Ryan Day Shares Candid Truth About Ohio State Losing Bria...

By Evan Massey

Contributing Sports Writer

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The Ohio State Buckeyes and head coach Ryan Day are still fresh off of their rivalry win over the Michigan Wolverines last week, but they're now focused on this weekend's Big Ten championship matchup against the Indiana Hoosiers.

Unfortunately, just before the big matchup against Indiana, the Buckeyes received some disappointing news.

According to a report from ESPN's Pete Thamel, offensive coordinator Brian Hartline has agreed to a deal to become the next head coach at South Florida. He will be replacing Alex Golesh, who left the program to become the head coach at Auburn.

Read more: Ohio State Receives Brutal News Before Showdown With Indiana

Hartline has been an excellent piece of the Ohio State coaching staff since the 2017 season. He has done an excellent job as the team's wide receivers coach and has helped develop current NFL wideouts and soon-to-be NFL wideouts as well. This season, he was promoted to being the team's offensive coordinator.

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Following the news of Hartline's imminent departure, Day was asked about his thoughts. He's clearly excited for his assistant to be getting an opportunity to be a head coach, although it's a tough blow for the program.

“We’ll do a quick team meeting here and kind of let the team know. He was able to let the wide receivers know and the recruits know. I’m really happy for he and his family," Day said.

"The fact that he gets the opportunity to do this, he’s put in a lot of hard work here at Ohio State as a player and now as a coach. That’s part of the profession. As a head coach, it’s gratifying to see one of your assistants get one of these opportunities."

Day continued forward, revealing the he expects Hartline to have success at South Florida, but that he doesn't love the timing of the move.

“I think he’s gonna do great. I think it’s a great opportunity for him. And looking forward to seeing how he does. That’s exciting for him. The timing isn’t great, but that’s not Brian’s fault; that’s other peoples’ fault."

As for the Buckeyes, they head into Saturday night's showdown with the Hoosiers as the No. 1 ranked team in the country. Indiana, on the other hand, holds the No. 2 ranking.

Read more: Penn State Could Make Stunning Push for Legendary Coach

Should Ohio State be able to come out with a win and a Big Ten championship, there is no doubt that the Buckeyes would hold the top overall seed in the College Football Playoff picture.

Hopefully, the departure of Hartline does not cause any kind of a change in focus. He will continue to serve as the team's offensive coordinator through the remainder of the season.

For more on the Ohio State Buckeyes and college football news, head to Newsweek Sports.

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