Football: Avon's Max Hauck commits to Miami University

After winning two state football championships at Avon, Max Hauck was looking for a place he could succeed athletically and academically at the next level and he didn't have to leave Ohio to find it. Hauck announced Sunday on X that he had committed to attend Miami University. "Obviously, Miami is a great football school with great coaches and great facilities," the 6-foot-3, 300-pound offensive lineman said. "And it also has high academic standards. It was a great fit for me, coming from a winning program to go to another program that wins championships." Hauck earned first-team All-Ohio honors this year and started every game during each of the Eagles' state title seasons. "The kid started 31 straight games. He's durable and dependable. He's a leader who does everything right," Avon coach Mike Elder said. "I'm excited for him. I think it's hard nowadays for kids coming out of high school to get a Division I scholarship offers because everyone wants to jump in the portal and find the 21-year-old version of Max. "There are certain players out there that have such tremendous tape and they're blessed with size like Max is that you just can't ignore it. He does it all. He's a tremendous pass blocker and he's also our best run (blocking) guy. Anyone who plays us knows who Max is because when we run the ball, specifically when the chips were down, it was always behind Max. His ability to knock people off the ball and still be a great pass-blocker is why he's playing Division I college football. He's athletic enough to do both." Playing Division I college football has been a dream of Hauck's since he was at the youth level. "As a kid, I always dreamed of playing elite football at the Division I level. To be able to make this a reality is awesome," Hauck said. "By junior year, I was seeing my friends getting offers to colleges. That's when I realized I definitely had the ability to do some great things at the next level. Football has been my favorite thing growing up and playing the game with my best friends." Hauck was an All-Southwestern Conference, All-Lorain County and all-district first-team selection. "First off, you have to be blessed by God with some athleticism, and Max has that," Elder said. "There's nothing about the offensive line position that's natural, the way you block, the stagger of your feet, the way you pass protect, those are all learned behaviors. They aren't movements that are natural when you walk down the steps or walk down the street. You have to work hard at it." Hauck is grateful to have had a dream career at Avon. "It's been amazing," he said. "I couldn't have asked for anything else out of my high school career. You always see people who are grown and have careers or even that play in the NFL, look back and say, 'I wish I could have won a high school championship with my best friends. I was able to do that twice, and I realize that was a great accomplishment." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.