the Buckeyes in Purdue’s 45-0 loss at the Shoe 52 weeks ago, the tight end from Gulford, Indiana, never would have guessed he’d be playing against the Boilermakers as a Buckeye a year later.
“Oh no, not at all,” Klare said when asked if he envisioned himself playing for Ohio State a year ago. “It's definitely a surreal moment.”
Klare has multiple reasons to be excited for this weekend’s trip to West Lafayette. While most of his teammates from last year are no longer with the program, with many of them joining Klare in the transfer portal during Purdue’s coaching transition from Ryan Walters to Barry Odom, his brother Luke Klare still plays for the Boilermakers – and actually had the role of simulating his older brother on Purdue’s scout team this week.
Klare says it will “be a little weird” to run out of the opponent’s tunnel at Ross-Ade Stadium after playing for the home team for three years, but his return to his former school is a game he’s been anticipating all season.
“I've looked forward to it,” Klare said. “It's gonna be fun to go back. Obviously, my brother's still on the team so that's very exciting for the family, and also for me to see him out there, it'll be cool. So I'm really excited about it. It should be a good time.”
After leading Purdue with 51 catches for 685 yards and four touchdowns last season, Klare has been a complementary player in his first year at Ohio State. Playing between two elite wide receivers in Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate, Klare has just 21 catches for 210 yards and one touchdown in the Buckeyes’ first eight games of the season.
Despite the decrease in targets, Klare remains happy to be a Buckeye. After playing on a 1-11 team last season, Klare is on an 8-0 team with aspirations of winning a second straight national championship. And Klare believes playing for Ohio State has made him a more well-rounded player.
“I think I've gotten a lot better in every aspect,” Klare said. “Just keep growing my game and getting better each week.”
While Klare’s had a lot to learn as he’s adjusted to play in a new offense this season, he says he’s gotten “more and more comfortable” as the year has progressed.
“It's slowing down more and more, and the more you're in it, the more it's going to slow down for sure,” Klare said.
“It's definitely a surreal moment.”– Max Klare on returning to Purdue
Klare also thinks he’s grown from being in a deep tight end room with the likes of Will Kacmarek, Bennett Christian, Jelani Thurman and Nate Roberts.
“I think we all just lean on each other, and we push each other every day,” Klare said. “That competition creates a lot of different things, and we're just working to get better with each other. So it's a lot of fun.”
Klare’s peers in the tight end room have seen him improve throughout the season, particularly in run blocking, where his Pro Football Focus grade this season (73.4) is nearly 20 points better than last year at Purdue (53.8).
“I think every game he's played better and better, especially in his run blocking,” Christian said. “I think he's worked a lot on that in practice and after practice, and I think it's really showing on the field.”
Ryan Day has also seen consistent growth from Klare and believes the best is yet to come for the redshirt junior.
“I think Max has a lot of talent. I think one of the best things for Max is being at Ohio State, he's been challenged every day, and because of that, he's becoming a better football player,” Day said. “The tight end position is a developmental position, and Max is somebody that wants to be able to do everything. He wants to be able to block like an offensive lineman, run around like a receiver and protect like a running back. And that's not easy to do. It takes time. It takes development. When you look at the tight ends in the NFL, they come from all different backgrounds and stories, and I think Max is another example of that.
“So he's getting better each week. And I think his best football’s still ahead of him, which is exciting.”
Klare will have extra motivation to continue his improvement this week, as he expects to have a large contingent of family members in the stands at Ross-Ade Stadium – though he doesn’t know which team they’ll be rooting for as he goes head-to-head with his brother.
“I think they'll kind of be split down the middle,” Klare said. “Whoever’s winning, I think they'll root for them.”
If Saturday’s game goes the way the season has gone so far for Ohio State and Purdue, the Klare family will likely be rooting for the Buckeyes. Ohio State looks to improve to 9-0 while Purdue looks to earn its first Big Ten win of the year. The Buckeyes and Boilermakers meet at Ross-Ade Stadium on Saturday at 1 p.m. with Big Ten Network televising.
