Ohio State is reportedly losing its offensive coordinator and play caller to South Florida.
Brian Hartline has agreed to a six-year contract as head coach at USF, Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde reported Wednesday.
Hartline will remain with the defending national champs through the 2025 playoff, according to Forde.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel and CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz and Chris Hummer first reported Hartline’s hiring.
USF lost former head coach Alex Golesh last week to the head coaching job at Auburn.
He is now set to be replaced by Hartline, who has been with Ohio State since 2017 and was promoted to OC after the Buckeyes’ 2024 championship season.
Ohio State, the top-seeded team in Tuesday’s penultimate College Football Playoff ranking, is currently preparing to take on No. 2 Indiana in the Big Ten championship game this Saturday.
Hartline’s departure could be a major blow to the Buckeyes’ recruitment and development of wide receiver talent.
Since taking over as wide receivers coach in 2018, Hartline has been credited with the recruitment and development of players including Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave.
The 2025 team features another star in Jeremiah Smith, who is one of nine wide receivers in the nation to have recorded more than 10 touchdown catches so far this season.
Smith shared a photo of himself and Hartline on social media shortly after the news broke of his OC’s impending departure.
The Buckeyes will hope to keep Hartline in the fold as the team makes another push for a national title this winter.
Something to keep an eye on, however, will be the Buckeyes’ 2026 recruiting class.
Ohio State is hoping to sign Chris Henry Jr., the top wide receiver prospect in the class as ranked by 247Sports, when the early signing period opens Wednesday.
It seems like Henry’s commitment to the Buckeyes might not be a done deal. The wide receiver posted a photo on his Instagram story Tuesday night of USC and Oregon hats side-by-side with Ohio State merch.
Ryan Day will now see if his remaining recruiting staff is strong enough to get Henry to sign with a team that won’t be featuring Hartline in 2026.
Hartline will meanwhile prepare to take over at a program looking to build on its first nine-win season since 2017.
That could start with helping the Bulls retain their top wide receivers in Keshaun Singleton, who recorded 877 receiving yards during his sophomore season, as well as freshman wideout Jeremiah Koger.
Keeping those two in Tampa will be the first step in helping the program build on what is shaping up to be three straight bowl game appearances.