Ohio State assistant Brian Hartline to call offensive plays in spring

© File photo Ohio State assistant Brian Hartline to call offensive plays in spring

Many Ohio State fans clamored for Buckeye head coach Ryan Day to give up playcalling duties when the team struggled against Michigan. After all, it’s hard enough to be the head coach of a big-time college football powerhouse with all the irons in the fire without having to also call plays on game days.

That cooled a little with Ryan Day’s masterclass playcalling in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl against Georgia, but it’s still hard to juggle playcalling with all the other balls in the air. And yeah, apparently, it was something Ryan Day had been thinking about on his own because there were indeed rumblings Day was considering giving up the offensive playcalling.

Day echoed that on Wednesday when providing an offseason update for reporters.

“During the offseason, it’s no problem at all,” Day said. “Beginning of the season, it’s pretty good. As we get to the middle — end of the season — I feel like there are times where I have to manage my time a little better and make sure as a head coach there’s enough presence going around the building.

“So I’m trying to figure out how to best remedy that and make sure that I’m evaluating myself as the head coach the right way.”

It might not be the best timing though because former offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson left the program to become a head coach again, so it leaves a bit of a void. That was closed up by promoting assistant coach Brian Hartline to offensive coordinator, but he lacks experience as a play caller.

That’s not to say Hartline won’t excel in the role if given the chance, but there’s no doubt he’s unproven. It’s something both Day and Hartline both will have to figure out — together.

To start that process, Day told members of the media on Wednesday that Harline will call plays during spring practice and they’ll evaluate things during the process, and especially as fall rolls around.

“We’ll come up for air at the end of spring and figure out what that dynamic looks like going into the preseason and the season,” Day said. “We won’t decide any of that now, but will certainly give him an opportunity to call it this spring.”

At some point, all great play callers had to be pushed out of the nest and it can be hard to know when they are ready. Day said even the best of them have to skin their knees up a little and try to improve.

“When are you really ready to call plays? I don’t know,” Day said. “When are you ready to be a parent? When are you ready to buy your first house? But you figure it out, you make mistakes and you learn. Now it’s time to really have an opportunity this spring and hopefully in the preseason to do those type of things.”

It’s a big responsibility and you can bet both Day and Hartline will have to be in lock-step in communication and feedback as they go through the process. One thing’s for sure; if Hartline is anywhere near as good of a play caller as he is a recruiter and developer of talent, the sky is the limit.

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