| | Joel Renner/The Lantern | | Wide Receiver Brian Hartline motions for the crowd to get louder during a game against Wisconsin. |
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Marcus Thigpen, Indiana's sophomore kick returner, gazed into the bright blue sky awaiting the kick. He cradled the football at the two-yard line and dashed up the field, but as he crossed the 20-yard-line, he was violently blindsided by what turned out to be the Jack Tatum Hit of the Week.
Until week eight of the 2006 season, not many people knew who Brian Hartline was or what kind of football career he would have at Ohio State. That bone-crushing hit knocked Thigpen - one of the Big Ten's best kick returners - out of the game and foreshadowed the following three quarters of the 44-3 romp.
After spending his freshman season as a leader on special teams, Hartline has emerged as a star wide receiver and punt returner as the Buckeyes (10-1) are making a run for a third straight Big Ten championship.
"We saw Hartline put in a lot of hard work and catch a lot of balls in February and March," OSU fullback Dionte Johnson said. "All of that has paid off and we have guys like that who stretch the field and make it easy to run the ball."
The famous hit wouldn't be the last time a special team's play by Hartline ignited a rout. He raced a punt down the sideline for a school-record 90 yards early in the second quarter this season against Kent State, breaking Robert Demmel's previous record of an 87-yard return in 1950 against Iowa. Hartline also had a 14-yard touchdown catch later in the 48-3 blowout.
Coach Jim Tressel is using the Canton GlenOak product to fill the void of Ted Ginn Jr. as a returner and Anthony Gonzalez in the slot position. Even though their talent is missed, Hartline has emerged as a vocal leader and is mature enough to lead the team after a heartbreaking loss.
"It isn't that difficult for me," Hartline said. "What we need to do now is watch film, close a chapter and move on. We have a big game coming up and we need to move forward."
Few people can discuss the Buckeye wide receiver without mentioning his effort.
Sophomore safety Anderson Russell said he usually covers the slot position during practice and feels Hartline is a special talent.
"He's a real quick guy who works hard and definitely gets you prepared for a game," Russell said.
Hartline currently ranks second on the team with 45 receptions for 610 yards (13.6 avg.) and five touchdowns. Replacing arguably the most prolific returner ever at OSU (Ginn Jr.), Hartline returned 17 punts for 209 yards and averages nearly 13 yards per return.
Kicker Ryan Pretorius said he feels Hartline has made the kicking game more consistent because of his big plays.
"Making catches and getting first downs helps me a lot," Pretorius said. "Brian has taken a lot of pressure off my shoulders with the big plays he has made. It helps me to know I don't have to kick those long field goals. The closer I am, the more chance I have of forcing it through the uprights."
Hartline injured his knee in the season opener of his senior year in high school and missed the remainder of the football season, but Tressel had enough confidence to stick with the speedy star. He capped off his high school career at GlenOak with state track titles in both the 110-meter and the 300-meter hurdles.
After being red shirted in 2005, Hartline played in all 13 games last season and finished fourth on the team with 17 receptions for 256 yards behind three players lost to the NFL draft - Ginn Jr., Gonzalez and Roy Hall. Hartline remains an under-the-radar receiver and will only improve with experience.
A win Saturday will extend Tressel's record to 6-1 in the rivalry and the OSU seniors will never have experienced a loss against Michigan. If the rest of the Buckeyes are anything like Hartline, OSU will be back in the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1997. Michigan's offense has the ability to put up high offensive stats, but OSU's offense is ready to step up to the challenge if the defense struggles.
"I told everybody to stay calm," Hartline said in the huddle after Wisconsin took a 17-10 lead in the third quarter during OSU's 38-17 victory on Nov. 3. "When our defense gets in a dog fight, I have their back. Trying games are a part of growing and maturing."
A fourth straight victory against Michigan could heal some of the pain of last week's loss and also tie OSU's longest win-streak versus Michigan.
"We realize that every game against this team is going to be difficult," Hartline said. "The game is important as it always is. It doesn't matter if we have won three in a row. Michigan has even more of a reason to want to beat us and we have to play our best game."
Joel Renner can be reached at renner.79@osu.edu.
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