Cortez Hankton takes over Ohio State's WR room: Tracking his recruiting, development, portal work

Brian Hartline's replacement arrives by way of LSU and Georgia.

COLUMBUS — Brian Hartline thinks Ohio State’s receiver legacy will endure without him.

Ryan Day has found the man he thinks will keep it rolling.

Ohio State announced the hire of Cortez Hankton as receivers coach one day after the Buckeyes’ season ended with a College Football Playoff quarterfinal loss to Miami in the Cotton Bowl. Hankton, 44, isn’t replacing Hartline’s coordinator duties, but he will be taking over the country’s best receiver room, hoping to keep it rolling.

He comes from LSU, where he was not retained by the new Tigers head coach, Lane Kiffin. Hankton has coached receivers at LSU (2022-25), Georgia (2018-21), Vanderbilt (2015-17) and Dartmouth (2012-14). He also held coordinator titles at Georgia and LSU, but never called plays. The New Orleans native played college ball at Texas Southern, where he’s the most prolific receiver in program history, before playing five seasons in the NFL.

Hankton has gigantic shoes to fill, and wasn’t exactly beloved for his work by the fan bases of his previous two schools. He’ll need to elevate his own track record to keep Ohio State’s receiver room humming. But he worked with some prolific receivers at LSU and at least has a chance to do his best work yet at Ohio State.

Below is a breakdown of Hankton’s time at Georgia and LSU.