It’s Monday. And it’s officially the offseason for Ohio State football.

While the Buckeyes begin their preparation for 2022 and the Ohio State basketball team in the full swing of Big Ten play, here’s what I’m thinking about this week.

Brian Hartline got a promotion Sunday afternoon, adding passing game coordinator to his job title along with remaining as Ohio State's wide receivers coach.

If you have seen the Ohio State offense play in 2021, you understand why: the continued success of the passing game, the continued development of wide receivers, rotating in and out of the starting position while not losing steam for the overall offense, the continued recruitment of top-tier wide receivers and turning them into first-round weapons.

It was clear just based on the Rose Bowl alone. In a game without Garrett Wilson or Chris Olave, Ohio State’s wide receiver room still helped C.J. Stroud and the rest of the offense look like the best in the country, whether it was through Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s record-breaking day or Marvin Harrison Jr.’s emergence as a potential star.

Hartline helped make sure that Ohio State’s pass offense was set no matter who they lost from year to year. All head coach Ryan Day seems to be doing is to make sure that remains long-term, not allowing him to use those development skills anywhere else.

Hartline made it clear that he didn’t want to be anywhere else, saying in a November press conference that he considered Ohio State to be home and that he considered those wide receivers he’s developing to be family.

For Day, that has to be music to his ears.

Building off the offense that Day initiated when he joined Urban Meyer’s staff in 2017 as a co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Hartline has been a part of the Buckeyes’ offensive surge, starting as a quality control coach with Day in 2017, becoming interim wide receivers coach in 2018 before taking over the role full-time in 2019.

Really without Hartline, Ohio State’s offense wouldn’t be where it is now: housing three All-Americans in his room in Smith-Njigba (second-team), Wilson and Olave (first-teams).

The promotion signifies Hartline is vital to Ohio State’s offense. That’s clear to everybody involved. However, it also signifies that he’s one of, if not the most vital member to Ohio State’s coaching staff as a whole.

With Hartline at the helm of one of the most explosive and consistent wide receiver rooms in recent memory, Ohio State’s offense has the chance to continue to be one of the main offensive leaders in the sport, leading to more first-round receivers at the next level, leading to more All-Americans playing in Ohio Stadium and leading to more high-profile wide receivers choosing Ohio State to make that development happen.

And Hartline really plays a huge part of it.

Read the rest of the column here.