Cleveland, OH
Why Ohio State’s 2026 tight end could benefit from a unique sports background
COLUMBUS, Ohio — When coaches around the nation visited Lebanon High School to recruit Nick Lautar, a 6-foot-5, 230 pound tight end that was rapidly gaining interest from more and more schools, it wasn’t just his football talent that had them intrigued.
Lautar, a 2026 prospect, is also an accomplished wrestler. He was a Hawaii state champion as a fifth grader and grew up expecting to wrestle in college. In fact, it wasn’t until his junior season of high school when he said he fully committed to playing football long-term.
That paid off, as Lautar committed to Ohio State on Nov. 16, just one day after he received an offer from the Buckeyes. He became the lone tight end pledge in the 2026 class.
But that wrestling background never went away, and it’s part of the reason why the Buckeyes — and so many other programs — were so interested in the Ohio tight end.
“I’ll never forget one of the first Big Ten coaches to stop in,” Lebanon coach Micah Faler began. “He said, ‘Almost every tight end that I go to recruit is a basketball player. I have never seen one this size that is a wrestler. I’m so intrigued by that.’ And then I heard it from coach after coach of like, ‘Yeah, his wrestling background is what really is intriguing us,’ because they know the hand placement, the feet placement, the physicality.”
When college coaches recruit tight ends, or even offensive tackles, it’s remarkably common that they play high school basketball as a power forward or a center. It’s the physicality of football, and learning how to play it, that has to be developed.
For Lautar, it’s the inverse. It was his catching ability and movement in space that had to develop.
“I thought I was going to wrestle in college, and that’s always just been a dream of mine as well,” Lautar told Cleveland.com before grinning wide. “And so even (football) practices in eighth grade, going over 50% on routes on air, that was a successful practice for me.”
When he moved from Hawaii to Ohio in eighth grade (his father is in the military), he was just 5-foot-8 and about 120 pounds. He was always taller than his teammates, he said, but he bemoaned the fact that he was too small to play as a lineman, and just a bit too slow to play as a receiver.
It took until his sophomore year for him to move to tight end on the football field.
“He started off as just kind of this tall, skinny, a little bit awkward receiver,” Faler said. “And really my first impression of Nick was just his wrestling background. Wrestling was his main sport, that was his thing. And I really wanted him to stay in the football program and continue to develop and see what happened there. And then just as time went on, he started growing to his body. It was like, ‘OK, you don’t see many over 6-foot-5 wrestlers.’”
Lautar, who boasted 22 offers during his recruitment, didn’t receive his first FBS offer in football until after his junior season was complete.
“It just kind of went from there,” Faler continued. “He worked his butt off and really when he started growing into his body and that coordination started to come with it, then it was like, ‘Oh man, this kid’s ceiling is super high.’”
Faler credited Lautar’s growth in recent months to extra work with his quarterback and assistant coaches, as well as his play on the 7-on-7 circuit, something the OHSAA only recently allowed. That pushed his recruitment forward to a point where he committed to Louisville on June 1.
“It was like, ‘Man, this kid is holding his own, and then some, with some of the top talent in the United States,’” Faler said.
But Lautar, now the No. 542 overall prospect and No. 29 tight end in the 247Sports composite rankings, always had Ohio State on the radar, and the Buckeyes always kept a watchful eye out. He camped this summer in Columbus, even though the team already had a 2026 tight end commit in three-star Floridian, Corbyn Fordham.
Only in September, he flipped his decision to Florida State.
That left the door open for Lautar and had Ohio State in search of a 2026 tight end. The Buckeyes didn’t have to look far, as there was a former wrestler who studied Brock Bower highlights to learn more about the craft of playing tight end just down I-71.
“Wrestling is such a hands-on sport where it’s all about the speed of your movement,” Faler said. “It’s all about your feet. It’s all about your hands, the explosiveness of your hands, the way you shoot on an opponent. I think that background really made Nick just understand the technique of the tight end position, especially in the blocking game.”
