Former Ohio State offensive coordinator and wide receiver coach Brian Hartline reveals the things he looked for as Ohio State's WR coach.
Former Ohio State offensive coordinator and wide receiver coach Brian Hartline is quickly on the ascent in the college football coaching ranks.
All of it is to do with the way that he recruited and coached the Buckeyes' wide receiver room.
Since Hartline took over the job in 2018, year after year, he has produced first-round players. From Terry McLaurin to Garrett Wilson to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, to Emeka Egbuka, to Carnell Tate to Jeremiah Smith, every player that he coaches becomes something special in college and at the next level.
Because of his success, he is now getting his first opportunity to be a head coach at the University of South Florida. While he is no longer a Buckeye, he did reveal the important qualities that he recruits for the wide receiver position.
He joined Steve Smith and James Palmer on the 89 Show with Steve Smith. Palmer asked Hartline what his "non-negotiables" are when recruiting a player. After joking briefly about giving away the secret, Hartline listed out the following:
- Traits
- Mental Makeup
- Level of Compete
- Cerebral-ness
- Desire to be the best
It was really a simple formula for Hartline at Ohio State. If a receiver checked the boxes athletically, then he was on Hartline's board. From there, the real evaluation began.
Hartline commented at length about the necessity to have the proper mental makeup. To play for Hartline and to play at the next level, you can't just run fast and have great hands. There is a certain level of IQ that is required to be great, and it is a requirement to play for Hartline.
After that, a certain level of competition is required to be successful in college football and in the NFL. There is a desire to be the absolute best, and if you don't have that, Hartline doesn't have the time for you.
In the same vein as the level of competition, there needs to be a desire to be the best in the world. It doesn't end at just being the best in college; it extends to wanting to be the best at the next level, too.
If a player has all of those attributes then he is fit for Brian Hartline.
That's a small pool of players, one that the USF probably isn't fishing in. The only hope is that some of the Hartline magic either rubbed off on Ryan Day or that new wide receiver coach Cortez Hankton watched this podcast and took a couple of notes.
The standard in Columbus is to make sure that what Hartline built continues to be that norm. It is only the best, and the Buckeyes can't take a step back.
If they find that they are slipping, they need to take a page out of Hartline's book and go after the right players. It worked in the past.
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