In his first media availability with Ohio State reporters since USF named him its next head coach, Brian Hartline didn’t want to discuss the Bulls — only the Buckeyes.
“You’re my favorite. I’m not talking about South Florida,” Hartline said after several questions about his future in the Sunshine State. “We’re focusing on the Buckeyes. Love the Buckeyes. It’s front of my mind.”
Earlier in the Q&A, Hartline had his most revealing comments about wearing multiple hats. His answer looked backward, not forward, as he reflected on the week leading up to Ohio State’s loss to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game.
“The organization was great. I think it was just about getting pulled — you know, not having enough hours in the day. If God would just have gave us 36 hours in a day, it would have been fine, but we didn’t have that,” Hartline said of the challenges that week posed. “It was tough. But I think that in the end, the early part of the week was tough, but the last 48 hours before the game was not tough. We were well organized. I think that we didn’t execute.”
Hartline ended that answer by expressing confidence in Ohio State’s operation for the College Football Playoff. Even after handing the play sheet to Ryan Day, Hartline said his role will be “not a whole lot different” in the postseason compared to the regular season.
“Coach kind of made some comments on making sure I’m good. He was trying to look after me. He was like, ‘You’ve done a really good job.’ Some of the guys are trying to step up a little more from a day-to-day standpoint, maybe a little bit, but not much has changed,” Hartline said. “I think that we want to do a great job of having an edge and maximizing the next three games. Everything we’re doing here is for that purpose.”
Hartline described Ohio State’s offensive game planning as “inclusive.”
“Everyone has ideas. We’ll shoot holes in those ideas and then, in the end, after ciphering through all of that stuff, you get the best outcome. That’s all that really is,” Hartline said. “A lot of things are on the board — a lot of things — but then to have that extra, I don’t know, two or three days of prep in the postseason that you don’t get in the (regular) season, some of your best stuff shows up in the last three days before the game. We’re working all the way until the foot hits the ball.”
“We’re focusing on the Buckeyes. Love the Buckeyes. It’s front of my mind.”– Brian Hartline on his mindset entering the Cotton Bow
Hartline said he and Day are still discussing whether he will be on the sideline or in the booth when the first kickoff occurs at the Cotton Bowl. Hartline prefers to be on the sidelines, where he stood for most of his first seven seasons as a full-time coach for the Buckeyes. Hartline called plays from the booth this season.
“We’re working on that,” Hartline said. “Ask coach about it, but me and Coach Day have talked, and we could change that. … I love being on the field. So again, not finalized. Coach Day can kind of answer all of that for you. But I love being on the field.”
Still, Hartline acknowledged the benefits of his time in the booth.
“I think we got better as the year went on, but I love being down there with those guys. But it was necessary,” Hartline said. “I think my first time being up there, calling it, like, to be able to stay organized and to be able to prep for the next series like that was really important. But I feel really good about it right now. And if we could have it my way, I would love to be on the field, but Coach Day hasn’t made a final decision.”
Regardless of where he ends up on game day, Hartline said he feels more confident in Ohio State’s operation now than at any point during his tenure.
“Coach Day just wants to make sure we have all hands on deck when it comes to this run, like we did last year. And so I think the clarity on how we’re going to operate has never been better. A lot of credit to Coach Day for that,” Hartline said.
Hartline also wants to see his wide receivers heavily involved in the Miami game — and that includes the red zone.
“We should always have the wide receivers out there,” Hartline said with a smile. “But, you know, I think we’re trying to, it’s not about what we want to do. We want to put (the receivers) in, stretch out the defense. I think we do everything with a purpose. Everyone’s got opinions. When we get into the red zone and we have opportunities that our tight ends, some of our tight ends are mismatches, and so you want to use those guys in those ways. But I love when the wideouts are out there. So I’ll just, I’ll stick to that.”
