Ohio State WR Brian Hartline

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Hartline has been having a pretty good sophomore season so far. After seven games he has 26 catches for 319 yards (12.3 ypc), 4 receiving TDs (1 each in the last 3 games), and a 90 punt return for a TD (OSU school record). I'd say this is pretty spectacular considering how good a receiver Brian Robiskie is, who pretty much always gets the first look. If Hartline finishes out strong, and has two more even better seasons, anyone think he can be a first round pick in 2010? Here's the pic of the punt return:

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Colonel_Reb

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Yep, we have a crack research/scouting team here at CF. Some of the guys we've identified have become stars and others have been repressed to this point.
 
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My bad backrow, all I did was look back several pages to about year ago, and figured there wasn't a topic started. I should have used the search function and made my post under that. Should I remake my post under the old topic or just leave it?
 

backrow

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Electric Slide said:
My bad backrow, all I did was look back several pages to about year ago, and figured there wasn't a topic started. I should have used the search function and made my post under that. Should I remake my post under the old topic or just leave it?

haha, leave it as it is, i think. the other topic was long forgotten. search function is useful though, since it helps to avoid the cluster.
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whiteCB

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Electric Slide said:
Okay yeah I'll just leave it then. BTW, here's the clip of Hartline's return:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqTprnKfvZI&NR=1

It was just a great return that could not have been accomplished if not for great speed by the returner. People are finally starting to warm up to Hartline even if their ingrained beliefs of white guys aren't that fast say otherwise.
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This wasn't the most well written article, but at least it pretty much avoided the typical stereotypes of white athletes. I'm glad to see Hartline is starting to get some decent props.

Hartline stepping up big for Buckeyes
Joel Renner
Issue date: 11/14/07 Section: Sports

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Joel Renner/The Lantern
Wide Receiver Brian Hartline motions for the crowd to get louder during a game against Wisconsin.

Marcus Thigpen, Indiana's sophomore kick returner, gazed into the bright blue sky awaiting the kick. He cradled the football at the two-yard line and dashed up the field, but as he crossed the 20-yard-line, he was violently blindsided by what turned out to be the Jack Tatum Hit of the Week.

Until week eight of the 2006 season, not many people knew who Brian Hartline was or what kind of football career he would have at Ohio State. That bone-crushing hit knocked Thigpen - one of the Big Ten's best kick returners - out of the game and foreshadowed the following three quarters of the 44-3 romp.

After spending his freshman season as a leader on special teams, Hartline has emerged as a star wide receiver and punt returner as the Buckeyes (10-1) are making a run for a third straight Big Ten championship.

"We saw Hartline put in a lot of hard work and catch a lot of balls in February and March," OSU fullback Dionte Johnson said. "All of that has paid off and we have guys like that who stretch the field and make it easy to run the ball."

The famous hit wouldn't be the last time a special team's play by Hartline ignited a rout. He raced a punt down the sideline for a school-record 90 yards early in the second quarter this season against Kent State, breaking Robert Demmel's previous record of an 87-yard return in 1950 against Iowa. Hartline also had a 14-yard touchdown catch later in the 48-3 blowout.

Coach Jim Tressel is using the Canton GlenOak product to fill the void of Ted Ginn Jr. as a returner and Anthony Gonzalez in the slot position. Even though their talent is missed, Hartline has emerged as a vocal leader and is mature enough to lead the team after a heartbreaking loss.

"It isn't that difficult for me," Hartline said. "What we need to do now is watch film, close a chapter and move on. We have a big game coming up and we need to move forward."

Few people can discuss the Buckeye wide receiver without mentioning his effort.

Sophomore safety Anderson Russell said he usually covers the slot position during practice and feels Hartline is a special talent.

"He's a real quick guy who works hard and definitely gets you prepared for a game," Russell said.

Hartline currently ranks second on the team with 45 receptions for 610 yards (13.6 avg.) and five touchdowns. Replacing arguably the most prolific returner ever at OSU (Ginn Jr.), Hartline returned 17 punts for 209 yards and averages nearly 13 yards per return.

Kicker Ryan Pretorius said he feels Hartline has made the kicking game more consistent because of his big plays.

"Making catches and getting first downs helps me a lot," Pretorius said. "Brian has taken a lot of pressure off my shoulders with the big plays he has made. It helps me to know I don't have to kick those long field goals. The closer I am, the more chance I have of forcing it through the uprights."

Hartline injured his knee in the season opener of his senior year in high school and missed the remainder of the football season, but Tressel had enough confidence to stick with the speedy star. He capped off his high school career at GlenOak with state track titles in both the 110-meter and the 300-meter hurdles.

After being red shirted in 2005, Hartline played in all 13 games last season and finished fourth on the team with 17 receptions for 256 yards behind three players lost to the NFL draft - Ginn Jr., Gonzalez and Roy Hall. Hartline remains an under-the-radar receiver and will only improve with experience.

A win Saturday will extend Tressel's record to 6-1 in the rivalry and the OSU seniors will never have experienced a loss against Michigan. If the rest of the Buckeyes are anything like Hartline, OSU will be back in the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1997. Michigan's offense has the ability to put up high offensive stats, but OSU's offense is ready to step up to the challenge if the defense struggles.

