Avon Lake senior Max Riley is never bashful about his ambition. “I want an opportunity to play next year,” he said when he entered high school. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Andy Fowkes)
Max Riley grew up an Ohio State fan, grew into a 4-star offensive lineman and plans to begin reaching his potential after he signs in December and enrolls in January.
Avon Lake, OH – Max Riley is built to make a favorable impression.
Already with the look of a lineman, he approached Avon Lake High School head football coach Matt Kostelnik as an eighth grader and – probably not in as deep of a voice as he owns now – stated his goal.
“I want an opportunity to play next year,” Riley said.
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“All right,” Kostelnik said. “Well, let’s hit these weights.”
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Riley has done the heavy lifting for the Shoreman ever since. As a freshman he was in the top five on the team in every lifting category. He started every game. If Kostelnik wasn’t 100 percent convinced his freshman could start, Riley convinced everyone in a scrimmage against Medina Highland.
“It was always our toughness meter,” Kostelnik said. “We got the crap kicked out of us pretty good, and he was the only one who held his own. Pretty much from there it was all she wrote.”
By the time Riley’s senior season ends this fall, he will have started the most games in school history.
Riley stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 280 pounds. His recruiting profile has four stars on it, and he is ranked as the No. 2 offensive lineman and No. 7 player overall in Ohio in the 24/7 Sports composite index. He will sign with Ohio State on December 3 and enroll in January.
Riley, who said he believes he will fit in well with Ohio State’s team culture, intends to make another strong first impression in Columbus. He expects to be pushed to maximize his talent, starting with performance coach Mickey Marotti in the weight room.
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“I had a meeting with Coach Mick before I committed,” he said, “and he said to my mom, ‘Do I have the go ahead, if he comes here, to make him what he needs to be – no excuses?’”
Riley loved that question.
“I’m like, ‘Let’s go,’” he said. “I’m going to be coached really hard. I’m not going to be able to leave anything on the table. It’s going to be just me reaching my full potential.”
When Riley arrives at Ohio State, Marotti will use a machine to map Riley’s body that will project his ideal weight and body fat percentage. His body type has been compared to starting guard Luke Montgomery, which means Riley will likely fill out to about 305 pounds.
“I’m going to be coached really hard. I’m not going to be able to leave anything on the table. It’s going to be just me reaching my full potential.”
Riley’s No. 1 position is tackle, and he will play left tackle this season for the Shoremen. But he has versatility, which is something Ohio State is emphasizing with its linemen. Each starter has a second position in case injuries cause reshuffling like last year when Josh Simmons and Seth McLaughlin suffered season-ending injuries.
Last year Kostelnik had other players he trusted to be good tackles. So he moved Riley to guard to help the center.
“The kids call him Coach Max for a reason – he’s a coach on the field for us,” Kostelnik said. “Where we need him to go is where we’re going to plug him in. This year we need him back at left tackle to protect a young quarterback.”
Riley grew up rooting for the Buckeyes and watching them on Saturdays with his dad, grandpa and younger brother Harry, who will be a starting linemen for the Shoremen as well. Riley admires the job Ryan Day has done as head coach, so he was thrilled when his blocking ability and position versatility made a positive impression on then-Ohio State line coach Justin Frye.
However, soon after the Buckeyes won the national championship, Riley got an unexpected and much-appreciated call from Day with news Frye would likely leave for an NFL job. That happened within 24 hours, and Day called Riley back to tell him he would have a new line coach in a few days.
Day quickly hired Tyler Bowen away from Virginia Tech. Perceptions about Riley didn’t change.
Bowen called Kostelnik while driving through West Virginia on his way back to Blacksburg after accepting the job at Ohio State. Bowen wanted to know how Riley was feeling about Ohio State because of the coaching change.
“They really, really do their due diligence,” Kostelnik said. “It’s been impressive.”
Riley had good phone conversations with Bowen as well.
“I like him a lot,” Riley said. “I committed to him without ever meeting him in person, so I had a lot of faith in him.”
Kostelnik’s faith in Riley has grown since that first impression when they discussed his future five years ago.
“Our coaching staff jokes that he’s unicorn,” Kostelnik said. “Because I don’t worry about him in interviews, I don’t worry about him academically, I don’t worry about him making good decisions, I don’t worry that he’s going to help out his teammates. He’s got a great head on his shoulders, and he’s going to make great decisions.”
Riley made a mature decision as a freshman. A friend suggested they start a Fellowship of Christian Athletes group at Avon Lake. They started with six athletes at their Thursday morning meetings. Now as many as 50 attend.
“My faith has been really important to me throughout my life, knowing where my value comes from.” – Max Riley
“My faith has been really important to me throughout my life, knowing where my value comes from,” Riley said. “Football is a great game, but at the end of the day, it’s just a game. I got all the offers and I’ve been working my whole life for this, and it just didn’t really feel like truly fulfilling. So I sat down, opened my Bible and that’s helped me out a lot. It’s where my purpose lies.”
The last Avon Lake player to make a big enough impression to earn a scholarship offer from Ohio State was Mike D’Andrea in 2002. D’Andrea was considered the best linebacker in the country, but knee injuries derailed his promising career.
If Riley becomes a starter at Ohio State, Kostelnik says observers will notice nimble feet, an ability to get to the edge and a desire to finish every play.
In another early impression that sticks in Kostelnik’s mind, he recounts a block Riley made as a freshman against a defensive end from Berea Midpark who was recruited to play at Cincinnati.
“He drove him 10 yards down the field,” Kostelnik said. “It wasn’t like a devastating block, but the fact that how quick he got to his shoulder, took him down the field and finished him, it was impressive. We were sending that film out like crazy. We’d never been able to run outside zone with any consistency until we got him.”
As a senior, Riley is still making impressions in August practice. The latest came on a screen play with Riley as the lead blocker.
“I coach the corners, and No. 1 rule is we don’t take on the fat guys,” Kostelnik said. “You stay away from O lineman, do everything you can to dip and rip and go by. And my poor corner tried to take inside track, and it wasn’t a good idea. He ended up flat on his back.
“It looked cool on the drone.”
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