BREAKING: Brian Hartline Set To Leave Ohio State At The End Of The Season

Ohio State wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator Brian Hartline has accepted the Head Coach position at the University Of South Florida. He is expected to remain with Ohio State through the postseason.

A Canton native, Hartline played his entire collegiate football career with Ohio State from 2005-2008. He then went on to play in the NFL for several seasons before returning to the team in 2017 as an assistant. He was the promoted to wide receivers coach in 2018 following the dismissal of Zach Smith. After several years with the program, he received a well-deserved promotion this off-season to become the team’s offensive coordinator and playcaller.

Ohio State Head Coach Ryan Day was asked about the move and had this to say, “I think he’s gonna do great. I think it’s a great opportunity for him. And looking forward to seeing how he does. That’s exciting for him. The timing isn’t great, but that’s not Brian’s fault; that’s other peoples’ fault. Hopefully, we can get some of this stuff addressed, but it’s like that for everybody in the country, so instead of being upset about it, we’re gonna embrace it.”

Ohio State General Manager Mark Pantoni also commented on the move, “Very happy for Hart. He deserves it. He’s done a tremendous job here as everybody knows, not only recruiting, coaching up these guys, developing, and now as offensive coordinator this season.”

Hartline has played a major role in Ohio State’s success at the wide receiver position for the past several seasons. His ability to recruit the top talent in the nation is a major loss for the Buckeyes and will be hard to replicate. Assistant Wide Receivers Coach Devin Jordan immediately emerges as an intriguing option to fill the vacancy, but questions at offensive coordinator still remain.