Ohio State Buckeyes Transfer Addition Lands Startling Ranking

Last year, the Ohio State Buckeyes utilized the transfer portal to add several prominent members of their national championship run, including quarterback Will Howard, running back Quinshon Judkins and safety Caleb Downs.

This offseason, Ohio State was once again busy in the portal, and it landed a player at a position that the Buckeyes don't typically feature: tight end.

Ohio State pried Max Klare away from the Purdue Boilermakers, giving the team a rather exciting option at tight end and perhaps further opening up the deep ball for Jeremiah Smith.

Klare flew under the radar on a terrible Purdue team last season, hauling in 51 receptions for 685 yards and four touchdowns. For comparison's sake, Gee Scott Jr. led all Buckeyes tight ends with 27 catches for 253 yards and a couple of scores in 2024.

Jason Chadwick of Pro Football Focus clearly loves the addition of Klare, who he ranked the third-best tight end in all of college football.

"The first of four transfers on this list, Klare is back in his home state of Ohio after a very productive season at Purdue. He tallied 684 receiving yards as a redshirt sophomore, the fourth most among Power Four tight ends and the most among returners at the position," Chadwick wrote. "Klare’s 34 combined receiving first downs and touchdowns are tied with [Eli] Stowers for the most among returning Power Four tight ends. After serving as the clear No. 1 option for the Boilermakers, he could thrive in a Buckeyes offense where defenses will key in on other weapons, most notably the best returning player in college football, wide receiver Jeremiah Smith."

It will certainly be interesting to see how Ohio State employs Klare next fall and whether or not the 6-foot-4, 240-pound pass-catcher can help take its offense to a new dimension.