Brian Hartline drops perfect quote on decision to stay at Ohio State through the College Football Playoff that shows his true character
Brian Hartline got honest about his big decision to stick with the Buckeyes through the most important stretch of the season.
Last week was a real whirlwind for the Ohio State Buckeyes with everything that went on, including a 13-10 loss to the Indiana Hoosiers in the Big Ten Championship. National Signing Day and the loss of offensive coordinator Brian Hartline to his first head coaching job at South Florida to take over for Alex Golden, who is now with the Auburn Tigers.
Hartline has admitted that last week was a lot to deal with and out on the field against Indiana the Buckeyes looked like a team that wasn’t 100 percent focused. Ohio State fluttered in the red zone too much against Indiana and as a result, they scored just 10 points. Fortunately for the Buckeyes, they’re still the No. 2 seed heading into the College Football Playoff.
Brian Hartline gets honest on his decision to stick with Ohio State through the College Football Playoff
“I just think it’s the right thing to do. I think that sometimes we get caught up in this me, me, me world and not understanding that these athletes are literally living their dream,” Hartline said recently on The Jim Rome Show. “They got three to five years to accomplish something that they can never accomplish again. So for me to be selfishly just take off at the end of the season, which I am fully invested in these young men.
“It was already hard enough to tell them that I was leaving. I couldn’t even fathom that. I don’t know how guys can do that, I don’t know how coaches can do that. But I’m not and I’m going to do a good job of balancing both.”
Ohio State wide receivers Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate, and Brandon Inniss are the obvious starters for Ohio State that Hartline recruited to Columbus and has developed. But as the offensive coordinator, Hartline has gotten to know the entire offense from QB Julian Sayin through the offensive line. He believes that just jumping ship at the most crucial time of the year would be the wrong thing to do, and that’s not what he’s about in this situation.
Brian Hartline’s final run with the Buckeyes is approaching
Once Ohio State’s run in the CFP wraps up, Hartline will uproot his family to make the move to Florida. The hope around Buckeye Nation is that he’s with the team three more games, which means the Buckeyes would have played for a national championship. The former Buckeye star has been a coach with the program since 2017 and his climb to this point is as impressive as it gets.
Hartline and the Buckeyes just dropped one goal by losing the Big Ten Championship and two straight losses would be a tough way for the Ohio State assistant to go out. The Buckeyes will get their crack at either Miami or Texas A&M on New Year’s Eve looking to get back on track.
Ohio State Buckeyes News
Ohio State football loses key in-state recruiting battle to major program days after Big Ten Championship loss to Indiana
Ohio State just lost one of the top players from the Buckeye state to Notre Dame.
