The Ohio State Buckeyes won the 2024 national championship on the strength of strong play in the trenches on both sides of the ball, culminating with a dominant offensive effort against Notre Dame in a 34-23 title game win. The Buckeyes have since focused on rebuilding their roster after sending 18 players to the 2025 NFL combine, most among all schools, including program legends Jack Sawyer, Will Howard, Emeka Egbuka and others. On Monday, coach Ryan Day’s program received a pledge from an in-state offensive lineman who could help continue Ohio State’s winning tradition up front. “Home. #GoBucks,” Class of 2026 offensive lineman Maxwell Riley wrote on X, announcing his college pledge. “As a kid from Avon Lake, Ohio, it was always my goal to play for the world famous Ohio State Buckeyes,”
Riley wrote on X in a message viewed over 154,000 times as of early Tuesday morning. Riley is 6-feet-5 inches tall and weighs 280 pounds. He is a first-team All-State performer in football and a two-time All-State performer in track who reports weight room numbers of a 330-pound hang clean and a 550-pound back squat. Riley held offers from Michigan, Penn State, Florida State and Clemson among other top schools before choosing coach Day’s Buckeyes
