Andrew Luck, Stanford win recruiting battle for talented tight end

The Stanford Cardinal are on the board with one of the top tight end recruits in the country.

Ben Kolar is a four-star tight end from Norman, Oklahoma.

One would think that he was a shoo-in commitment for the Oklahoma Sooners, and Brent Venables and his staff were after the 6-foot-3, 225-pound tight end.

The Tennessee Volunteers and Auburn Tigers were also in the running in Kolar's recruitment, but ultimately, the four-star decided that he wanted to take his talents out West.

Head coach Tavita Pritchard and general manager Andrew Luck ended up winning this recruiting battle for Stanford.

Kolar committed to the Cardinal on Tuesday after an official visit over this past weekend.

“The visit went really well. I really enjoyed it, and I had a great time with the current players,” Kolar told Rivals. “The alumni they brought back were impressive. I love their history in consistently producing NFL tight ends.”

This is a big pull for Stanford, because Kolar does have connections elsewhere. His brother, Charlie Kolar, was a tight end at Iowa State from 2017 to 2021 before going to the NFL. Another brother, John Kolar, played quarterback for Oklahoma State and Iowa State.

Ultimately, though, Stanford offered him the complete package.

"I love the combination of football and academics,” Kolar had previously said. “Stanford is consistently putting out NFL tight ends, and that’s really appealing. Really like coach (Nate) Byham and the rest of the new staff as well.”

According to the 247Sports Composite, Kolar is ranked as the No. 27 tight end in the 2026 class. Rivals ranks him at No. 21.