Ohio State football better enjoy this coach while he’s here
By Ryan Stano
Ohio State wide receivers coach Brian Hartline is a star in the making, and the Buckeyes better enjoy his services before he gets a better job.
Ohio State made a mistake in 2018. Urban Meyer decided to stick by Zach Smith when clearly he was in the wrong. Smith was a great wide receivers coach and related to Earle Bruce, so Meyer felt some sort of loyalty to him. He should have been fired immediately after all of his issues.
The guy they could have had sooner in his stead is Brian Hartline. Hartline, a former Buckeye receiver under Jim Tressel, has been killing it since he was hired to be the receivers coach at Ohio State. In fact, he’s miles better than Smith was in terms of recruiting.
Under Hartline, the Buckeyes have cultivated players such as Terry McLaurin, K.J. Hill, and future first-round pick Chris Olave. Hartline has also done a ridiculously good job in the recruiting aspect of his job, landing top receivers in back-to-back classes in Garrett Wilson and Julian Fleming.
Besides landing Fleming in the 2020 class, he also was able to get five-star Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Gee Scott Jr., and Mookie Cooper. The recruiting class that Hartline has brought in should help Ohio State sooner rather than later as well.
Recruiting isn’t the only thing that Hartline can do well. He has helped develop Olave into a first-round pick. Jameson Williams is extremely talented and has first-round potential as well. Someone will eventually notice his talent and give him an offensive coordinating job.
Ohio State probably won’t be that team considering they have Kevin Wilson at the helm. Wilson doesn’t seem to be getting many job prospects for head coaching vacancies based on the way he left IU. Hartline could potentially be promoted to a co-offensive coordinator role at some point now that Mike Yurcich is gone.
Next. Ohio State football offensive positional breakdown. dark
The Buckeyes have to enjoy Hartline’s talent as a great recruiter and great talent developer while he is here. If he does move on, the team will miss him dearly.