Ohio State may have seen some turnover in its tight end room this offseason, but head coach Ryan Day isn’t losing any sleep over it. Despite the departures of Will Kacmarek and Max Klare-two of the Buckeyes’ most heavily used tight ends in 2025-plus the transfer of Jelani Thurman to North Carolina, Day is confident in the group he has heading into the 2026 season.
And there’s good reason for that confidence.
The Buckeyes return a pair of tight ends who logged meaningful snaps last season: rising fifth-year senior Bennett Christian and sophomore Nate Roberts. Christian brings veteran leadership and physicality, while Roberts has the kind of upside that turns heads in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
“They do a lot of the dirty work, and it starts with Bennett,” Day said during a recent appearance on his radio show. “Bennett’s a tremendous leader for us.
And then we have a really talented young player, Nate Roberts. He’s as talented a young tight end as we’ve had in a while.”
That’s high praise from a coach who’s seen his fair share of versatile tight ends come through Columbus.
But the Buckeyes didn’t stop at returning talent. They also dipped into the transfer portal to add experience and depth, bringing in Mason Williams from Ohio University and Hunter Welcing from Northwestern. Williams has two years of eligibility left, while Welcing-a seventh-year senior-brings a wealth of experience and a reputation for toughness.
Welcing, in particular, caught Day’s attention with his performance against Michigan in the Wrigley Field game last season. “He had a heck of a game,” Day recalled. “He’s really been through a lot in his career, but we think he can provide a bunch of stuff for us.”
Williams, meanwhile, comes from the same Ohio University program that produced Kacmarek. According to Day, the feedback from the Bobcats’ staff was glowing.
“Once he was in the portal, you just call down there and ask the coaches, ‘Hey, what’s he like?’ They say, ‘Yeah, he’s got the right mentality, he’s got a toughness to him, he’s got a gamesmanship to him.’”
In addition to the veterans and transfers, Ohio State is also looking for internal development. Day specifically mentioned Max LeBlanc and Brody Lennon-two young tight ends who’ve been in the program and are now expected to take the next step. LeBlanc enters his third year, while Lennon is a redshirt freshman.
“We need guys like Max and Brody to really step up,” Day said. “We’re gonna need them to help, get on the field, and at the very least provide depth.”
All told, the Buckeyes have eight tight ends in the room right now-a level of depth that should allow them to be creative and flexible in their offensive packages.
And that’s where things get interesting.
Ohio State drew some heat from fans last year for leaning heavily on 13 and even 14 personnel-formations that put three or four tight ends on the field at once. It’s a physical, old-school approach that sometimes clashed with fans’ expectations for a more wide-open attack. So, is that blueprint coming back in 2026?
Day isn’t tipping his hand just yet.
“As you get into the spring, we’ll look at it, and our coordinator (Arthur Smith) will look at it, and our offensive coaches will look at it,” Day said. “Who are the best guys that give us the best chance to move the ball? Hopefully, you have multiple groupings that you can get on the field, and then we go from there.”
One key factor that will determine playing time? Versatility.
“To me, that’s very, very important,” Day emphasized. “If you’re a receiver that won’t block, it makes it very hard.
You look at the NFL right now-receivers are really blocking, tight ends are running routes. If you’re just a blocking tight end, or you’re just a route-running receiver, it gets a little bit harder.”
In other words, if you want to see the field in this offense, you better be able to do it all-block in the trenches, run crisp routes, and contribute in multiple personnel groupings. That’s the standard.
So while the names may be different in 2026, the expectations haven’t changed. Ohio State’s tight end room is built on toughness, versatility, and depth-and Ryan Day believes that formula can carry them a long way.