Brian Hartline gets real honest on his decision to leave the Ohio State Buckeyes for South Florida to be a head coach for the first time
Brian Hartline opened up on his decision to leave Columbus and the Buckeyes to be the head coach at USF.
The biggest question mark on the coaching staff this season was replacing Brian Hartline as the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach. Ohio State did that by bringing in Arthur Smith from the NFL to call plays and Cortez Hankton from LSU to coach wide receiver.
Hartline’s decision to leave Columbus wasn’t surprising at all. His decision to take the job as the head coach at South Florida was a surprise. He recently opened up about his decision to leave for USF with On3’s Andy and Ari.
Brian Hartline opens up about leaving Columbus for South Florida
“Ultimately, it’s still a hunch in the end, right? There is still a gut call at one point. But for me, there are a couple of things, frankly,” Hartline said. “My ultimate vision of being able to win consistently, chase championships wherever I’m on—that was very important. And so it felt like here at USF, and frankly, probably at a higher level than it’s been.”
Location was a big factor for Hartline in his decision to go to South Florida. There is a recruiting hotbed right there in Florida. Current players on the Ohio State roster, like Jeremiah Smith, Brandon Inniss, and Kenyatta Jackson, are all Florida talents.
In an era where NIL money is a big factor in recruiting, Hartline will have a chance to compete if the Bulls can spend some cash each year on the recruiting trail and in the transfer portal.
“Your resources are really important in place, the right kind. Having resources [to] match expectations, right, is really important,” Hartline said. “I think the state of Florida is one of the best, if not the best state in the US, as far as high school football.”
Brian Hartline’s development at Ohio State was impressive, and it’s easy to see him being successful at USF
Hartline finished up a six-year NFL career in 2015 and joined the Buckeyes in 2017 as an offensive quality control assistant. By 2018, Urban Meyer had made Hartline the wide receivers coach, and he quickly became the best in college football.
Hartline was the offensive coordinator in 2023 while Ryan Day called plays, then he was co-offensive coordinator to Chip Kelly in 2024. The 2025 season was Hartline’s first year calling plays, and it was an up-and-down year for the Buckeyes with him in that role.
Ohio State lost two players to the transfer portal who decided to follow Hartline to USF, in WR Bryson Rodgers and EDGE C.J. Hicks.
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