The Rapid Rise of Brian Hartline: King of Wide Receiver U

Brian Hartline just watched his two draft eligible receivers get picked with the 10th and 11th picks in the 2022 NFL Draft. His ascension to the top is history in the making.

Adam Bloom | May 7th, 2022

Immediately after Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave were taken with the 10th and 11th picks in the 2022 NFL Draft, Ohio State wide receivers coach, Brian Hartline, tweeted “Just like Drake said…’we go back to back…’” Not much more than that needs to be said to explain just how insane what Hartline has been doing in Columbus is, but I need content and who doesn’t love talking about how awesome Brian Hartline is. Twitter was aflame following the consecutive picks of Garrett Wilson by the Jets and Chris Olave by the Saints, who traded up to get a second Buckeye receiver on their team. Immediately after Olave was selected, Jameson Williams was picked with the 12th pick by the Lions. While Williams was coming out of Alabama, he was recruited by Hartline, and spent two seasons at Ohio State where he was developed by Hartline, and was the Buckeyes’ 3rd leading receiver in 2020. Hartline retweeted a tweet about the 3 consecutive Hartline developed receivers saying “Moms, send your receivers to play for Brian Hartline.” The first round of the NFL draft was an insane recruiting pitch for wide receivers looking at Ohio State, and some of Hartline’s top targets in future classes took notice of both the players success, but also the role Hartline played in them reaching this point. Carnell Tate, a 4-star receiver in the 2023 class who is the 5th ranked receiver, currently has a crystal ball to Ohio State from Steve Wiltfong. After Hartline’s Drake tweet (“We go back to back”), Tate retweeted Hartline’s post, and tagged fellow 2023 recruit Brandon Inniss, a 5 star who is ranked as the top receiver in the 2023 class and has 2 Crystal Balls to the Buckeyes. Inniss took notice of the 3 consecutive picks by former Hartline receivers, tweeting “back to back to back.” Tate ended the night by retweeting Buckeye QB Kyle McCord, saying “the debate for wru is over,” and New Orleans DB Tyron Mathieu who said that Hartline deserves a head coaching job and is an impressive talent developer. Hartline remains humble though, despite the success he is seeing, he believes that it is ultimately the players who are responsible for their success, saying “players make plays. Not coaches.” Hartline’s success has been fantastic to watch for Buckeye fans. Looking forward, fans will be watching closely to see how Hartline follows the insane showing at this year's draft, and to see how long Ryan Day can keep Hartline at Ohio State.

Brian Hartline did not step on campus in Columbus for the first time as a coach. In fact, he played receiver for the Buckeyes from 2005-2008. He went on to spend seven seasons in the NFL with the Dolphins and Browns. He played 104 games at the pro level, and has been able to use these experiences to recruit and develop the best receivers in the country. Hartline was given the interim wide receivers coach position in 2018, and was soon promoted to the role permanently. What happened next was a revolution for the position at Ohio State, and some of the most impressive individual and team receiving performances Buckeye fans have ever seen. During the 2019 season, Hartline coached K.J. Hill who broke the program record for career receptions. Hill, along with Parris Campbell and Terry McLaurin all went pro and remain in the NFL to this day after being coached by Hartline. Hartline has coached a large handful of receivers at Ohio State who have passed 1,000 career receiving yards in their time in Columbus, including K.J. Hill, Paris Cambell, Terry McLaurin, Binjimen Victor, Johnnie Dixon, Austin Mack, Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. In both 2018 and 2019, Ohio State managed to have at least 4 receivers on their squad reach 1,000 receiving yards. Hartline has managed to develop almost every receiver that has come under his wing into a contributor for the Buckeyes. He has found the right situation for each season, whether it’s sharing the wealth on teams without a true star, focusing on a smaller group of pass-catchers when the room was top heavy, or somehow getting the ball in the hands of the three best receivers in the nation equally. It is truly amazing how Hartline has managed to turn any player that comes into his room into an impact player, and has helped players from super stars to players not known well outside of Columbus all make it into the NFL.

Hartline is an unbelievable recruiter in addition to his ability to develop players. He is responsible for two 5-star players in the 2020 class, including #1 overall receiver Julian Fleming and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. In 2021, he nabbed the top receiver in the class for a second consecutive year in Emeka Egbuka. In addition to Egbuka, Hartline got commitments from top 15 receivers Marvin Harrison Jr. and Jayden Ballard. In the class of 2022, Hartline has commitments from four 4 star receivers. While he only has one commitment from 3-star receiver Bryson Rodgers for the class of 2023, he is in prime position to grab the top talent in this class as well. He currently has crystal balls to Ohio State for the number 1 overall receiver in the 2023 class, Brandon Inniss. If Hartline were to land a commitment from Inniss, that would give him the number one overall receiver in 3 of the last 4 classes. That is out of this world insane. He also has crystal balls for 4-star receivers Carnell Tate and Noah Rogers. If the tweets from Tate and Inniss during the NFL draft are any indicator for how their recruitments might turn out, it is clear they are both massive fans of Hartline.

Many Buckeye fans are likely worried that this success will inevitably lead to Hartline getting job offers elsewhere as a coordinator or head coach. Whether that is something that he wants to go after is yet to be seen, but as of now, Hartline seems happy coaching up the best receivers in the country in Columbus. Ryan Day is well aware of Hartline’s rising stardom, and promoted him in January to passing game coordinator in addition to his role as the receivers’ coach. Day said “Brian is a dedicated Ohio State Buckeye. He is the top wide receivers coach in college football and he has continued to develop as an offensive coach to the point where we want him to have more of an impact on our offensive game plan.” The promotion comes at a great time, as many have reported that Notre Dame’s new head coach Marcus Freeman tried to poach his former Buckeye teammate to join his staff. Hartline clearly turned down this offer, and remains in Columbus for the time being. While the last season and draft have certainly boosted Hartline’s stock to its highest point ever, Hartline spoke very clearly of his love for his current situation in late 2021. “I pinch myself and can’t believe I’m the receivers coach at Ohio State. That’s pretty surreal to me more times than you probably think, and I don’t take it for granted,” said Hartline. “Ohio State is my home, I love it here and it’s a passion here. All I care about is this room, and that’s my main focus and my forever focus. I would be lying if I said I was thinking outside of that.” While Hartline made it clear that he loves where he is at, he did add that “I’m also not a person to sit here and tell you, ‘no, I’m never leaving Ohio State.’ I’m not saying I ever will: and you say, ‘go up the ladder.’ Like, go where? This is the pinnacle of the ladder…I don’t need the satisfaction of calling plays or whatever.” Hartline seems to believe that being the best receiver coach in the nation at Ohio State is a position that he is proud to be in, and not one he is eager to leave. “All I know is I love Ohio State,” said Hartline, “my wife is from here, we’ve lived here, I love my house. It would be really hard to leave. I don’t think that’s ever really in the books.” Brian Hartline seems content in his situation at Ohio State, where he has managed to become arguably the greatest position coach in the country, certainly the greatest wide receiver coach in the country, and has been able to help countless young men achieve their goals over his short-time in this position. Whether or not things change as his stock continues to rise remains to be seen, but for now, Buckeye fans can expect otherworldly production from the receiver position at Ohio State as long as Brian Hartline is in charge.

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