Ryan Day shouts out Ohio State football's secret weapon ahead of Michigan game

The Ohio State Buckeyes have needed to take on a next man up mentality in recent weeks.

Since the outing against Penn State to open the month of November, the Buckeyes have been dealing with countless injuries and players being banged up due to a competitive season. Just last weekend against Rutgers, the Buckeyes were without their two superstar wideouts Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith.

In their place, the Buckeyes turned to various other underclassmen wideouts and their tight end room, with one player standing out more than the rest: junior Max Klare.

Against Rutgers, Klare hauled in a season-high seven catches for 105 yards and one touchdown, averaging 15 yards a catch. It was a game of many firsts for the Purdue transfer, with Saturday signaling the first time he's had over five catches and over 100 yards on the season, and marking the first time he's scored a touchdown since Week 3 against the Ohio Bobcats.

He also finished the outing against Rutgers with a 76.7 rating, second in the tight end room, on 40 snaps played.

Due to his impressive play, Buckeye head coach Ryan Day praised the upperclassman's offensive abilities on the gridiron.

"I think everybody can see the improvement in not only his route running, but also his blocking,” Day said. “He's a weapon.”

On the season, Klare's up to 38 catches, 400 yards and two touchdowns across 11 games. He's also showcasing that chunk-play skillset with over 10 yards a catch on average, with him breaking off a big 39-yard catch and run this past weekend.

While Smith and Tate take a large chunk of the spotlight, Klare's proving that when called upon, he can be a reliable member of the offense.

"It's just more opportunities," Klare said. "We always want those guys out there, they're so special. But when you're in that spot, you've got to be ready to play, and that's kind of what happened today."

Klare is providing balance to the offense. When they need to turn away from the wideouts and their streaking efforts down the field, or the rushing attack that's bounced back in recent weeks, they can still find their deep tight end room to make an impact.

"Each week is different," Day said. "In terms of our approach and what we need to do, that's why we have to have balance."

The Buckeyes have just one game remaining in the 2025 regular season, coming against the program's biggest rival: the Michigan Wolverines.

Fortunately, it looks like Ohio State will have both Tate and Smith back on the field on Saturday, but Klare has shown he can handle a big chunk of the offensive duties when needed.

Ohio State and Michigan will meet up from Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor with kickoff slated for 12:00 p.m.