Realistic Expectations for Ohio State’s Offense Without Brian Hartline

As the Ohio State Buckeyes football team prepares to embark on its 137th season, the stakes are as high as ever.

Coming off a disappointing quarterfinal exit in the College Football Playoff, the Buckeyes are not only betting favorites to win the Big Ten title in 2026, but also to win it all in the CFP’s third 12-team campaign, after conquering a National Championship in the first edition of the current format.

However, there will be some big changes for the Buckeyes staff, especially on offense, where Brian Hartline left to become head coach at South Florida, and will be replaced by Arthur Smith in the offensive coordinator role and Cortez Hankton as the program’s wide receivers coach.

So, what should we realistically expect from Ohio State’s offense in their first year without Hartline on the sidelines since 2016.

In all honesty, a better performance than last year. Even without Hartline in charge of the offense, the Buckeyes should strive in 2026, and here’s why:

The pedigree on the sidelines

Smith hasn’t worked at the college level since he was a defensive intern/administrative assistant back in 2010 at Ole Miss, but he’s been keeping himself busy. It’s not often that big-time programs get to add former NFL head coaches to their ranks as coordinators, and that’s just what the Buckeyes did with Smith, who led the Atlanta Falcons for three seasons, from 2021 to 2023. He also served as offensive coordinator for two years with the Tennessee Titans and two years with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

His most impressive calling card as a coach could be overseeing the resurgence of quarterback Ryan Tannehill in Tennessee, while in Atlanta, he led an impressive running offense spearheaded by Cordarelle Patterson, Tyler Allegier and Bijan Robinson.

Then, there’s Hankton, who might be the best possible replacement for Hartline in the wideout room. After all, he comes with a record of developing such high profile wideouts such as Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. at LSU, Ladd McConkey and George Pickens at Georgia.

As far as staff goes, Ohio State shouldn’t miss a beat.

The returning talent

The Buckeyes’ offense will return arguably the best player in all of college football in unanimous All-American wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who placed sixth in last year’s Heisman voting. He’ll be joined, among others, by the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, quarterback Julian Sayin, who happened to finish fourth in the Heisman voting; a former 5-star wideout in Brandon Inniss who should earn a draftable grade by season’s end; and a second-team All-Big Ten running back in Bo Jackson, a 1,000 yard rusher as a freshman last year.

Then, there’s also a first-team All-American in center Carlos Hinzman, a second-team All-Big Ten guard in Luke Montgomery and a second-team All-Big Ten tackle in Austin Sievereld, and a third-team All-Big Ten tackle in Phillip Daniels.

Sure, the team will miss first-rounder Carnell Tate at wideout, second-rounder Max Klare at tight end and undrafted running back C.J. Donaldson mostly, but it’s actually a better question to ask why the Buckeyes underperformed on offense during the second part of the season like they did last year.

The new blood

This is actually where things get exciting. Five-star wideout Chris Henry Jr. looks like a star already, and incoming transfers Kyle Parker and Devin McCuin round out the nation’s top wide receiver group.

Tight end Hunter Welcing, another transfer, will get a chance to contribute early, and the same goes for running back Ja’Kobi Jackson, also a transfer.

Even after watching Tate get picked fourth overall in last April’s draft, this year’s wide receiver group has the talent to be even better, depending on how fast Henry makes the transition to the college game.

The offensive line struggled mightily down the stretch, but another year together could do wonders for this group. That should translate into better protection for Sayin, and better running lanes for Bo Jackson, both breakout stars on last year’s team.

Last year, Ohio State averaged 30.6 points per game, but managed to score just 24 points over their last two contests, both postseason losses. Those games against Indiana and Miami are what Smith and head coach Ryan Day must be focusing on, as the offense looked pretty flat during both matches.

Yes, the much of the weight of the high expectations falls on Sayin’s shoulders, but he should be better equipped to deal with all of the pressure with a year under his belt, and will be surrounded by a better team this time around.

Add us as a preferred source on Google