In the immediate, cold aftermath of a season-ending loss to Miami, Ryan Day didn’t wait for the dust to settle at AT&T Stadium. Less than 24 hours after Brian Hartline’s departure for South Florida was punctuated by an offensive thud, Ohio State reportedly found its next wide receivers coach: Cortez Hankton.
On paper, the hire is a calculated response to the vacuum left by Hartline. But as the news rippled through a grieving Buckeye Nation on Thursday, the reaction was far from unanimous, echoing a familiar skepticism that has become a hallmark of the Day era.
The Case for the “SEC Pedigree”
For those in the “pro-Hankton” camp, the resume is ironclad. Hankton arrives in Columbus having coached at the two most dominant talent factories in modern college football: Georgia and LSU.
His supporters point to the trophy case and the draft boards. He was on staff for Georgia’s 2021 national title and oversaw the development of Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr.—two first-rounders who took the NFL by storm this past season. To the optimists, Hankton is a veteran “technician” who understands the pressure of a CFP-or-bust environment. He isn’t just a recruiter; he’s a developer who has navigated the shark-infested waters of the SEC for nearly a decade.
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The “Sour Grapes” or Red Flags?
However, a vocal segment of the fanbase is looking at the exit interviews from Baton Rouge and Athens with narrowed eyes. Critics are quick to point out that LSU’s passing game plummeted to 63rd nationally in 2025.
The “anti-hire” sentiment centers on two main concerns:
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Recruiting Drop-off: While Hartline was a legendary “closer” for five-star talent, Hankton’s primary recruiting wins are viewed by some as less consistent. Skeptics argue that at LSU, he benefited from a local talent pool that virtually recruits itself.
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The “LSU/Georgia” Exodus: There is a lingering narrative that neither LSU nor Georgia fans were particularly devastated to see him move on, citing issues with receiver separation and “sloppy” route-running during his final seasons at both stops.
A Case of Déjà Vu
If the “mixed review” discourse feels familiar, it should. It is almost a beat-for-beat repetition of the reaction to Matt Patricia’s hiring as defensive coordinator last year.
When Patricia was announced, the skeptics were deafening. They pointed to his tumultuous end in Detroit and his late-career struggles in New England. “Why hire a retread?” was the common refrain. Yet, for the majority of the 2025 season, Patricia’s defense was the only reason the Buckeyes remained in the national title hunt. He turned a unit that had been prone to “explosive play” meltdowns into a disciplined, top-five juggernaut.
The lesson from the Patricia experiment is one Ryan Day seems to have internalized: NFL experience and “big-game” exposure often outweigh the fickle approval of a previous fanbase.
Whether Hankton can replicate Hartline’s recruiting magic remains to be seen, but Day is betting that a veteran who has survived the SEC gauntlet is exactly what a “skittish” Buckeye offense needs to find its identity again. In Columbus, the standard isn’t “good hire”—it’s “championship or bust.” Hankton, like Patricia before him, will be judged by that metric and that metric alone.
