Ohio State had the best receiving corps in the country in 2021, and the man leading it has earned some recognition.
Brian Hartline was been named the 2021 Wide Receivers Coach of the Year by Football Scoop on Wednesday after leading a group that includes two likely 2022 first-round picks and a record-breaking sophomore.
Under Hartline's leadership, Ohio State was just 64 yards from Chris Olave shy of becoming just the second Power Five program ever with three 1,000-yard receivers as Olave finished with 936, Garrett Wilson with 1,058 and Jaxon Smith-Njigba with a program-record 1,606 receiving yards.
Olave and Wilson entered the season as nearly the consensus top two returning receivers in the country – and they certainly lived up to the hype – but it was Smith-Njigba who led the room, breaking the single-season Ohio State records for receiving yards (1,606) and receptions (105) as well as the single-game receptions record for receptions (twice) with 15 catches and the single-game yardage record with 347 in the Rose Bowl.
Only Smith-Njigba will return next season, but Hartline has built one of the deepest receiving corps in the country with Marvin Harrison Jr. waiting in the wings as well as Julian Fleming and Emeka Egbuka – both the former No. 1 receivers in their respective high school classes.
Hartline earns the award over fellow finalists Kyle Cefalo of Utah State, Josh Crawford of Western Kentucky, Steve Spurrier, Jr. of Mississippi State, and Holmon Wiggins of Alabama. The award is voted on by the previous years' winners.
