Ohio State DC Jim Knowles Tabbed As One of Country's Best by PFF

The Ohio State Buckeyes return six starters from last year's defense.

Author:
Casey Smith
Mar 31, 2023 4:38 PM EDT

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The Ohio State Buckeyes defense is in good hands, according to Pro Football Focus' Max Chadwick.

Jim Knowles was ranked as the third-best defensive coordinator in college football, trailing Iowa's Phil Parker and Michigan's Jesse Minter.

"Ohio State made a drastic improvement on defense from 2021 to 2022, going from 56th to seventh in [Expected Points Added] allowed per play. It’s no coincidence that this past season was Knowles’ first as the Buckeyes’ defensive coordinator," Chadwick wrote in his assessment of Knowles. "Before taking over in Columbus, Knowles was a finalist for the Broyles Award in 2021 for his work as Oklahoma State’s defensive coordinator. That year, the Cowboys were third in the country in EPA allowed per play."

In 2021, Ohio State's defense gave up 372.6 yards (59th), 245.8 pass yards (96th), 126.77 rush yards (28th) and 22.8 points per game (38th).

All four of those categories improved after Knowles' first season, allowing 321.5 yards (14th), 200.5 pass yards (26th), 121.08 (26th) and 21 points per game (24th) in 2022.

The Buckeyes allowed 87 of their 273 total points in the final two games, while nearly 37 percent of the defense's total yards allowed were surrendered against Penn State, Michigan and Georgia.

Knowles' mind might be one of his biggest assets.

His scheme features a "safety-driven defense" and a hybrid "Jack" position where a player roams along the defensive line, can put his hand down and rush the passer or drop into coverage when need be.

In the three-safety system, there is an adjuster — which is like a free safety who adjusts to the offense's play — a bandit, which is the boundary safety, and a nickel which lines up in the slot to defend the pass or the run. If the offense is pass-happy, the nickel will likely be a player with better coverage skills, whereas a more physical, run-heavy team like Wisconsin would require a bigger player at the nickel.

Safeties coach Perry Eliano said Thursday that there's a "comfort level" heading into year two of Knowles' defensive scheme.

"There's a confidence," Eliano said. "They are able to process and articulate the game even better, and you just kind of tell they got a lot of juice to them. And, you know, they're eager to continue to learn."