Highlights & Evaluation: Louisville OL Commit Max Merz

Louisville Report breaks down 2026 Louisville football offensive line commit Max Merz.

Fort Thomas (Ky.) Highlands) offensive lineman Max Merz / via Instagram

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville football is on the board in the Class of 2026, as Max Merx has given his verbal pledge to the Cardinals.

Here is Louisville Report's full evaluation:

Prospect: Max Merz
Position: Interior Offensive Lineman
Measurables: 6-foot-4, 310 pounds
School: Fort Thomas (Ky.) Highlands
Top Offers: Kent State, Marshall, Toledo, Troy
247Sports Composite Rating (Nat'l Rank): N/A

Max Merz' Sophomore Year Highlights: HERE (Hudl)

Frame: Merz' frame is already in a very good spot. Not many 16-year-olds come close to weighing 300 pounds, but he easily clears this threshold. He'll have to convert some of his weight into muscle, especially in his upper body, but he's already very far along in terms of building out his frame, especially in his upper body. Has a good wingspan to boot, as well.

Athleticism: As you can imagine given Merz' frame, strength and power is his calling card, and he has a fairly balanced mix of it between his upper and lower body. He's not super fleet of foot and sometimes looks clunky when moving in space, especially when moving downfield, but his lateral movement/footwork is actually solid.

Instincts: When you have a player who's already as far as along as Merz is in the size and strength department, and stick him in a high school classification that isn't super deep, his ability to bully and bulldoze players stands out on tape fairly quickly. He plays with a bit of a mean streak to him, and isn't afraid to throw around his size/strength advantage to drive defenders away from the ball. Something else that stood out was he always keeps his head on a swivel for the next block. Whether it's pulling across the line from his right guard spot, stepping back in pass protection or moving downfield on a screen, he stays cognizant of where the next defender could be. He hasn't been subject to many counter moves at his level, but seems to do a solid job keeping his man in front.

Polish: While it's very clear that Merz is one of the biggest players on the field at any given time, but often it seems like he relies too much on that advantage to win battles instead of using actual blocking technique. For example, while he seldom allows blockers to disengage, he has a tendency to place his first strike around the shoulder pads instead in right in the numbers. Also needs to work on more consistently extending his arms on initial blocks. He has decent footwork in pass protection, but he moves fairly slow for someone who is used as a pulling guard and getting involved in downfield blocking on screens as often as he is.

Bottom Line: Overall, this is a developmental pickup for Louisville that has some potential later on down the road. Merz does need to clean up some of his technique and fine tune his physique a bit, but he has size that doesn't come around very often at his age and does already have some decent football IQ with blocking schemes. He has plenty of time to develop fundamentally, and won't have to do so when simultaneously getting used to new weight/strength.

(Photo of Max Merz via Instagram)

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