Brian Hartline has yet to have his heart broken on the recruiting trail.

“I know that time is coming,” the Ohio State receivers coach said with a laugh.

We’ll see if that happens next year, but in 2020 Hartline takes home 247Sports National Recruiter of the Year Honors after leading the Buckeyes' charge in inking the cycle's best class of receivers, five-star receivers Julian Fleming and Jaxon Smith-Njigba along with Top247 receivers Gee Scott Jr. and Mookie Cooper. On paper, it's the best crop of wideouts in one haul since the Alabama 2017 group of Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs and Devonta Smith.

Hartline also gets the assist regarding quarterback CJ Stroud and defensive back Cameron Martinez in helping court them to his alma mater. Check our the full Recruiter of the Year Rankings here.

Everybody who Hartline went all-in on ended up signing with the Buckeyes.

“That’s not to say there aren’t other guys or other players I liked,” Hartline said.

But those were the coveted guys, key pieces to an Ohio State class that finishes No. 5 nationally, tops in the Big Ten. Smith-Njigba was first to pop in November of 2018, Scott a little over a month later on Christmas Day. Fleming, who was the biggest battle, pledged in May and then Cooper in July, completing the quartet and top receiver class in the country. Fleming is the top receiver in the class per the 247Sports Composite and also gave a strong look to Penn State and Clemson before settling in on the Buckeyes.

“Looking back I would say this, and this may sound corny, I just felt like at times for each guy as they were maturing I was maturing with them,” the 33-year old Hartline explained. “Seeing Julian go through, whether it was breaking up with a girlfriend and having real life situations and talking him through that I thought was really cool and I didn’t take for granted. There were hard times and having that same kind of experience for each guy. Gee Scott has a certain retreat they do at his school and being asked to speak on behalf of him was great.”

Clemson defensive line coach Todd Bates and Alabama defensive backs coach Karl Scott round out the top three recruiters this cycle. None of the receivers Hartline is bringing in wavered in their decision.

“This day in age after watching the whole thing play out, one thing I’m really proud of is the authenticity,” he said. “These young men we recruited are great but their families are too. We didn’t have someone take off on you on Signing Day or do something they said they wouldn’t do. Across the country that happens and I guess is part of the process. That didn’t happen and that says a lot about Coach (Ryan) Day and his culture, (Director of Player Personnel) Coach Mark Pantoni and his staff and our receiver staff in myself and Coach Keenan Bailey.”

Hartline helped Ohio State win four Big Ten championships as a player before a strong seven-year career in the NFL. Those are two things that give him an edge on the recruiting trail, and he certainly likes talking about the program’s success on the field and regarding the NFL, but he’d rather answer questions and hear about what’s going on regarding the life of the people he’s recruiting.

“I purely got into coaching because I love helping young men reach their dreams,” Hartline said. “I realize what happened for me and how my life changed with such a great coach (Darrell Hazell) that helped me get where I’m at today in more ways than one. I try to use the recruiting period as a time to forge our good relationships because to me the relationship tells you how hard you can coach a young man. I can only coach him as hard as the relationship allows. I want to build relationships that are meaningful and have a great foundation so when the young man shows up, we are off and running.

“So when I bark at them about energy or something not being good enough, our relationship is strong enough and they know it is coming from a good place. They know they chose Ohio State because of their relationships they have forged and the culture of a place. Not just because of cool uniforms and cool buildings and the logo.”