Sports

OSU Football Coach Crashes ATV After Drinking

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A college football coach is opening up about an accident he was in over the weekend. Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline admitted to drinking before he crashed his ATV on his property in Delaware early Sunday morning, according to The Columbus Dispatch. The 36-year-old told medics that he had been drinking earlier that night. 

Hartline’s sister, Jamie, placed the 911 call. He and another man identified as Joshua Gaylor, who was riding with him in the vehicle were taken to a local hospital. Hartline has been released from the hospital and has since returned home. Ohio State said the injuries Hartline suffered were not life-threatening. 

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On Sunday, Hartline went to Twitter to talk about the accident. “I appreciate everyones support,” he wrote. “I crashed my side by side on my property and have been taken to the hospital for further evaluation.I am doing well.” Hartline, 36, has been on the Ohio State coaching staff since 2017. He started as an offensive quality control assistant and was promoted to offensive coordinator in January. Last year, Hartline was the passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach and helped the team reach the College Football Playoff. 

“Brian has been successful in every football capacity for which he has been engaged,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said in a statement in January, per ESPN. “He has progressed incredibly well from college to NFL receiver, and then from quality control coach to wide receivers coach to passing game coordinator. He figures things out quickly and he is more than ready to now transition to offensive coordinator.”  

“I am ready and I am really looking forward to this opportunity,” Hartline said. “Ohio State has established a premier threshold with regard to offensive output and that is something that we’ll strive to meet every day. I want to thank Coach Day for his belief in me and for the positions he has put me in these last several years that have allowed me to succeed and grow.”  

Hartline played wide receiver at Ohio State from 2006-2008 In 2009, the Ohio native was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the fourth round of the NFL Draft. He spent six seasons with the Dolphins and one season with the Cleveland Browns. In his NFL career, Hartline caught 344 passes for 4,766 yards and 14 touchdowns in 104 games.