Following the firing of Zach Smith on Monday, Ohio State named former Buckeye Brian Hartline its interim wide receivers coach on Thursday morning.
In addition to Hartline's promotion, Urban Meyer also promoted former graduate assistant Corey Dennis to senior quality control coach, working with the wide receivers and quarterbacks. Dennis, who has been with Ohio State since 2015, is also Meyer's son-in-law.
“As I said in Chicago, I am very confident with the individuals on this coaching staff and both Brian and Corey are quality young men,” Meyer said in a release. “I anticipate both of them doing well with their new responsibilities.”
Hartline, who played wide receiver at Ohio State from 2005-08, was brought onto Meyer's staff in 2017 as a quality control coach after his NFL career came to an end in 2016. He is the third former Ohio State player and former NFL player to be an assistant coach for the Buckeyes in Meyer’s tenure, following Mike Vrabel and Luke Fickell.
Hartline played seven seasons in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns, and is now the youngest position coach on Meyer's staff at age 31.
The Canton GlenOak product caught 90 career passes for 1,429 yards and 12 touchdowns as a Buckeye, and was drafted in the fourth round of the 2009 draft by the Dolphins. He posted back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons with the Dolphins in 2012-13 before appearing in 12 games with the Browns in 2015.
Dennis, who served as an intern at Ohio State in 2015 before becoming a graduate assistant for two seasons, played his college football at Georgia Tech, primarily as a special team specialist.
