Sunday Special: Hartline ready for the NFL
By Todd Porter
CantonRep.com staff writer
Posted Jan 17, 2009
When the NFL paperwork arrived at Ohio State, Brian Hartline didn?t need to know what the league thought his future might be. The envelope remained sealed. He handed it to his parents.
The junior wide receiver could return for another season of college football or declare for the NFL Draft. Without looking at where a team of NFL general managers and scouts projected Hartline to be selected, he chose the NFL.
?It?s wasn?t about that for me,? Hartline said. ?It?s was about my future life in general and what I?m more excited to do. It?s hard to pinpoint one thing. I thought about where I would potentially be drafted and what my life situation is. I?m ready to move on.
?Whether I still wanted to be in school was a deciding factor. I spent four years in college. I?m getting my college degree at the end of spring. My life, in general, I?m ready to move on.?
Hartline will get married in May. Less than a month later, he?ll graduate from OSU with a communications degree.
Before all that, though, he?ll have a job. He is a projected late-round NFL draft pick.
NFLDraftScout.com is one of the better Web sites on projecting players for the draft. The site has Hartline ranked 43rd out of more than 300 receivers.
That?s not high.
The site has Hartline ranked 369th overall. Hartline may have to wait well into the second day before he is drafted.
During the season, while talking to an NFL general manager during a Browns road game, Hartline?s name was brought up. The GM said Hartline was making a mistake by coming out and would be helped by another year in college.
It?s impossible to say Hartline is making a mistake. He?s making a decision about his future, and frankly, I agree with it. He?s at a place where he?s ready for the next phase.
Hartline?s ranking now and what it will be on Draft day in 32 NFL war rooms will be vastly different. He will work out well. Scouts will be impressed with his athleticism.
MARRIAGE DIDN?T FACTOR
Hartline said getting married didn?t factor in his decision. His fianc?e, Lindsay Smith, still has school to finish at Ohio State.
WAS PRYOR A FACTOR?
There is no question the Buckeyes? passing game suffered when freshman Terrelle Pryor took over at quarterback. Hartline?s numbers dropped off. In 2007, Hartline caught 52 passes for 694 yards and six touchdowns. He caught 21 passes for 479 yards and four TDs in 2008.
Hartline seemed to be one of the players less convinced a switch at QB was the best thing after the loss at USC.
?I don?t think it was personal,? Hartline said.
?When you believe in that family thing ... it was just tough. You want the best for your teammates and your friends. I could not have handled (benching) as well as Todd (Boeckman) did.
?We handle it as a team. It caught us off guard. The season didn?t sputter too much. We kept winning, so I guess the coaching staff knew what they were doing.?
Boeckman and Hartline are close friends. The quarterback will be in Hartline?s wedding.
Hartline said he could have returned for his senior season with Pryor at quarterback without any problems.
?Next year there is going to be improvement in the passing game,? Hartline said. ?You could see his progression this season and how his arm was coming along. ... With a solid eight months working with him in the offseason, he?s going to get going.?
Pryor didn?t throw for more than 200 yards in his last four games. In two of those, he didn?t throw for more than 70. That?s a problem.