Throughout his senior year, which included a trip to the playoffs for Lebanon, Lautar continued to grow and develop, as he rose higher and higher across the rankings of various recruiting services.
Pairing his athleticism and aggressiveness in the blocking game, with improved route-running and catching, kept the Buckeyes interested.
“I started to realize it a little bit more, that it was more attainable, throughout the season,” Lautar said of going to Ohio State. “(Ohio State tight ends coach Keenan Bailey) would watch my game film at 6:30 in the morning every Saturday. I think that was something that kind of just stood out like, ‘Dang, he really cares about me and just the way I play, he’s really looking into it.’ It was something that I would just carry into the weeks going forward, just knowing not only for Ohio State, but just for myself and family. I got something to prove and make a dream come true.”
Bailey told Lautar he loves his aggressiveness on the football field, aided by his wrestling background. Lautar made sure to send Bailey clips from his highlight tape whenever he recorded a pancake block this season.
“It’s been able to just slowly grow over time, and I know he’s been pulling for me for a while for Ohio State, and that was even brought up when I talked to coach (Ryan) Day, just how much coach Kee has been pulling for me,” Lautar said. “That’s always just stuck out for me. And just seeing someone, at that high a level, who just believes in me and wants the best for me is something that I look for. And I know he develops guys really well, and that was just huge for me.”
All of that culminated with his trip to Ohio State for the game against UCLA, a visit Lautar would make without a scholarship offer in-hand.
Faler had been tipped off beforehand that an offer was coming, but he had to play it close-to-the-vest. The Buckeyes just wanted to make sure that Lautar’s family was in attendance that day in Columbus without Nick getting wise to the idea.
“You coach a kid, and especially a kid that’s so easy to coach like Nick, and you get invested yourself and you want to see them get the desires of their heart,” Faler said. “You want to see them get the best that they possibly can. And when it works out that way, it’s so gratifying, it’s fulfilling.”
Lautar then headed to Columbus, with a slight thought in the back of his mind about what may be on the horizon.
While on the visit, Bailey told him he had to meet with Day in his office, who then offered him a scholarship to play at Ohio State.
“It was kind of surreal, I mean it was just so cool,” Lautar said. “I just couldn’t believe it.”
He maintained wasn’t focused on NIL or the other miscellaneous things that come with recruiting. Lautar said he just wanted to be developed to a level where he could make it to the NFL.
That’s why it only took until Sunday morning for him to back off of his pledge to Louisville and commit to the Buckeyes officially.
It’d been a long road for Lautar to get to that point, from growing up in Hawaii and excelling on the wrestling mat long before he did so on the football field. But a call to his coach shortly after his earned the Ohio State offer said everything about where Lautar had been, and where he was headed.
“‘Coach, I’ve always wanted to be a Buckeye,’” Faler recalled Lautar saying. ‘This is what I’ve been waiting for.’”
Cleveland, OH
Many dealing with damage after severe weather rolled through northeast Ohio
CLEVELAND — A line of storms blew through northern Ohio Tuesday night, spurring Tornado Warnings, especially in the Cleveland area.
Gusts of 74 miles per hour were recorded hitting the region, and many are waking up without power on Wednesday morning, with some debris to clean up.
The storms prompted a Flood Warning overnight, and high water remains to be an issue in some areas.
As of Wednesday morning, more than 30,000 people were without power, mostly in Cuyahoga, Geauga and Lake counties. Cleveland Metropolitan School District announced some schools are closed due to power outages as well.
In an update early Wednesday, Cleveland Public Power said it has worked through the night and restored power to approximately 75% of customers.
“Our crews are facing challenges such as uprooted trees and aluminum siding as well other debris blown into powerlines. We appreciate your patience as they work as quickly and safely as possible to restore power,” Cleveland Public Power wrote in a post on Facebook.
