Erik Kimrey knows a good tight end when he sees one.

The Baylor School football coach in Chattanooga, Tennessee, was the tight ends coach under Shane Beamer at South Carolina in 2021 after 17 seasons as a Columbia, South Carolina-area high school football coach. And from Kimrey’s first Zoom call with Max LeBlanc, a tight end from Montreal looking for somewhere to play his final two seasons of high school football, he saw something special.

“I knew he was going to be a good player,” Kimrey said. “I had no idea, honest to God, no idea the caliber of player (he) was until he got on campus and started working out with us.”

LeBlanc was the caliber of player college programs from around the country had to see in person to believe: a 6-foot-5, 225-pound athlete who Kimrey said adapts to everything from blocking in the C gap and dictating the path of the run game to being a primary pass catcher in Baylor School’s offense.

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Ohio State saw that same potential in LeBlanc, offering the four-star tight end in January before he committed minutes before the Buckeyes’ spring game April 15, joining out-of-state players such as wide receivers Jeremiah Smith and Mylan Graham, running back James Peoples and linebacker Payton Pierce in the Buckeyes’ 2024 class.

Ohio State football commit Max LeBlanc: 'a next-level tight end'

Kimrey knows LeBlanc could have been a wide receiver.

With an “extraordinary” catch radius that combines his length with “incredibly elite hands”  — questioning whether he had ever dropped a pass during a game or even on the practice field — LeBlanc, Kimrey said, could have played major college football out wide.

“Once he started getting going, I said, ‘Max, you know you could play receiver in the Power 5,’ ” Kimrey recalled. “‘But you’re a next-level tight end, and you’ve got the frame to do it.’”

As a junior at Baylor School, LeBlanc recorded 39 catches for 695 yards and three touchdowns, getting the attention of schools such as Duke, Kentucky, Purdue and Cincinnati before his first high school football season in the United States was complete. The bigger schools came later, getting offers from Tennessee, Ohio State, Penn State, Florida State, Miami, and Oklahoma in January before Michigan and Alabama offered in February.

“At the end of the day, you look at him and you see his build,” Kimrey said, “you look at his circus-sized hands and, you know, it’s a no-brainer.

“Once he put his tape together, it spoke for itself.”

Less than a year removed from recruiting tight ends at South Carolina when LeBlanc arrived, Kimrey said he helped him and his family navigate the recruiting process. But Kimrey said LeBlanc clearly had an affinity for Ohio State, calling it his “dream offer.”

“When (Ohio State) did offer, you kind of saw a little different look in his eye,” Kimrey said. “Keegan (Bailey) did a really good job with Mac and reaching out, establishing a relationship. … When he went up on his visit, honestly that made the deal. He was very impressed with everything regarding the program and he seems to be very excited.”

Even after putting on 15-20 pounds since his arrival at Baylor School, LeBlanc’s work isn’t done heading into his senior season.

Kimrey said the tight end’s goal is to play at 230 pounds this upcoming fall, getting more comfortable and physical as a blocker while balancing his role on the perimeter as an elusive pass catcher.

To Kimrey, this is what differentiates great tight ends, something he says LeBlanc is on the path to becoming.

“Max just doesn’t have any weaknesses when it comes to playing tight end,” Kimrey said. “Is he ready to take on 290-pound defensive ends in the Big Ten right now? No. But he will be.”

 cgay@dispatch.com 

@_ColinGay

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Here's what 2024 TE commit Max LeBlanc will bring to Ohio State