This is the first in a series looking at how the Buckeyes will be replacing their departed starters in 2025. Up first is the tight end spot vacated by fifth-year senior Gee Scott, Jr.
The 2024 season was Gee Scott, Jr.’s fifth year as a Buckeye, but also his first season as a full-time starter. He finished the year with 27 catches for 253 yards and two touchdowns. For his career, he caught 47 passes for 393 yards and four touchdowns.
Scott came to Ohio State as a blue-chip wide receiver, but made the decision to move to tight end after his freshman season in 2020. It was not an easy transition, nor expected to be easy, but Scott got better every year. He played 55 snaps as a redshirt freshman, then 140 snaps as the No. 3 tight end in 2022. As the backup tight end in 2023, he played 350 snaps, starting three games for the Buckeyes. This year that number jumped up to 548 snaps with 14 starts.
Gee Scott, Jr. also leaves Ohio State as one of the Buckeyes’ team leaders, which means his leadership will also need to be replaced.
The Candidates
Despite losing Gee Scott, Jr. to the NFL and Patrick Gurd to the transfer portal, the Buckeyes’ depth at the tight end position in 2025 is very impressive. When the Buckeyes enter spring ball, they’ll be doing it with four tight ends who have starting experience.
Will Kacmarek will be a fifth-year senior this year. He spent his first three years at Ohio University before transferring to OSU for 2024 and starting six games. Redshirt sophomore Jelani Thurman (1 start) is loaded with potential. Fourth-year junior Bennett Christian (2 starts) made an impressive rise after missing the 2023 season.
Max LeBlanc saw action in four games in 2024 as a true freshman. The Buckeyes will also have three new faces in the room. Talented incoming freshmen Nate Roberts and Brody Lennon are both blue-chip prospects. Purdue transfer Max Klare was arguably the top tight end in the transfer portal. He has two years of eligibility remaining.
Spring Outlook
Spring football is still shrouded in some mystery for Ohio State. The 2024 season hasn’t even been over for two weeks yet, so nobody’s in a real big hurry to get camp going just yet. Generally, spring camp starts the first full week in March, but OSU isn’t yet confirming any dates. When camp does start, however, the Buckeyes are going to have plenty of players looking for reps.
Expect many of the practices to feature two offenses going against two defenses simultaneously. There will certainly be some depth chart jockeying going on with a competition this deep. It will bring the best out of everybody, and it will be a good place for freshman Nate Roberts to learn how things work. Fellow freshman Brody Lennon’s high school does not allow early graduation, so he won’t be on campus until June.
Will Kacmarek, Max Klare, Jelani Thurman, and Bennett Christian are all now upperclassmen with experience, which should be on display in the spring. Klare being a transfer could be given more reps just to get him up to speed in Ohio State’s offense. Kacmarek may be awarded a bit of a break given his workload in 2024. This will likely be the most work for Max LeBlanc, which will give him an opportunity to learn and impress.
Perhaps the biggest question needing an answer is how many of the tight ends that participate in spring camp will be back for fall camp.
Best Bet
Max Klare caught 51 passes for 685 yards and four touchdowns this past season as a redshirt sophomore at Purdue, so he wasn’t brought in to watch from the bench. That being said, Ohio State plays more than just one tight end on the regular. Will Kacmarek’s experience and physicality will give the Buckeyes a formidable duo in 12 personnel (one back, two tight ends) alignments.
Tight ends coach Keenan Bailey got as many guys work last year as were ready for it. He rotated players freely, which is only going to help this season. Everybody with any kind of experience has played in big moments this past season, including Jelani Thurman and Bennett Christian. They have been called upon and trusted, and they have performed.
Ohio State will have one of the best tight end tandems in the nation, but that’s not going to stop Bailey from rotating in other talented players as well. As we saw last month, a playoff run makes for a very long season, and if you’re not planning for it from day one by making your room as deep as possible, you’re gonna end up falling short.
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