Since Brian Hartline became Ohio State's wide receivers coach in 2018, he's rapidly established himself as one of the best wide receivers coaches in college football, and he's officially being recognized for it now.
Hartline was named Wednesday as one of 56 nominees for this year's Broyles Award, which honors college football's best assistant coach.
In his first two years as Ohio State's wide receivers coach, Hartline helped develop several receivers who have gone on to play in the NFL – including Terry McLaurin, Parris Campbell and K.J. Hill – and helped Hill become Ohio State's all-time receptions leader. This year, Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson – who have both been coached by Hartline for their entire Ohio State careers – have established themselves as two of the best wide receivers in college football.
Hartline has also emerged as a force on the recruiting trail, already signing a trio of five-star wide receivers in Wilson, Julian Fleming and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He earned 247Sports' National Recruiter of the Year award for the 2020 cycle after signing a class that included four top-100 receivers: Fleming, Smith-Njigba, Gee Scott Jr. and Mookie Cooper.
He already holds commitments from a pair of top-100 receivers for the class of 2021 in Jayden Ballard and Marvin Harrison Jr., and he's hoping to land another Friday, when five-star wide receiver Emeka Egbuka is set to announce his commitment. He's also already landed a commitment from five-star wide receiver Caleb Burton for the class of 2022.
Ohio State has two previous winners of the Broyles Award: Jim Heacock in 2007 and Tom Herman in 2014. Jeff Hafley was a Broyles Award finalist last year for his lone season as Ohio State's co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach.
