The Ohio State football program is not known for producing top tight ends. For most of the last decade, they haven't been using the tight end position as a large part of their passing attack. When they have the receivers they have, that hasn't been much of a need.
That may have changed in recent months. Ryan Day was able to land the top tight end in the transfer portal after the season ended, Max Klare. Klare transferred in from Purdue and looks like he will change how the Buckeyes use tight ends. Brian Hartline is also calling plays now, so he might have a bigger plan for tight ends.
Perhaps that's why the Ohio State Buckeyes are starting to recruit tight ends a little better. In fact, one of the best tight end recruits in the country has the Buckeyes in his final list of schools. Five-star tight end Mark Bowman has the Buckeyes as one of his finalists.
Elite tight end recruit has the Ohio State football program in his final seven schools
Bowman is listed as the best tight end in the country in the 2026 recruiting class. He stands at 6'5 and 225 pounds and is out of Mater Dei High School in Southern California. Despite his being from that part of the country, Ohio State made his final list of schools.
Ohio State is the only northern school in his final seven. Miami, Oregon, Ole Miss, USC, Georgia, and Texas are the other schools on this list. It won't be easy for the Buckeyes to win over those other teams, especially with how little they use the tight end in the passing game.
If Ohio State is somehow able to land him, that would signal a change in how the Buckeyes view tight ends. They haven't landed a recruit ranked this high since Jeremy Ruckert. It would signal a change in what the offense might look like under Hartline.