The National Weather Service reported multiple trees down, including a tree that went through a house in Wayne County. There are also massive trees blocking sidewalks and roadways, including in Shaker Heights.
Over in Willoughby Hills, fire and police warned of high water from the Chagrin River, creating flood hazards. Some roads were closed in the area, including Bishop Road and White Road. Flooding was also reported along SOM Center Road. The river crested at about 15 feet at 4 a.m. Wednesday.
“Police, Fire and Service Departments are actively working to address these issues and assist residents,” Willoughby Hills Police said. “Please use extreme caution while driving. Do NOT attempt to drive through water of unknown depth.”
(Willoughby Hills Fire Department)
To the western side of the state, Toledo also faced some damage from the strong storms.
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Cleveland, OH
Cuyahoga County takes a beating during Tuesday night’s severe weather
CUYAHOGA COUNTY, Ohio — Tuesday night’s storm ravaged various parts of Cuyahoga County, including Shaker Heights, Cleveland and North Olmsted.
Tornado Warning issued for 3 Northeast Ohio counties
During our travels throughout the county, we saw a massive tree uprooted out of a field near Woodbury Elementary.
The tree stood inches from South Woodland Road and luckily snapped in the direction of the field rather than the residential homes on the other side.
Over in Cleveland on West 54th Street and Courtland Avenue, police blocked off a section of that intersection due to a downed tree that fell near a playground.
There was also a telephone pole that snapped and was hanging over the top of the road.
In North Olmsted on Birch Circle, there were several downed trees in front yards.
“Oh, it was a mess the second, I mean, coming down and seeing those four trees lying up. There’s three in the front here just lying on their side all over the driveway, and all the neighbors outside, wondering what to do, you know, where to start,” Taylor Wright told me.
Wright wasn’t home at the time of the storm. Neither was his partner, Candace Kepler.
Kepler said she was down the street at Target when the store started making announcements to take shelter.
“They made an announcement saying that everybody needed to be escorted to the tornado hall, and they made us all just leave our shopping carts and everything. We all went to the back of the store and huddled in this little metal hall in the back of Target,” Kepler said.
For 35 minutes, Kepler said she was stuck inside the store, worrying about her teenage daughter who was home alone.
“She was pretty scared because she saw the trees come down,” Kepler said. “I wanted to leave, but they wouldn’t let me leave, so I just kept her on FaceTime and tried to see if our neighbors… they came over and grabbed her, so that was good. Just keeping her safe was really just a priority.”
Luckily, their daughter is safe and sound, and so are they.
“Had you seen anything like it before?” I asked Wright.
He said, “Not this bad, especially not around here. This was the worst I’ve seen it over here with trees for sure.”
As of 8:30 p.m., Kepler and Wright were without power.
They were anticipating that it would come back on by 9:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, neighbors are already acting fast to chop the downed trees into pieces.
“They were in the neighbor’s driveway, so I grabbed my chainsaw, and then Sam, our neighbor, his kid came over with one, and we just got them all picked up, chopped them all up, and put them all in the tree lawn,” Wright said.
Stick with News 5 as we continue to monitor the latest on storm damage.
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Cleveland, OH
Cleveland Guardians vs. Los Angeles Dodgers prediction, pick for Monday 3/30/26
Keagan Smith gives you a preview, prediction and pick for today’s game between the Cleveland Guardians and Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday’s MLB slate.
The opening days of the 2026 MLB season have been an absolute blast to watch, and as we roll into the second week of action on the diamond, there are plenty of games for fans and bettors alike to choose from.
On Monday night in the late window, the Cleveland Guardians (2-2) head to Los Angeles to take on the Dodgers (3-0). It’s a story of David vs. Goliath that certainly favors one team over the other given the nature of both lineups and their respective payrolls, but the beauty of this sport is that anything can happen on any given night.
