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ARLINGTON, Texas \u2014 When Cotton Bowl media availability began Monday, Jeremiah Smith unsurprisingly drew the biggest scrum of reporters. Not far behind was Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline.<\/p>\n
Hartline, who has already taken over as the new head coach at South Florida, is still with Ohio State through the College Football Playoff and didn\u2019t want to talk about his new job during media day. In his first time talking to Ohio State<\/a> reporters since accepting the USF job, Hartline said his focus has been completely on the Buckeyes over the past two weeks.<\/p>\n How different is his role? Hartline said it remains mostly intact, even though head coach Ryan Day said he is taking over play-calling duties<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not a whole lot different,\u201d Hartline said. \u201cReally coach Day kind of made some comments on making sure I\u2019m good, he\u2019s trying to look after me. \u2026 Some guys are trying to step up a little more from a day-to-day standpoint, maybe a little bit, but not much has changed.\u201d<\/p>\n Hartline, who has been in the booth all season, said if he had it his way, he would be on the field for the game. He enjoys being on the field with his players, though he said he would leave that decision up to Day, who confirmed Tuesday that Hartline will be on the sideline, with tight ends coach Keenan Bailey helping from the box.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether it be (Day) calling plays from 2017 until now, nothing has changed,\u201d Hartline said. \u201cI would say this year there\u2019s been less yelling, which is a good sign. We\u2019ve always been collaborative. We\u2019ve always worked together. Coach Day has always had a major impact on all of this. In my mind, nothing has changed.\u201d<\/p>\n No. 2 Ohio State is set to play No. 10 Miami<\/a> in Wednesday\u2019s Cotton Bowl at 7:30 p.m. ET, hoping to make up for its 13-10 loss to Indiana in the Big Ten title game and advance to the Fiesta Bowl semifinal against the winner of Georgia versus Ole Miss.<\/p>\n Here are a few more thoughts ahead of kickoff:<\/p>\n Related to play calling, Ohio State\u2019s personnel groupings have become a talking point<\/a> after the Buckeyes went heavy in the red zone against Indiana and ended the game with just one touchdown in four trips inside the 20.<\/p>\n Hartline joked that Ohio State should \u201calways go light,\u201d before adding: \u201cIt\u2019s not what we want to do. We want to stress out their defense. \u2026\u00a0 I think that when we get into the red zone and we have opportunities, that some of our tight ends are mismatches. So you want to use those guys in those ways.\u201d<\/p>\n Those expecting Ohio State to completely go away from 14 (one back, four tight ends) or 13 (one back, three tight ends) personnel groupings in the red zone are likely going to be disappointed on Wednesday. There are still reasons to use them, though I\u2019d expect Ohio State to try to spread Miami out more often than not.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve long believed that Ohio State\u2019s best personnel grouping this year is its 12 group, with two receivers (often Smith and Carnell Tate) and two tight ends (often Max Klare and Will Kacmarek). Klare has become a much better blocker in the second half of the season, and Kacmarek has developed into a strong pass catcher. That grouping allows Ohio State to get Smith and Tate involved while also being unpredictable with its rushing attack and play-action game.<\/p>\n I\u2019d expect a lot of 11 and 12 personnel on Wednesday, especially in the red zone, but in short-yardage situations, don\u2019t be surprised if Ohio State turns to its 14 or 13 group. The offense isn\u2019t going to just get rid of something it\u2019s worked on all year.<\/p>\nOhio State\u2019s multiple personnel<\/h2>\n