Brian Hartline recalls how he got into coaching at Ohio State

Chandler Vesselsby:Chandler Vessels•02/08/23•

ChandlerVessels

It’s been a steady rise up the ranks for Brian Hartline at Ohio State. The former Buckeyes receiver joined the staff in 2017 as an offensive quality control assistant before being promoted to receivers coach the following season.

Hartline remained in that role until this offseason when he received another promotion to become offensive coordinator. He will keep his role as the receivers coach. As he reflected on his six-year journey to reach that point, he revealed how he got into coaching. It’s not the answer you might think.

“My brother was here,” he said. “I kind of got in the building and I happened to stay in the building. There wasn’t a plan to coach. It kind of happened. I didn’t have much going on in the spring of 2017 when I was living in town. Then I just never left.”

Hartline’s brother Mike left in 2016 to join the staff at Cincinnati, so the pair never got a chance to coach together. Brian Hartline went on to enjoy a wildly successful next six seasons with Ohio State, helping it to three College Football Playoff appearances over that span.

He has worked with NFL talents with Marvin Harrison Jr, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, and Jameson Williams being just a few of the players who he’s recruited. The latter three were all first-round NFL draft picks, while Smith-Njigba is projected to go in the first of the 2023 draft. Harrison led the Buckeyes with 77 catches for 1,263 yards and 14 touchdowns and will return in 2023.

Brian Hartline is an Ohio State guy through and through. A Canton native, Hartline played wide receiver for the Buckeyes under Jim Tressel before moving onto the NFL. Most of that NFL career was spent with Miami, before he came back for a season with Cleveland as well.

The Buckeyes have ranked among the top three teams in scoring offense in three of the past four seasons. As Hartline takes over the play calling duties, he will hope to keep the team among the best in the country as he has with the receivers room the past six years.