Beloved Ohio State assistant emerges as surprise dark horse for Penn State HC job

The race is on for Penn State to find a replacement for James Franklin and locate the right head coach to take the football program into the future, and a surprise dark horse candidate has suddenly entered the fray from among the school’s Big Ten rivals.

Ohio State offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Brian Hartline is currently listed as the third-most likely person to become the next head coach at Penn State, according to the prediction market Kalshi.

What the markets are saying

Hartline places third among the candidates with an outlier 8 percent chance, but has seen his odds increase in recent days as bettors take an interest in his candidacy.

While the prospect that Hartline leaves Ohio State, his alma mater, for any position, much less one of the school’s principal rivals, seems more unlikely than not as the Buckeyes made a run for the playoff this year, he has the kind of pedigree that would arouse interest.

Hartline has built a reputation

Since joining the Buckeyes back in 2017 as an offensive quality control assistant, Hartline has emerged as one of the most respected and successful young assistants in college football, and one of its most proven recruiters.

Named the National Recruiter of the Year by 247Sports, Hartline has held roles in coordinating Ohio State’s passing game and in developing offensive players, mostly at the wide receiver position.

Chris Olave, Marvin Harrison, Jr., Garrett Wilson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Emeka Egbuka are some of the names who Hartline has helped recruit to Ohio State and develop into NFL Draft selections.

Jeremiah Smith, considered the best wide receiver in the country this year, is another, as are Carnell Tate and Brandon Inniss, the core of an Ohio State passing offense that ranks among the top 20 nationally and is fourth in receiving touchdowns this season.

Is Hartline a realistic candidate?

Seriously speaking, almost certainly not.

Hartline is very deeply rooted at his alma mater, where he has built a strong reputation and talent pipeline and an elite recruiter and positional coach.

Leaving a very stable, upward-trending role inside a major program for a rival would be a major career leap, but one that feels too risky given his lack of prior head coaching experience.

Penn State is far more likely to target a proven program leader rather than a first-time head coach yet to turn 40 who is still in the very early stages of his ascent.

Who else could Penn State target?

As to the other contenders in line for the Penn State head coaching vacancy, one current SEC coach and another from the ACC lead the way.

Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz still tops the leader board at 36 percent, while Georgia Tech coach Brent Key places second at 16 percent.

Former New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll has also emerged as a candidate for the role after it was revealed that the school had interest in him, and some former PSU players have given him a vote of confidence.

All odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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