One of the best offensive linemen in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, Buffalo High School’s 6’4, 275 lber. Ryan Babatz holds 13 D1 offers, including a B1G offer from Nebraska and FBS offers from Coastal Carolina, Miami (OH), Ohio, Wyoming, Army, and Central Michigan. He checks the in-person eval and gamefilm boxes, and in my mind is doing a great job of raising his stock and strengthening his resume as a OL prospect. Multi-sport backgrounds are a big deal for OL recruits, as it’s especially rare and important to find big-bodied athletes. and there’s no better evidence of functional strength, mobility, and change of direction skills than other sports. Babatz more than checks the boxes in the multi-sport department, as he’s coming off a junior year wrestling season in which he qualified for state in the 285AAA bracket, finishing the season 28-14, and earned Academic All-State honors, and he carried the success into track season. Babatz set a new school record with a giant shot put PR of 56’6″ last week, beating what was another recent PR of 53’11” in mid-April. There’s a lot of evidence of high-quality OL recruits succeeding in track and field events, so this is a big data point to add to his recruiting profile, which goes along well with the strength and power he showed in his junior film, as well as his fluidity in space, general mobility, and comfortability in pass pro. Frankly, I’m surprised more P4 suitors aren’t involved. Excellent job so far this outdoor season, Ryan!

Buffalo’s OT and OL1 Ryan Babatz has seen his stock rise from #12 to #4 overall.

Not the biggest rankings jump here, but it’s arguably the most significant. The race for OL1 in Minnesota is always hotly contested, and with the implications it has on the college football scene (see Joe Alt in this year’s draft for evidence), we’re always going to cover the OL position year to year. The 2025 class has seemingly always been headed by Abu Tarawallie Abu Tarawallie 6'4" | 260 lbs | DL Providence | 2025 State MN , Emmanuel Karmo Emmanuel Karmo 6'3" | 225 lbs | LB Robbinsdale Cooper | 2025 State MN , and Meyer Swinney Meyer Swinney 6'3" | 210 lbs | WR Edina | 2025 State MN , so tracking and trying to get a grasp on who will follow the Big 3 has been an interesting discussion for the rest of the class. In my opinion, Buffalo’s OT Ryan Babatz is the answer to these questions, and not to toot our own horn, but his performance at December’s PrepRedzoneMN Showcase helped solidify that evaluation.

Measuring in at 6’4.75, and 279 pounds, Babatz put up arguably the top testing numbers in the OL group, highlighted by a 5.2 40, 4.9 short-shuttle, and nearly 9′ broad jump, and man was he a beast during 1-on-1s, battling and winning against the best pass rushers in the state from the 2025 and 2026 classes. He was very comfortable in pass pro and owns a strong anchor that can absorb and stonewall high-quality DEs in their tracks, a positive we saw both in person and in his junior tape. Speaking of junior film, left tackle Babatz moves and blocks in space like a TE, and opens his film with a beautiful rep 20-30 yards downfield of him chasing down, corralling, and eliminating a DB. Plays like that, at his size, are what really move the needle for college coaches watching a ton of OL film. He reports a 340 lb. power clean, 305 lb. bench, 425 lb. squat, and a 3.77 GPA to sweeten the pot, and he’s that strength and power show up on film, as he’s bruising and powerful at the point of attack as a run blocker. Babatz is more than able to be effective at the second and third levels of a defense, laterally agile, and understands how to use an opponent’s leverage to his advantage. It’s a dangerous combination at a verified nearly 6’5, 280.

The cliche once again fits here, as Babatz has gotten bigger, stronger, faster, more technically sound, and more physical after his sophomore year offseason, and he’s reaping the rewards of it on the recruiting trail. He showed that comfortability in pass pro as a sophomore and was a full-time varsity starter, so he absolutely earned that Top-15 ranking as a soph., but he’s stepped up the dominance and mobility, and colleges are taking note. North Dakota, South Dakota State, Nebraska, Central Michigan, Army, Ohio, NDSU, Miami (OH), Fordham, and Coastal Carolina have all offered so far. Keep an eye on the Gophers potentially getting involved here too.

The most impressive player from Session I was Buffalo’s junior OT Ryan Babatz Ryan Babatz 6'4" | 275 lbs | OL Buffalo | 2025 State MN . The OT checked in just a hair under 6’5″ and 279 lbs. The junior first caught my eyes when he jumped an impressive 8’10” and 8’11” in the broad jump. From there, Ryan put on a show. In the agility drills it was impressive watching Ryan show the ankle and knee flexibility to be able to drop his center of gravity and easily change directions. That impressive body control carried over to 1 vs 1s. Ryan used his long arms to make first contact and showed the hand placement and anchor strength to stuff DEs trying to use power. Babatz also showed the agility and reactive athleticism to mirror DEs trying to use speed or counter moves. Ryan put together a great display of his talents at the Showcase. This is definitely a top name to know in the Class of 2025.

Stock Riser

Another Stock Riser on the recruiting trail out of the 2025 class, Buffalo’s stud OL Ryan Babatz has visited Minnesota, Kansas State, and Nebraska so far this fall. Similar to the aforementioned Emmerich, he’s up on P5 big boards but is still waiting for that coveted first offer. He’s getting closer and closer to earning it however, and has been arguably the most popular 2025 in the state so far this fall. Hard work is going to pay off soon, Ryan!

Of all the positions on the gridiron, there is a very strong argument that offensive line is Minnesota’s best-produced position in terms of college prospects, and in the 2025 class, there are a few names who have really set themselves apart early and solidified themselves as high-end college prospects. One of those is 6’4, 275 lb. Buffalo High School rising junior Ryan Babatz Ryan Babatz 6'4" | 275 lbs | OL Buffalo | 2025 State MN , who earned his first offer this summer from North Dakota after balling out at their prospect camp in Grand Forks and is far from done growing that offer sheet. There are a lot of heavyweight programs keeping track of Babatz, and since August 1st, when 2025s were allowed to be officially contacted by D1 programs, he’s heard from NDSU, SDSU, Coastal Carolina, Minnesota, Duke, and Nebraska. It makes sense when you turn on the tape, as Babatz, in addition to his solid size, the LT and LG possesses active feet and hands, an aggressive and powerful punch, lateral agility, and the strength to finish off a few drive steps once he’s engaged. I also really like his comfortability and balance in pass pro, where he shows off an efficient pass set, where he doesn’t lunge or overstep, can drop his anchor well and is quick enough to handle speed rushers and strong enough to shut down power rushes. He’s also controlled enough to work to the second level and out in space with ease. Babatz’s technical prowess, athleticism, and strength going into his upperclassman spell out a bright future for him as a prospect going forward. It’s going to be a big junior year for the Buffalo standout.