Malik Hartford ‘on the path,’ pushing for major role in Buckeyes secondary

COLUMBUS — Perry Eliano saw Malik Hartford‘s potential early in the recruiting cycle, offering the safety long before either of them got to Ohio State.

Eliano, at Cincinnati during the 2021 season in which he coached reigning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Sauce Gardner and helped the Bearcats make the College Football Playoff, offered Hartford a scholarship four months before Ohio State did.

Ohio State hired Eliano on Jan. 13, 2022. Nine days later, the Buckeyes offered Hartford.

Now in his first season as a Buckeyes safety, Hartford is turning heads, putting himself in the running for major playing time in the Ohio State secondary despite being a true freshman who was in the top 140 of the 2023 recruiting rankings.

Safe to say that Hartford has been a pleasant surprise for the Buckeyes in training camp. For Eliano, he’s not shocked at all.

“From day one, when we went into his house in recruiting, we knew he was always talented, and he’d strike you,” Eliano said earlier this month in training camp. “But I think what he’s done, what our nutrition and our strength staff has done as far as the gains he’s put on throughout the summer have been nothing short of amazing. But that’s a credit to the young man’s maturity.

“I’m excited about him.”

And Eliano isn’t just praising Hartford because of their long-standing, multi-year relationship as coach and recruit, now player. The entire Buckeyes staff has been complimentary of Hartford’s development. Hartford was just hitting 170 pounds on the scale with his 6-foot-2 frame when he arrived at Ohio State. He has gained nearly 30 pounds and looks like a Buckeyes playmaker now.

A Lettermen Row source even mentioned that Hartford has shown the early signs of a potential first-round pick down the road.

And everyone is noticing Hartford’s progress both on and off the field.

“You feel Malik’s presence on the field,” defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said. “And I think when you’re talking about DBs, we all want to feel their presence on the field, including you the fans. You want to feel it, and Malik is a guy who is going to show up around the ball. He’s very smart. Yeah, of course you worry about freshman mistakes. And back there, a mistake is costly. So it’s our job to judge his progress.

“He’s on that path. And then we just got to keep fine tuning it.”

Ohio State has a current safety opening with 10 days until kickoff at Indiana. The Buckeyes have already made it clear that sophomore Sonny Styles and senior Lathan Ransom will be two of the three starting safeties in a should-be-elite defense.

Could a true freshman actually start at such a position of great importance for the defense? Like Knowles admitted: a mistake can cause a loss, especially at safety. But that speaks to how good Hartford has been so far in camp as he pushes Syracuse transfer Ja’Had Carter and sixth-year senior Josh Proctor for the third safety spot.

“He’s part of the matrix.” Eliano said. “He’s having a really good camp to this point. He’s continually growing. Obviously, he came in January. So he’s ahead of the curve than some of the freshmen that came in the summer, but right now, he’s having a good camp to this point.”

There’s good news for Hartford. He is being put in the same breath as Styles, who found his way onto the field early in his freshman season last year. Whether Hartford can crack the starting lineup may be a more difficult task. Even Styles couldn’t do it last year.

But playing time? Expect that from Hartford this fall.

“He and Sonny are similar,” Eliano said. “He can process the game. He sees the game differently. He’s extremely smart. He’s got a high football IQ. And so it doesn’t surprise me because he did the same thing when he was in high school, you know.

“So I’m looking for him to continue to grow.”

Malik Hartford has already grown from when Perry Eliano offered him a Cincinnati scholarship. And from when the Ohio State offer followed.

It’s as simple as not being shocked. Eliano knew Malik Hartford could get to this point early during his Ohio State career.

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