The most accomplished position coach in college football is no longer eligible for that title. Ohio State offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach Brian Hartline is expected to be named the head coach at South Florida, sources confirmed to FootballScoop on Wednesday. CBS Sports first reported the news.
Hartline replaces Alex Golesh, who turned a 23-15 run over the past three seasons into the Auburn job.
South Florida is viewed as one of the best jobs in the Group of 5. In addition to its Tampa, Fla., location, industry sources believed South Florida to be at or near the top in roster spending this season, and the school is in the process of building a new on-campus stadium.
An Ohio State wide receiver himself from 2005-08, Hartline was a fourth-round pick who lasted seven years in the NFL. He returned to Ohio State in 2017 as a quality control assistant and was promoted to wide receivers coach ahead of the 2018 season as part of the Zach Smith scandal. That trade was a profitable one for Ohio State.
In eight seasons running Ohio State’s wide receivers room, Hartline turned it into the best position group in the country. He recruited and/or developed Parris Campbell, Terry McLaurin, KJ Hill, Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Jameson Williams, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Marvin Harrison, Jr., Emeka Egbuka, and, eventually, Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate and Brandon Innis into becoming draft picks. Harrison won the Biletnikoff Award as the top receiver in college football and became the first two-time All-American receiver in program history, Olave set the school record for career touchdown catches, Smith-Njigba set the school record for single-game catches and yards, and the list goes on and on. Smith is generally regarded as the best overall player in college football with one year still to play, and Tate is expected to be a first-round pick this spring. Five-star Chris Henry, Jr., is expected to sign later today.
Prior winners chose Hartline as the FootballScoop Wide Receivers Coach of the Year in 2021 and, frankly, he could win the award every single year.
Overall, Hartline’s impact can best be summarized with this: with him in scarlet and gray, Ohio State is 147-19 with nine Big Ten championships, one national championship and 12 AP top-10 finishes (and counting).
If Hartline brings 40 percent of that success with him to his first head coaching role, South Florida will have made an outstanding hire.
