The Ohio State football team has to pick up the pieces after a horrible finish to the 2025 season. They lost their final two games, scoring just 24 combined points in those two games. It was an embarrassing way for Ryan Day's team to end its bid for back-to-back national titles.
Brian Hartline announced his intention to leave the Ohio State Buckeyes and head to USF to be the Bulls' head coach. He was the team's offensive coordinator and the team's wide receivers coach, as well. With him leaving, Day needs to replace both roles.
It's clear Day needs to find someone else to handle the play-calling after the debacle he had in the Cotton Bowl, but he has found a replacement for the wide receivers coach spot. Day has hired a former Georgia and LSU wide receivers coach.
The Ohio State football program has added Cortez Hankton to be the new wide receivers coach
According to multiple reports, the Buckeyes are set to hire Cortez Hankton as the wide receivers coach. Hankton spent four years with the Bulldogs before being hired by LSU. Over the last two seasons, he was the co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach for the Tigers.
However, Hankton was not retained by Lane Kiffin when Kiffin took over the head coaching position at LSU. Day will have to justify bringing on Hankton after another coach decided that he wasn't good enough to fill out his new staff. Working in the SEC certainly gives him some cache, though.
The Buckeyes need to figure out the offensive coordinator position still, but they have started to make moves now that the season is officially over. Day needs to nail these hires because fans are not happy with how the season ended.
How Hankton is able to keep up recruiting at the receiver spot is going to go a long way in determining how good the Buckeyes will be over the next few years.