Buccaneers' star rookie wideout comments on new USF coach Brian Hartline

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a winning record and are set to try to close in on the NFC South in the coming days, where they'll play two home games in five days at Raymond James Stadium. They aren't the only team that plays in that stadium, though, and they aren't the only team looking to build sustained success in Tampa.

The University of South Florida Bulls also play at Ray J, and they recently came out of college football's crazy coaching carousel with a great hire in Ohio State Buckeyes offensive coordinator Brian Hartline. Hartline has coached some of the best wideouts in the NFL during their time at Ohio State, with one of them being Buccaneers rookie star Emeka Egbuka.

Egbuka was asked about his time learning under Hartline, and he had a lot of great things to say about USF's new head coach.

Emeka Egbuka speaks on new USF coach Brian Hartline

Ohio State Buckeyes offensive coordinator Brian Hartline laughs after hearing jeers as he walks onto the field prior to the NCAA football game | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Bucs WR Emeka Egbuka says new USF HC Brian Hartline is a perfectionist and that mentality is what drew him to Ohio State. “Good job’ isn’t what we want to hear.” The goal is much higher. pic.twitter.com/Ew0h53VlMw
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) December 4, 2025

Egbuka told reporters that Hartline thinks a lot like he does, and that his search for perfection allowed him to be a great player in college.

"I'd say mostly, what drew me there is that we're like-minded," Egbuka said about Hartline. "I think that's the same... for pretty much every wide receiver who goes [to Ohio State]. We're all perfectionists, so when we're in that film room and we're perfecting our craft, 'Good job' isn't really the thing we want to hear come out of his mouth, and he's kinda the same way."

Hartline certainly did well to develop Egbuka. Under Hartline's tutelage, Egbuka broke the Ohio State record for receptions and caught for an impressive 2,868 yards and 24 touchdowns on 205 receptions. Now, he's doing well in Tampa Bay, too, and so are some of his former teammates in Marvin Harrison Jr., Jaxon Smith-Njigba and more.

It's Hartline's attitude toward coaching, and his desire for improvement from everyone he coaches, that Egbuka singled out as a reason why Ohio State wideouts find so much success in the NFL.

"I think that's kinda been my mentality since I was growing up," Egbuka said. "And he shares the same token, so I think that's part of what makes the Ohio State receivers so special."

Egbuka will look to put those skills to good use when the Buccaneers face off against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday at 1 p.m.

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