Ohio State interviews surprising candidate to potentially replace Brian Hartline

Ohio State will lose its wide receivers coach at the end of the season, as he heads to USF to become head coach of the Bulls.

Jan 1, 2024; Tampa, FL, USA; LSU Tigers wide receivers coach Cortez Hankton, tight end Ka'Morreun Pimpton (88), and wide receiver Aaron Anderson (1) run onto the field before the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

As the Ohio State Buckeyes gear up for the College Football Playoff with a chance to repeat as National Champions for the first time in school history as their main priority on the agenda, the program is also looking ahead to how head coach Ryan Day’s staff might look in 2026.

After all, the most impactful loss for the Buckeyes when the new season comes won’t be a player on the field, but rather it’s offensive coordinator and wide receiver coach Brian Hartline leaving Columbus to take the reins of the USF Bulls as their head coach.

According to ESPN 104.5 Baton Rouge, Ohio State has interviewed LSU Tigers’ wide receiver coach Cortez Hankton for a role on Day’s staff. News of Hankton looking proactively for a new job comes on the heels of LSU hiring head coach Lane Kiffin away from Ole Miss, and Kiffin taking his wide receiver coach from the Rebels’ staff, George McDonald, with him to Baton Rouge.

Hankton arrived at LSU in 2022, serving for two seasons as pass game coordinator and wide receivers coach, before changing titles to co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach in 2024, and adding the interim running backs coach label in 2025. Before that, he spent four years at Georgia as wide receivers coach and added the title of pass game coordinator for the last three.

Hankton started his coaching career at Dartmouth in 2012 as wide receivers coach, and moved on to Vanderbilt in 2015. During his career, he’s coached big name players like Mecole Hardman, Riley Ridley, George Pickens, Ladd McConkey, Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr.

Hankton experience with elite level wideouts could make him a perfect fit as a successor for Hartline, who helped develop stars such as Terry McLaurin, Parris Campbell, Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka, Carnell Tate and of course Jeremiah Smith, who’ll return with the Buckeyes next year.

Ohio State has a very well earned reputation as “Wide Receiver U”, tracing back to names like Paul Warfield, Cris Carter, Joey Galloway, Terry Glenn, David Boston or Michael Thomas, just to name the tip of the iceberg. LSU has contended for the title of “Wide Receiver U” with a more recent but also impressive array of names, from Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry, to Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase. For Hankton, as a wide receivers coach, going from Baton Rouge to Columbus seems like a once in a lifetime opportunity.

The truth of the matter is that Ohio State would be hard pressed to find any position coach with a better resumé than Hankton, outside of the man he could be replacing, Hartline. If Hankton eventually lands the job, Ohio State could be lucking out after losing such a critical piece to the program. While surpassing the success that Hartline enjoyed in Columbus might be a tall order, Hankton certainly seems like a man with the potential to come close, at the very least.