Ryan Montgomery
CLEVELAND – They drove 96 miles to attend Ohio State ‘s spring game. They wore shirts supporting their favorite Buckeye.
But when Findlay’s high school football team heard “O-H” echoing through the concourse, “They were not all joining the band,” Findlay coach Stefan Adams said.
That’s because, to certain ears, it was playing the wrong song. If the Trojans had pointed their team bus 96 miles north, they would’ve parked in Ann Arbor. Their hometown harbors the exact midpoint – a freeway exit ramp just south of the city – between Ohio State and Michigan’s campuses. So although they visited Columbus to support their former teammate (and current Ohio State freshman tackle) Luke Montgomery, they didn’t all love sporting the home colors.
“It’s a real thing,” Adams said. “There’s passion on both sides. We’re in such a middle ground that it gives you some flexibility for who you root for.”
Perhaps no Findlay resident has more wiggle room than Ryan Montgomery, a 2025 four-star quarterback who holds scholarship offers from both schools (just like Luke, his brother, did before him). Ryan considers himself a neutral observer in the rivalry, even though he grew up a Buckeye supporter and his brother committed to OSU last winter. But that doesn’t stop anybody around town from pitching him otherwise.
Michigan fans, who constitute somewhere between 30% and 45% of Findlay’s population, per Montgomery’s teammates, point to the Wolverines’ two-game win streak in the rivalry or Michigan’s recent recruiting boom (UM boasts the second-best 2024 class at the moment). Teammate Reece Little points to Jim Harbaugh’s history of developing quarterbacks.
“They’re run-heavy right now, but I feel like at any moment, they can switch to pass and be just as good,” Little said.
Buckeye fans counter with the sentimental sell job. They remind Montgomery that OSU is the in-state school, that his brother plays there – “They use that spiel,” said Montgomery, who is scheduled to play Aug. 25 against Lima Senior at Spartan Stadium.
If teammate Ashton Yeager were on Ohio State’s staff, he’d remind Montgomery of his childhood allegiance.
“My pitch would be, you’re gonna come here, you’re gonna play and you’re gonna beat the team that you and your brother grew up hating your entire life together,” Yeager said.
Junior Luke Weihrauch, a Findlay safety, said Montgomery’s brother encountered similar pitches. After games, opposing players would approach Luke to cape for their favorite college, even though his teammates always felt he was bound for Columbus.
Ryan, on the other hand?
“Ryan is more in between,” Little said. “More independent,” added Weihrauch. “There’s something in me that thinks he’s either going to a Southern school or Michigan,” said sophomore Nate Riegle. “One of those two. I don’t think he’s gonna go to Ohio State.”
Such guesses are only guesses at this point. The younger Montgomery wants to make his decision based on fit and relationships, both of which require more time to evaluate. He used to explain as much to friends and neighbors. He’s since given up.
“I’m tired of that,” Montgomery said. “I can’t explain that to every single person. It probably wouldn’t change much.”
It probably won’t until he picks a school. And if he chooses to play in The Game, he’ll add another wrinkle to his hometown’s fickle fandom. If both Montgomery boys become Buckeyes, they put friends like Riegle, who “half-likes” Michigan thanks to his father, in a bind. Riegle wants to wear his Luke Montgomery shirt to Ann Arbor this fall, “but I also don’t wanna get my a— kicked,” Riegle said.
Little thinks his OSU fan teammates would wear a Ryan shirt even if Montgomery chose Michigan. “But there would definitely be a few who threw it away the second they took it off,” Little said.
In the meantime, Ryan’s keeping most logos in his closet. Once he’s invited to The Game this year, he will “100 percent not” be wearing his Luke shirt, even though he did at Ohio State’s spring game. He’ll ask his parents to do the same.
But once in a while, he still wears a college tee to school or around town.
“Just to mess with people,” Montgomery said.
