The Ohio State football program had to replace perhaps its most valuable assistant coach this past offseason. Brian Hartline left the Buckeyes after calling plays for one year as the offensive coordinator. He decided to become a head coach, heading to South Florida.
At the time, Hartline was considered the most valuable assistant coach because of his ability to recruit and develop elite receivers. Garrett Wilson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Chris Olave, and Marvin Harrison Jr. are just a few of the players that he helped become massive stars.
Cortez Hankton was the coach who was tapped to replace Hartline on the staff as wide receivers coach. Arthur Smith was brought in to be the new offensive coordinator. While the jury is still out on Smith, Hankton is proving on the recruiting trail that he more than belongs on staff.
Cortez Hankton has shown traits of being an elite recruiter for Ohio State
Hankton has only been on staff a few months, but he has done a great job on the recruiting trail so far. He was able to keep Chris Henry Jr. as a signee right after Hartline left. Then, he was able to make sure Jamier Brown was locked in as a commit for the 2027 class. Both are five-star guys.
Neither of those guys was a player Hankton had recruited initially. However, Hankton then landed Austin Miller for the 2029 recruiting class. He will likely be a five-star commit when the rankings come out for that class. Jett Harrison, a 2028 five-star receiver, also committed to Hankton.
There can be some excuses made for all of those recruits and why they chose the Ohio State Buckeyes. Yet, Hankton still had to bring them in. Monshun Sales will be the real test. If Hankton can find a way to secure him, there will be no question moving forward about his recruiting prowess.
Cortez Hankton needs to prove he can develop receivers on the field
Of course, recruiting is just one half of the equation. Developing receivers on the field and helping them get better is the more important part of coaching. Hankton has to prove that the receivers can become better players in general. That will be the true measure of whether he belongs.
Ohio State has had to replace a lot of assistant coaches over the years. That's what happens when success is attained. Other programs try to poach your guys. Ryan Day has had to deal with that, and he has done well with finding new assistants who have been able to step in and be fine.
It will help that Hankton gets to coach Jeremiah Smith this season. Smith is the best weapon in college football, and no one can truly shut him down. Having him accumulate a lot of stats this season will help Hankton jump-start a solid career with Ohio State.
Ohio State's offense should be one of the best in the country, if not the best. The Buckeyes are going to be running a bit of a new playbook under Smith, but the weapons they have are undeniable, no matter the system the players are running.
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