Former Ohio State Buckeyes offensive coordinator Brian Hartline is one decision away from becoming a headline name in College Football. All Hartline has to do is choose the best quarterback option from the USF Bulls' room in his first-time head coaching seat.
As CBS Sports' Chip Patterson noted, Hartline is expected to tailor the offense around the talents of whichever third-school wonder comes out of the spring looking like QB1 material. Hartline's career in Columbus has Patterson convinced a star is about to be born in Tampa.
"Brian Hartline is one of the most intriguing head coaching hires of the cycle. He put was a part of some of the most potent offenses of the last decade at Ohio State, and now he gets a chance to make his own mark outside the shadow of Ryan Day," Patterson wrote.
"Now it's acknowledged that there is a different talent level with the Bulls than what he was working with in Columbus, but Hartline's track record and recent program history suggest USF will be able to score some points in 2026. The key, of course, is quarterback, and spring practice will be the first step to shaking out what seems to be a three-player battle between former Luke Kromenhoek, Michael Van Buren and KJ Cooper.Â
"Are all journeymen -- Kromenhoek has checked off stops at Florida State and Mississippi State, Van Buren at Mississippi State and LSU , and Cooper at JUCO and FCS Texas Southern. All three carry slightly different skill sets. Ohio State tweaked its offense to match the quarterback under Hartline's guidance. The expectation is USF will do the same, but if one of these third-stop all-stars hits, the Bulls could once again be a factor in the American."
Brian Hartline could be a Power 4 head coaching candidate sooner rather than later
USF is looking to build something great and could one day call itself a Power 4 team, but existing big-spending P4 schools may be looking at Hartline if he can maintain Alex Golesh's standard from the 2025 season.
It's accepted that the American is the strongest Group of 6 conference, and that should remain true with the resurrected Pac-12 this season. That conference is nothing like it used to be. Of course, Hartline is coming from the "It" conference -- not to be confused with the "It Just Means Less" conference that hasn't won a title since 2023, but the one that produced the last three national champions -- and already has an astounding resume from his nine years with the Buckeyes, eight as a coach.
The Bulls being great could cost them having Hartline in the long run. Until USF finds itself in a Power 4 conference, it'll be left high and dry by the best players and coaches after a great run, just like last year when the Auburn Tigers took Golesh, offensive coordinator Joel Gordon, quarterback Byrum Brown, and several skill-position threats on offense.