Scarlet and Game
Fansided

Ryan Day makes an important decision on Brian Hartline's role with Ohio State

The Ohio State football team has made a final decision on Brian Hartline's role when it comes to where he will be coaching.
ByRyan Stano|
Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline speaks to the meeting during a press conference before the start of spring football at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on March 7, 2025.
Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline speaks to the meeting during a press conference before the start of spring football at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on March 7, 2025. | Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Ohio State football team has started to get really deep into its prep for the first game against Texas on Saturday. In that game, it will be the first time that both Brian Hartline and Matt Patricia will be coordinators for the Buckeyes. Hartline will be calling plays for the first time.

Some teams opt to have their offensive coordinators on the field during games, while others decide to put them up in the booth. Last year with the Ohio State Buckeyes, Chip Kelly coached from up in the booth so that he could see the entire field to better make a decision on the plays he wanted to run.

Hartline doesn't have any experience to fall back on, so there was still a question about what he was going to do for the season. Ryan Day offered up some suggestions, and now the final decision has been made that Hartline will coach from the booth on Saturday afternoon.

Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline will be coaching from up in the booth

While talking to the media during his weekly press conference, Day confirmed that Hartline will be coaching from the booth. That makes the most sense for him to do, especially as a first-time play-caller. Hartline is a very good wide receivers coach, but this will be his chance to show he's ready for more.

Having a first-time starting quarterback is probably not ideal for Hartline. Having a first-time play-caller and a first-time starting quarterback in the first game against the number-one team in the country is certainly a cause for concern for fans of the Buckeyes.

Hartline needed this promotion at some point in order to keep him in Columbus. He wants more responsibilities because he has aspirations of being a head coach at some point. In order to do that, he needed to have some play-calling experience, so Day allowed him to have it.

There's a chance that Hartline decides that he wants to move down to the field at some point. Right now, it's best for him to be up in the booth while he figures out what kind of game he wants to call, especially in a game that will have College Football Playoff implications.

Home/Ohio State Football