COLUMBUS — Ohio State wide receiver coach Brian Hartline met with the media as a part of the wide receiver media day on Wednesday evening. Hartline talked about captain Kamryn Babb, the freshman receivers, C.J. Stroud at quarterback, and the rest of the Buckeye offense.
Here are the highlights of what was said.
Brian Hartline
+ Kamryn Babb being named a captain speaks volumes about the man he is. His work ethic is “off the charts.” He has made an impact. “People idolize how he lives.” He is a consistent man that operates at a high level academically, spiritually, and socially.
+ On Chris Olave’s improvement, Hartline said Olave’s body of work is confirmation. “If you go through and try to figure out what he can’t do — you don’t really have a list.” He isn’t doing anything that he hasn’t already been doing in practice, but he is doing it more consistently.
+ Name, Image and Likeness has been awesome. “My group is so mature.” He thinks they have a mindset of taking the best opportunities, quality over quantity.
+ On Julian Fleming, “he just runs around like a freight train.” He is making an impact across the board. Him cleaning up his shoulder [surgery] and playing healthy for the first time in a few years has been awesome. He is gaining momentum.
+ On Garrett Wilson’s experience playing both outside and in the slot, Hartline said he doesn’t want his receivers to be pigeon-holed into a certain spot. All of his receivers are “receivers.”
+ The three freshman receivers have continued to grow. “Everyone has grown exponentially over the last few months.” The conversations are not day one conversations.
+ Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s dominant presence in the run game blocking through spring has been really good. He also does a good job spatially.
+ “We’re pretty darn close to being game ready if you ask me.”
+ The most impressive thing about C.J. Stroud has been his poise. He is calm and mature. “C.J. has absolutely elevated our game and we are a better room because of him playing quarterback.”
+ On the tactical side of Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, Hartline said they are operating on a “1 percent basis.”
+ “The closer you are to the ball, the more important the position is.”