Q&A with Miami Dolphins' fourth-round pick WR Brian Hartline
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
April 26, 2009
(On if he is happy to be reunited with former Buckeye teammate Ted Ginn) "Cannot wait. Ted and I have the same agent, so I have to call him and get Ted's number and we're going to start chatting. He better get his coaching shoes ready because I'm going to need help, but it's going to be a lot of fun."
(On if he thinks he can take Ginn's starting job) "I don't know, I'm definitely going to push him and make him better. We ran track together all through high school, me, and his dad, and his family, we are all family friends. We were always battling for the state hurdling title, so it's going to be a lot of fun. I can't wait, I'm ecstatic right now."
(On who won the races between himself and Ginn in high school) "They were close, but he did. He had two years on me - a freshman battling with a junior Ted Ginn - it was pretty difficult, but it was a lot of fun. I love working with the guy."
(On how much he has talked with Ginn prior to today) "I haven't even talked to him actually. Just Ted Ginn Sr., I haven't talked to Teddy (Jr.) at all."
(On what he thinks his biggest hurdle will be transitioning to the NFL) "At this point I think it's probably the playbook from my standpoint. I'm a guy that loves to learn, a guy that loves to be challenged, so that's not going to be much of an issue. But at this point, I don't know, I can't wait to get in and find out, and hope I can start nailing down those difficult hurdles, then we will start crossing them. So at this point I am not really 100 percent sure."
(On what his best attributes are that he can offer an NFL team) "I think probably the biggest thing that I like to think of is, I'm just super competitive and I hate to lose. I'm a hard worker, no one is ever going to out-work me. I'm a guy that is going to do anything for our team to win. I'll do whatever the coaches ask me to do. There are intangibles that I bring, but also getting into the end zone, it's a good compliment."
(On if he considers himself a good special teams player) "Yeah, I love it. I'm a guy who loves it, personally, probably my favorite. I do returns, I think I'm great in kickoff coverage. I like cracking heads, it's a lot of fun, and hopefully I can do that for Miami. I hope I get that opportunity, and I am excited to do it."
(On when the Dolphins first showed interest in him during the draft process, and if he saw them at any of the post-season bowl games) "I did. I would see them around. I'm an underclassmen, obviously, so once I declared it picked up speed. And I had workouts with them, went to dinner. It's a great match, I love the offense, and everyone that's a part of it. I'm excited to work for the coaches. It was a lot of fun, he came in and did a lot of film work, kind of quizzing me. I can't wait to work with the coaches. My heart is beating out of my chest right now, I am so excited and I can't wait to get down there."
(On whom from the Dolphins worked with him on film) "Yeah, from receiver coach all the way up to GM. Everyone came in, it was a group of us in the room, they had everybody down. Again, the coaching staff, and the ownership, and how they run their business its second to none. You can tell that just by talking with them, and getting to know them, who they work with, you can just tell that they are a 'five-star.' Without a doubt, it's going to be really exciting to go to such a great family and team. It's an ideal in my shoes, so I can't wait to get down there."
(On what NFL player his style most resembles) "I would say Anthony Gonzalez from Indianapolis. He's an Ohio State guy too, followed him up through the ranks. He's always been my mentor, always called him. I like what he does, I like what he brings to the table. But again, I think I'm my own player, I think I do other things, like playing inside the slot, playing outside. A lot of guys don't do that, and that's definitely something that I really like about my game and what I like to do. But you never know. I don't know what Miami has in mind, but whatever they have in mind I'll make sure I get the job done. I'd say probably closest to 'Gonzo' (Anthony Gonzalez), a local Ohio State guy."
(On how often he saw press coverage at Ohio State and how he fared against it) "It was not played as much as you would see in the SEC, or in other places, especially being a slot guy sometimes. Unless they are in nickel, they are not going to roll their [line]backers out there and try and press you, and so a lot of times there was not a whole lot of press in the slot. But again, press is more a mental thing I think, it's more 'me against you,' and I'm going to beat you. Press coverage has never been a worry of mine, I didn't see a ton of it, but I'm sure I will see more of it in the future."
(On if he matched up with (Dolphins 2009 first round pick) Vontae Davis in college when he played Illinois) "I saw him over at Illinois. Not a ton, not a ton. Again I was in the slot, sometimes I would see him on the outside, but as far as press coverage I didn't see anything from Vontae in particular. I know he's a good player and I wish him the best of luck too."
(On why he decided to enter the draft before his senior season) "It was a decision being made, and at that point in time I was more comfortable making that decision than the alternative. It was hard, it was a hard decision, but one that had to be made at that point in time and with the information that I had and how I felt. It was more exiting to move on and take the opportunity with the NFL, and after I made it and went to the combine I felt a lot better about my decision. It worked out. It's hard to justify what exactly made me decide to further my career, but Ohio State was great to me, and hopefully one day I can repay the favor."
(On if the decision to leave school early was truly his fianc?'s decision) "No, it's not the fianc?'s decision. My family and my fianc? were basically, 'whatever you do we support you,' so it was kind of hard bouncing things off of them. Coach [Darrell] Hazell and Coach [Jim] Tressell, they really helped me with my decision and reassured me that it was a right decision, and that there really wasn't a wrong decision. That was crucial in my decision making."
(On his thoughts that ex- Buckeyes Ted Ginn, Santonio Holmes, Anthony Gonzalez, and Brian Robiskie are now in the NFL, and his thoughts on this success) "That's kudos to a number of things, like how great our defenses are. The kind of defense we see every-day in practice, I'm sure is crucial in the development of our receivers. I certainly believe that I haven't seen any better corners in my career than Donald Washington and Malcolm Jenkins, and we have a heck of a lot of good safeties that we run across to at our own school. I think that's big, but again, I think that Coach Hazell had all of us, and I think of how he brings his guys along, and at the rate he does, and how successful they have been. Uncanny kudos to Coach Hazell for that, There are a lot of aspects involved, but Coach Hazell is the founding factor for that."
Team-released transcript
