Tight End Evolution: How Ohio State’s tight end room is balancing blocking and receiving

Ohio State came into 2025 with one of the deepest tight-end rooms in the country, and for the first month of the season, the Buckeyes have shown exactly why that depth matters. The rotation has settled into a clear but complementary hierarchy.

Will Kacmarek leads the group in snaps and sets the physical tone as an inline blocker and edge sealer, Max Klare is Ohio State’s primary receiving threat from the position, Bennett Christian and Jelani Thurman fill clear rotational roles, and true freshman Nate Roberts has already been worked in as a rotational tight end and occasional fullback. That distribution isn’t by accident. It is purposeful roster construction, pair an elite blocker with a high-end pass-catcher, then surround them with versatile pieces who let the offense be multiple.

Roles and snaps

Through the early slate, the snap data and box scores tell the same story OSU coaches describe. Kacmarek has been the workhorse in two-tight and in-line sets; he logged the most TE snaps in multiple games (a season-high 50 offensive snaps vs. Ohio, for example) and has been the glue of the blocking game. Klare, meanwhile, has been the most productive receiving tight end (he’s totaled six catches for 74 yards and a touchdown through the first month), often lining up as a seam/separation threat who can split inside or flex into the slot.

Bennett Christian and Jelani Thurman rotate in to provide blocking depth and occasional receiving mismatches, and freshman Nate Roberts, the four-star from Oklahoma, has already been used in fullback and H-back roles while working his way into passing packages. Those snap distributions are visible in the game-by-game counts and the coaches’ deployment.

Why Kacmarek is the fulcrum

Kacmarek’s value is straightforward and old-school. He wins the dirty work at the line of scrimmage. Tight ends who can block at a high level change how an offense is schemed; they make outside zone and power runs more reliable, they add another hat to combo blocks, and they allow creative play-action that exploits linebackers forced to honor the run. That’s been Kacmarek’s contribution. Coaches have publicly lauded his blocking.

Keenan Bailey called this room “super deep” and praised Kacmarek as among the nation’s best blockers, and game tape shows him consistently sustaining blocks, finishing with good hand placement and length, and helping seal the edge on designed run calls. His presence has allowed Ryan Day’s staff to confidently run two-TE heavy looks without surrendering physicality in the run game. In short, Kacmarek’s snaps matter because they change opponent alignments and open the rest of the offense.

Klare: The seam and red-zone X-factor

Max Klare arrived in Columbus as one of the top transfer catch-and-stretch tight ends in the portal, and the early returns match the profile. At Purdue, he was a primary receiving outlet, and at Ohio State, he’s being used as a high-value intermediate/seam threat and a red-zone safety valve. His 6 catches for 74 yards and a touchdown don’t tell the whole story. Klare’s routes (vertical seams, skinny posts, and seam-to-corner breaks) consistently pull linebackers out of the box and create space for play-action combos.

Ohio State’s growing reliance on play-action, Sayin completed 10 of 12 play-action passes for 96 yards against Washington, is not coincidental. Having a credible receiving tight end like Klare makes play-action more dangerous and sustainable. Klare’s tape also shows savvy route-running and a contested-catch ability that projects to high-value third-and-short and goal-line targets.

The complementary pieces: Christian, Thurman, and Roberts

The depth behind Kacmarek and Klare is more than roster fodder; it gives Ohio State stylistic flexibility. Bennett Christian is the Swiss army knife. Big, athletic, and used often as an additional inline blocker with the occasional seam or flat route. Jelani Thurman provides a vertical option with length; his early targets and touchdown production show the staff trusts him in rotation when matchups favor a bigger, contested catch.

Freshman Nate Roberts, meanwhile, has been worked into fullback/H-back duty already this fall, a practical indicator of how coaches value his physicality and versatility. Roberts’ primary statistical footprint is small so far, but his use as an in-line lead blocker and situational pass target is a deliberate developmental plan. Get him comfortable with blocking detail and then expand his route tree when the timing and protection windows match. That developmental arrow is exactly what you want from a freshman TE in a loaded room.

Scheme, formation, and the offensive effect

What makes this TE room strategically valuable is how often Ohio State can deploy two-TE fronts without sacrificing either pass or run efficiency. Two-TE sets create natural leverage for outside runs and add seam passing lanes for play-action. When defenses respect Kacmarek’s blocking, they must keep linebackers closer to the box. Klare then exploits those vacated intermediate windows. When defenses cheat to cover Klare, the Buckeyes are left with more favorable matchups on the perimeter for receivers like Jeremiah Smith or in the short-to-intermediate game for the RBs on check-downs.

That balance forces defensive coordinators to choose their poison, load the box and surrender seam/crossing passes, or spread out and concede on early-down rushing lanes. Early sample size suggests Ohio State is intentionally leaning into that multiplication of threats.

What this means for opponents, recruits, and the NFL

Opponents now have another headache on game week. Stop the run where Kacmarek and the line push, or stop the seam where Klare will show up? That kind of friction complicates defensive game planning. On recruiting and roster construction, this room sells itself.

A kid who wants to be an NFL-ready tight end can join and learn from a blocking savant (Kacmarek) while showcasing receiving chops (Klare) and still get development reps (Christian, Thurman, Roberts). For NFL scouts, Klare’s resume remains the flashiest; he projects as a high-value pass-catching tight end, while Kacmarek projects as the sort of reliable, in-line blocker who wins schemes and stays on rosters because of his blocking IQ.

Both profiles have pro value. Ohio State’s job is to keep giving them the practice reps and game situations to prove it.

Watch-list: what to monitor next

1. Snap balance — will Kacmarek remain the snap leader in bigger games, or will Klare’s receiving role pull him into more full-time work? (Kacmarek led TE snaps in key games so far).
2. Red-zone targets — Klare’s usage around the goal line will be telling; it’s where pass-catching tight ends make value quickly.
3. Roberts’ development as a fullback/H-back — if he cleans up situational blocking and becomes a weapon on short-yardage play calls, Ohio State will have a unique chess piece.
4. Protection & play-action success — the TE room’s biggest advantage is how it bolsters play-action; the staff will keep measuring its efficacy as stronger opponents arrive.

Bottom line

Ohio State’s TE room is already paying dividends because it answers a pressing offensive puzzle: how to be explosive without sacrificing physicality. Will Kacmarek anchors the physical identity. Max Klare provides the seam and red-zone impact. Christian, Thurman, and Roberts give the staff the matchup versatility to script favorable sequences.

That combination, an elite run-blocking base plus a true receiving mismatch, is exactly what Ryan Day’s offense needs to remain multi-dimensional against the tough slate ahead. If the Buckeyes keep finding ways to put Kacmarek and Klare on the field together, they’ll force defenses into uncomfortable choices for the rest of the season.