Come fight the Monday blues with us! Here’s a betting prediction and pick for tonight’s Guardians vs. Dodgers matchup courtesy of MLB odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Guardians vs. Dodgers prediction, preview
The Guardians made the postseason in 2025 with a surge over the second half of the campaign, and now they look to get back to the playoffs once again. They split the opening series of 2026 2-2 with the Seattle Mariners, and while an ugly 8-0 shutout did ruin the vibes to close things out, there were a couple of positives to glean. The biggest storyline by far was Chase DeLauter, the 24-year-old who debuted last postseason and has now started his first regular season by going 6-for-17 with four home runs. He’s been at the center of the production for a lineup with 13 runs in its four matchups, with the team slashing a combined .195/.262/.338. The biggest weakness of the Guardians thus far? A 32.4% K% that ranks third worst in the MLB, but obviously, it’s very early. Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan are bound to get rolling eventually though, so there’s no reason to panic while the bats heat up. The pitching staff has more reason to worry though, giving up eight home runs in four games with a high K% at 28.6%, but also an elevated BB% at 13.6%. Not a great way to start the year, now is it?
Out in the National League, the Dodgers went a perfect 3-0 to open their own season after taking all three games over the Arizona Diamondbacks. That was expected given the massive payroll of the back-to-back World Series champs, especially after adding Kyle Tucker to their embarrassment of riches over the offseason. They’re scoring over five runs a game through the first three outings with a slash line of .222/.320/.422, but the interesting part is a .200 ISO that ranks fifth in the MLB after hammering five deep balls along with a league-high hard-hit rate of 46.7%. The Dodgers are driving the baseball already, which doesn’t come as a shock to anyone. However, an 0.73 K/BB ratio ranks third best in the sport and is a little more surprising. Oh, and did we mention that Shohei Ohtani is just 1-for-8 at the plate to start the season? The pitching staff holds a 2.67 ERA that ranks sixth to go along with the fourth-best WHIP at 0.89 and the second-lowest BB% at just 5.0%. Los Angeles is scary so far.
On the mound for Cleveland is lefty Parker Messick, who threw just seven starts in his debut campaign last season. He amassed an impressive 2.72 ERA with a 1.31 WHIP, punching out 38 hitters in 39.2 innings. While he didn’t qualify for most grades per Baseball Savant’s advanced metrics due to sample size, he would’ve been in very high percentiles for BB%, barrel rate, hard-hit rate and more.
The Dodgers will roll out righty Roki Sasaki, who threw just 10 games for Los Angeles last season with eight starts. He ended with a 4.46 ERA and 1.43 WHIP, striking out 28 hitters in 36.1 innings of work. it was a pretty uninspiring result, all things considered, but he brings nice velocity with a 96.1 MPH average on the fastball. He had some serious command issues in Spring Training though, which we’ll work with for out best bet.
Guardians vs. Dodgers pick, best bet
DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Dodgers as -199 Moneyline favorites at home this evening, while the Guardians hold +163 odds to win outright. The run total sits at an even nine.
Best Bet: Roki Sasaki over 1.5 walks allowed (-174)
The odds probably won’t do much for you at -174 unless you use this pick as a builder in a parlay, but there’s a ton of reason to feel bullish about a cash tonight. Sasaki allowed 15 walks in Spring Training. Now guess how many innings he pitched. Don’t look it up! No, it wasn’t 15-20 as you probably expected. It was 8.2. Again, he gave up 15 walks in 8.2 innings of work. The recent form is capital B Bad. You get it, but for the record, he had a 13.7% BB% last season as well. Command is not his strong suit.
Strong Lean: CLE Guardians +1.5 (-126)
Maybe things get dangerous for Cleveland with a young pitcher out there against such a star-studded lineup, but Los Angeles’ hurler isn’t particularly formidable. After the Guardians competed with the Mariners in their last series with two wins and a cover at +1.5, I like their chances to keep things feisty this evening on the road.
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