Coach Meyer took what could have been a bad situation for his Ohio State football program and turned it around by choosing this guy to coach the receivers.
With Urban Meyer needing to find a wide receivers coach and fall camp approaching it could have been a dire situation for this year’s Ohio State football team. But the Buckeye head coach already had someone on staff to fill the void in Brian Hartline. He is the right guy to coach the receivers and at the right time.
The talent and depth at the both the wide-out and H-back positions is the best in recent memory. Who better to coach them up than a guy who had a successful career for the Buckeyes and played seven years in the NFL?
As a sophomore at Ohio State, Hartline caught 52 passes for 694 yards and 6 touchdowns. His junior season he only caught 21 passes but his yards per catch average jumped to 22.8. After that season Hartline decided to enter the NFL draft.
He was picked by Miami in the 4th round and played for the Dolphins for six seasons before finishing his career with the Cleveland Browns. During the 2012 and 2013 seasons he went over the 1,000 yard mark in receiving yards. He had 74 and 76 receptions respectively those two years.
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Hartline ended his NFL career with 344 receptions for 4,766 yards and 14 touchdowns. Don’t you think he learned a few tricks of the trade along the way he can teach to his outstanding receivers to make them even better?
All six players who were in the Zone 6 two deep rotation last year are back, and each of them had their best season as a Buckeye in 2017.
How good will wide-outs Johnnie Dixon, Terry McLaurin, Austin Mack and Binjimen Victor be if they soak up the knowledge their new coach will share with them.
H-backs Parris Campbell and J.J. Hill should benefit as well. And don’t forget about Demario McCall who is making the transition to that position.
As far as bringing in top-tier recruits, that may be a work in progress. But who better to learn from when it comes to recruiting than Urban Meyer. And don’t you think the fact that coach Hartline played seven years in the NFL will garner the attention of an elite recruit whose goal is to play on Sundays?
As usual, Urban Meyer made the right choice when he promoted Brian Hartline to wide receivers coach for the 2018 season. I think he is the right guy at the right time to lead Zone 6. The unit has the potential to become one of the best receiving corps in the country with Hartline coaching them up.