Penn State 'Involved' With Bitter Big Ten Rival...

By Matt Audilet

Contributing Sports Writer

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Penn State is operating under interim head coach Terry Smith following the dismissal of now-former program leader James Franklin earlier this season.

Franklin has since landed a new coaching gig with the Virginia Tech Hokies, but the Nittany Lions are still on the hunt for the program's next head coach.

Several big-name head coaches have been floated as possible targets for Penn State, but the school is also reportedly "involved" with Ohio State Buckeyes offensive coordinator Brian Hartline.

"Others like Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline, [Vanderbilt's Clark] Lea and [Missouri's Eli] Drinkwitz have been involved. But there is a lot of unknown regarding what direction Penn State will actually go with its hire. Sources indicate that athletic director Pat Kraft has expressed pride in how quiet the search has been so far," Richard Johnson and Chris Hummer of CBS Sports reported on Wednesday.

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Hartline, a former Buckeyes wide receiver, has been with the Ohio State coaching staff since 2017. The wide receivers coach was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2023, and served as co-OC with Chip Kelly during the program's run to a national championship title last season.

Hartline is viewed as one of the best recruiters in college football, bringing in an embarrassment of riches at the wide receiver position for Ohio State over his time in Columbus. His recruiting prowess is attractive for a Penn State program that's losing a talented recruiter like Franklin.

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Hartline has been a rumored head coaching target for years. The rising talent addressed coaching rumors before the Buckeyes' national championship run last season.

"Being a head coach isn't really on my mind. I think that year-to-year, you'll always have windows where people reach out and want to speak to you about opportunities," Hartline said before the Rose Bowl. "I'm never in a situation where I'm never going to talk to someone or anything about an opportunity, but my focus is that I love being at Ohio State. It's well documented, and I see it as such."

Hartline and No. 1 Ohio State will close out their regular-season schedule with a highly-anticipated rivalry matchup against the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday.

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