Jake TrotterJan 24, 2026, 07:44 PM ET
- Jake Trotter is a senior writer at ESPN. Trotter covers college football. He also writes about other college sports, including men's and women's basketball. Trotter resides in the Cleveland area with his wife and three kids and is a fan of his hometown Oklahoma City Thunder. He covered the Cleveland Browns and NFL for ESPN for five years, moving back to college football in 2024. Previously, Trotter worked for the Middletown (Ohio) Journal, Austin American-Statesman and Oklahoman newspapers before joining ESPN in 2011. He's a 2004 graduate of Washington and Lee University. You can reach out to Trotter at [email protected] and follow him on X at @Jake_Trotter.
Ohio State is finalizing a deal to make former Pittsburgh Steelers playcaller Arthur Smith its offensive coordinator, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Smith will replace Brian Hartline, who recently was named head coach at South Florida.
Smith spent the last two seasons with the Steelers under coach Mike Tomlin. Before that, he was the head coach for the Atlanta Falcons, compiling a record of 21-30 over three seasons.
This season, the Steelers ranked 15th in the NFL averaging 22 points per game. Pittsburgh won the AFC North but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Houston Texans 30-6.
In Columbus, Smith will have one of the top returning offensive trios in the country at his disposal.
Quarterback Julian Sayin was a Heisman finalist in his first season as Ohio State's starting quarterback. Bo Jackson rushed for 1,090 yards as a freshman. And wide receiver Jeremiah Smith is a two-time All-American heading into his junior season.
The Buckeyes finished the regular season undefeated, but lost to Indiana in the Big Ten championship, then fell to Miami in the quarterfinal of the playoffs.
Smith spent 10 years as an assistant with the Tennessee Titans before taking over in Atlanta in 2021.
