Ohio State has reportedly found the replacement for Brian Hartline

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There is no time for mourning in big-time college football, especially at a place like Ohio State. Shortly after losing to Miami in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal Cotton Bowl, reports have surfaced that the Buckeyes have targeted former LSU wide receivers coach Cortez Hankton as the replacement for Brian Hartline at the same coaching post. Hankton is available because new Tigers head coach Lane Kiffin is expected to bring his own staff to Cajun country.

There’s still no word on what OSU will do at the offensive coordinator position, but that will likely come soon enough as well (our money is on Keenan Bailey in-house).

Hankton is well respected in the coaching community, having served as the receivers coach in Baton Rouge for the last four years. He was promoted to co-offensive coordinator in 2024. Hankton has helped develop some pretty good receivers in his time at LSU — most notably, two first-rounders from last year’s NFL draft — New York Giants receiver Malik Nabers and Jacksonville Jaguars wideout Brian Thomas.

Before getting into coaching, Hankton played receiver in the NFL from 2003 to 2008 with stops in Jacksonville, Minnesota, and Tampa Bay.

It’s going to be hard to replace Hartline, especially his recruiting prowess, but this is a step in the right direction. Ryan Day has historically made tweaks to the coaching staff when things finish on a disappointing note, so we’ll keep an eye on what this all means going forward, and especially what he decides to do with playcalling duties.

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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Ohio State has reportedly found its replacement for Brian Hartline

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