Last season, Max Klare emerged as one of the top pass-catching tight ends in college football at Purdue, hauling in 51 catches for 685 yards and two touchdowns, numbers that were 28, 320 and two more than the second-highest Boilermaker receiver.
Klare’s gaudy numbers in Purdue’s struggling passing game earned him a third-team All-Big Ten selection behind future NFLers Tyler Warren of Penn State and Colston Loveland of Michigan. But despite all of these impressive accolades and statistics, Klare is still looking for more in his collegiate career.
That brings him to Ohio State, where — after entering the transfer portal and committing to the Buckeyes on Dec. 23 — he joins a talented but inexperienced Buckeye offense and a crowded tight end room looking to pop following the departure of 2024 starter Gee Scott Jr. Klare might be stepping into a much more competitive environment than he had in West Lafayette, Ind., across his first three collegiate seasons, but according to the senior, that challenge is something he is looking forward to in his next football chapter.
“You want to be in an environment that’s going to push you in all aspects of the game,” Klare said Thursday in his first media availability since transferring to the Buckeyes “Being a tight end, it’s not just about pass catching, you got to block, and I think that’s something that I want to keep developing.
“Going against these guys (on Ohio State’s defense) every day, running routes and blocking these guys every day, it’s going to make you better. So I think I have a vision of where I want to be as a tight end, and I think this place gives me the best opportunity to do that.”
Klare, a product of football powerhouse Cincinnati St. Xavier, said his return to the Buckeye State has been a smooth one so far, where he has gotten to know the culture and people surrounding this program. Klare’s new tight ends coach, Keenan Bailey, said on Thursday that the former Boilermaker has settled himself well into his new role with the Buckeyes and has already fully embraced all that is required of being a tight end at Ohio State.
“Probably the most impressive thing is how seamless the transition has been to our unit,” Bailey said. “On the field, he’s playing well. We knew he’d play well. But buying into the culture of being an Ohio State tight end, it comes with certain traits of being a tough guy, and he’s embodied that.”
While Klare mentioned blocking as one the things he wants to improve upon the most this season with the Buckeyes, his bread-and-butter on the field — as previously mentioned — is his ability to make an impact in the passing game. He mentioned that he has developed his polished skills as a route-runner due to his previous experience playing quarterback both in his youth and at St. Xavier — he played the position up until his junior year of high school — one which now allows him to have a better feel for how the defense wants to play him and what the quarterback is thinking.
“I have a good feel for the game when I’m running routes and I try to understand the whole play, the whole concept, from a very deep level,” Klare said. “Try to find those holes in the defense as well and be on the same page with the quarterback.”
“Definitely as a receiver, he’s pretty polished,” Bailey added.
Klare might not need to be featured as prominently in the Buckeyes’ pass game this season as he did at Purdue due to the talent OSU has at wide receiver, but regardless of how he is used, he is ready to positively impact the team and help them chase a second straight national title.
“I’m just here to do whatever I can to make the team better,” he said. “Whatever is asked of me, I’m going to do it full speed and give it my all.”