"I told everybody to stay calm," Hartline said in the huddle after Wisconsin took a 17-10 lead in the third quarter during OSU's 38-17 victory on Nov. 3. "When our defense gets in a dog fight, I have their back. Trying games are a part of growing and maturing."

A fourth straight victory against Michigan could heal some of the pain of last week's loss and also tie OSU's longest win-streak versus Michigan.

"We realize that every game against this team is going to be difficult," Hartline said. "The game is important as it always is. It doesn't matter if we have won three in a row. Michigan has even more of a reason to want to beat us and we have to play our best game."

Joel Renner can be reached at renner.79@osu.edu.
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whiteCB

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I really like Hartline as a player but after talking to one of Brian's high school classmates I feel different about him off the field. This person who graduated high school with Hartline was telling me he was a pretty big duschebag who thought his you know what didn't stink. Sounds like a pretty cocky guy but hey a lot of these football players are.
 
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whiteCB, I wouldn't put to much into what your friend said. On my team guys think other guys are d-bags, a-holes, cocky, know-it-alls, weird, etc. But when it comes down to it in competition everyone is there for each other. If Hartline was accused of despicable acts that'd be one thing, but the reputation he had with high school classmates doesn't really bother me. There are people who I think are outstanding individuals that other people think are jerks. I'm giving Hartline the benefit of the doubt in this situation, unless there's something compelling that would lead me to think otherwise.
 

celticdb15

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Well im thinkin maybe we need more cocky guys to help break down the caste system. anyone agree?
 

jared

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True that. Some more McGuffies and Sehorns could definitely help break the trend.
 

jaxvid

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Hartline got run down after catching a long pass on the first play from scrimmage last week. That pissed me off. Plays to sterotypes for people watching. He should have taken that one to the house.
 

Stonewall

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Electric Slide, thanks for posting the Hartline article. The only receiver that I ever hear about from the east coast media on Ohio State is Robiskie. Hartline looks to be more explosive than the last white receiver from OSU to be given a chance to play in the NFL, Brian Stablein. I remember Stablein gettingvery little attention from the national media despitedemonstrating excellent receiving skills as a Buckeye. Stablein playedbriefly for theIndianapolis Colts, he was in the end zoneandone of the receivers in the vicinity of Jim Harbaugh'sHail Mary attempt on the last play of the 1994 AFC Championship Game versus San Diego. Stablein was one of many white receivers in the 1990s whodidn't get a fair shake in theNFL.


As was mentioned in the Hartline article, I'm definitely noticing that more and more white players (Hartline, Sharp, McGuffie, Kevin Curtis) have strong track backgrounds. This is worth examining moving forward. Whites are told pretty much from birth that they are slow and clumsy and will never be capable of being able to sprint with blacks. I know that in my high school (which was 95 percent white), we would play football in the fall and baseball in the spring. Our fastest athletes never ran indoor track during the winter. A few guys played basketball, but most of us prepared for baseball indoors (batting cages, etc). Looking back, I can really see how the caste system led our best athletes to pursue baseball. Four of the guys I played with played in the minor leagues, only one guy played Division I football (as a walk-on).


Back to my point, I feel that as more and more young white athletes run track in combination with football, we will continue to see a greater number of whites as starting tailbacks at high levels. We are already seeing white track stars excel in football. This is only the beginning.
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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jaxvid said:
Hartline got run down after catching a long pass on the first play from scrimmage last week. That pissed me off. Plays to sterotypes for people watching. He should have taken that one to the house.

c'mon, jaxvid! he had to come to a complete stop to catch that ball! meanwhile, the safety who had the angle on him was running full tilt. it's no shame to get caught like that.
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edited to add: as for the cockiness notion, i'd prefer a guy who believed in himself over a soft player any day. of course this can be taken too far sometimes, but anything can be. give me the guy who feels he has to whip someone's ass on the field, and i'll show you a guy who will help my team win.Edited by: Jimmy Chitwood
 

backrow

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Stonewall said:
Hartline looks to be more explosive than the last white receiver from OSU to be given a chance to play in the NFL, Brian Stablein.

Anthony Gonzalez is the latest OSU white receiver that was given a shot in the NFL...
 

backrow

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he is going to declare for 2009 draft. no wonder, with next great black hope at QB it's the right thing to do.
 

whiteCB

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I wish Shipley would stop being an idiot and follow in Hartline's steps. Brian made a VERY wise move in leaving The OSU for greener pastures as there would be no way Pryor would help him elevate his draft stock> Pryor would only diminish it.
 

Mike

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Shipley should stay; he has much more to gain, especially with QC leaving for the NFL and McCoy (his roomate and best friend) staying.
 
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Yeah it seems like it would be good for Shipley to stay since McCoy will be there too. I like the move for Hartline though, there will be just too many designed running plays for Pryor. It's too bad that Sanzenbacher will have his last two years with Pryor. There is the possibility though that Pryor will start throwing more to increase his draft potential for the NFL. Also with Wells leaving the running plays for the new RB might go down too.

As far as OSU's receivers go, next year there is a real possibility that Sanzenbacher and Jake Stoneburner (who redshirted this year) could be the starting WRs. So there is some good news out of all this.
 
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