Marcus Hartman
Marcus Hartman has been a digital sports columnist and reporter at Cox Media Group Ohio since 2016. He writes about local sports in southwest Ohio, including high school, college and the pros as well as breaking news and trending topics from across the world of sports. He loves to get story tips at Marcus.Hartman@coxinc.com. A Cedarville High School graduate, he received a degree in journalism from Ohio State in 2005. After covering local sports for a season, he spent 11 years covering OSU football, women’s basketball and recruiting for Buckeye Sports Bulletin and Scout.com. He also contributed to Reds, Bengals, Browns, Blue Jackets, Indians and Cavaliers coverage for Fox Sports Ohio and covered the Big Ten for FoxSports.com.
Latest from Marcus Hartman
After a year mostly out of football, things are looking up for Heath Harding. “Up” in this case meaning both better and to the north. The former Dayton Christian star and All-Mid-American Conference defensive back announced this week he has agreed to join the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League. ...
Andre Wesson summed up the situation after Ohio State lost 63-56 to Illinois on Thursday night. “We needed that one,” the junior forward said after scoring 10 points. “We are .500 (in the Big Ten). We are trying to make the NCAA tournament. We are not a lock, so any game we play, we’ve got to have right now.&rdquo...

Illinois snapped Ohio State’s three-game winning streak with a 63-56 decision Thursday night at Value City Arena. The Fighting Illini, who entered the game tied with Penn State for the fewest overall wins in the Big Ten this season, picked up their 10th win of the season while handing the Buckeyes (16-8, 6-7) their worst loss...
Ohio State football coach Ryan Day did not have a rousing speech for Buckeye fans when his staff was introduced Thursday night at a basketball game. There was no moment reminiscent of Jim Tressel’s famous “310 day” guarantee 18 years earlier. Just an expression of gratitude — and invitation to the spring...
Now that Justin Fields’ eligibility has been decided, the hottest topic of the Ohio State offseason is most likely what needs to be done to fix the once-proud defense. That apparently is not how they are viewing the situation inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, though, at least according to new defensive co-coordinator Jeff...
Although Justin Ahrens has not made much impact on the court for the Ohio State basketball team this season, coach Chris Holtmann called the freshman from Versailles “a tremendous asset” to the program. "He’s been great in practice,” Holtmann said Wednesday. “And I think like any freshman you get knocked...
What is Ohio State basketball coach Chris Holtmann looking for from his team? Let’s not specify a timeframe because whether it is Thursday night against Illinois, Sunday at No. 11 Michigan State or any other game the rest of the way, the answer is probably going to be about the same. It’s not exactly flashy or exciting...
Ryan Day took the Ohio State head coaching job from Urban Meyer knowing full well there is no substitute for winning when it comes to leading the Buckeyes. Succeeding with players from Ohio isn’t an absolute necessity, but it sure is nice in a state that takes football as seriously or more than any other. And as an assistant...
ESPN asks, “Is the era of CFB free agency upon us?” in an interesting story looking at the ramifications of Justin Fields’ being granted immediate eligibility at Ohio State. I tend to think actual free agency (players going to the highest bidder as they do in the pro sports leagues) would be very bad for the popularity of...
While remaking the defensive staff almost completely, new Ohio State coach Ryan Day added only one man on the offensive side of the ball. That does not mean there is a shortage of questions about what Day will do with the offense, though one inquiry sums up the hiring of Mike Yurcich as passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach...
When I started kicking around the idea of re-learning how to shoot a basketball for my next first-person sportswriting story, I soon began to wonder if I had born too soon. You see, I did play basketball back in my schoolboy days — at least until I wasn’t tall enough to be a 4 or a 5 anymore. Then it was pretty much...