High school football preview: Avon Lake's Maxwell Riley for real

While Maxwell Riley keeps a lot of opposing coaches up at night, his coaches sleep like babies. When the 6-foot-5, 280-pound offensive lineman is on the field, he gives maximum effort. When he's resting, he's either watching the play to provide feedback or finding ways to stay active. It's no wonder Ohio State made him an offer to join its football program. "He's a unicorn in general," Avon Lake coach Matt Kostelnik said. "He's super smart, he's super faith-based. He's the kid you never have to worry about." Riley will be a four-year starter for the Shoremen and is a two-time captain. He began receiving offers at the end of his freshman year and was on the radar of most of the top programs in the country. He committed to Ohio State largely because of the culture, combined with the fact he's been a Buckeyes fan all his life. He drew interest from numerous schools throughout the ACC, Big Ten and SEC, including Alabama, Clemson, Michigan State and Oklahoma. Visiting with some of the top offensive line coaches in the country helped deepen his football knowledge. "A lot of it is our coaching staff," Riley said. "And honestly a lot of it is getting around on some of these visits and talking with some of the best offensive line coaches in the country. I learned a lot through the recruiting process. And I also watch film with my trainer at T3 throughout the season. Just getting many different points of view and absorbing it all." Riley shares that knowledge freely with his teammates and has earned the trust of the coaching staff to help. Kostelnik said when Riley is on the sidelines, he's usually still watching the action, offering to cover half of the field while the coaches watch the other. Then he collaborates with them to break down what they saw to help his teammates improve. "The kids even joke and call him Coach Max because he knows his stuff," Kostelnik said. "He knows what to do and knows when to do it. That depth of knowledge and experience only helps our younger kids and it helps us continue to grow. We're going to need that because we're a little thin on the offensive line this year. At some point we're going to call upon some of these kids in order to be successful." When Riley is on the field, it's a great test for the defensive line. He'll match up with a couple of players, including senior defensive end Erik Van Euwen. Of course, nobody on the Avon Lake defense is going to back down from the challenge, knowing they're going to face tough offensive linemen throughout the season in a challenging schedule. "It's honestly a really good experience because he's so insanely talented at what he does," Van Euwen said. "It really prepares you for whatever is going to be thrown at you. He's very physical and his footwork is just a different level. His size is a big factor, but he's also really quick and gets to his spots really fast. He's just a great overall athlete. If he gets his hands on you, you're pretty much out of the play." Riley has been playing football since kindergarten, saying the sport has taught him valuable lessons and helped him become a leader off the field. One way he's used that platform — which was amplified with his commitment to Ohio State — is when he and fellow senior Ian MacGregor co-founded a chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. The group started during their freshman year with about six people meeting in a small room. Riley said the program has grown to 50 people meeting in the Avon Lake competition gym every Thursday morning. "It's been pretty cool to see the impact that can have on the community and the school," Riley said. "It's really cool to see. It's only been here for three or four years and now we're going to be seniors. I've been the vice president for three years, but this year I'm going to try and help out as much as I can to get some of the younger guys more involved." Contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.