It’s always nice when people are looking forward to your visit. Greetings are genuine and welcomes are warm. This is especially true for football coaches on the recruiting trail. Depending on the college coach — and the respective talent at each particular school — the reception can have a wide degree of variance. Different schools …
Continue reading “Jim Knowles Enjoying Benefits Of Recruiting At Ohio State”
Last year as true freshmen, Ohio State defensive ends JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer both had their moments in limited opportunities. Despite playing 270 fewer snaps than Tyreke Smith and over 330 fewer snaps than Zach Harrison, Sawyer tied both Smith and Harrison for the team lead in sacks by a defensive end (3.0). Tuimoloau, …
Continue reading “JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer, ‘These are guys that do not have limitations’”
The Most Important Trait Success in college football can be broken down into two basic components: recruiting and development. You can’t win without talented players, so it’s best to start out with as much talent as possible. That happens in recruiting. Like most places, Ohio State has a dedicated scouting staff run by Mark Pantoni …
Continue reading “Buckeye Football Notebook: ‘He’s the best in the country’”
For the first time in the last 25 years — and likely for the first time in school history, the Ohio State defense last year gave up over 450 yards of total offense to five separate opponents. And for the first time in over a decade, OSU’s defense gave up 200 yards rushing four times …
Continue reading “Buckeye Offense Fired Up About New Buckeye Defense”
It wasn’t long into last season that it was clear Ohio State head coach Ryan Day would have to make some serious changes on the defensive side of the ball. The struggles against Oregon opened the discussion and the loss to Michigan ended it. In the days between the Michigan game and the Rose Bowl, …
Continue reading “Jim Knowles Confident Nickel Can Stop The Run”
The Ohio State defense returns 20 players with starting experience this year, and that doesn’t include the likes of defensive end Jack Sawyer and defensive tackle Tyleik Williams, or cornerback Jordan Hancock — all of whom will be competing for increased playing time this fall. The Buckeyes bring back seven defensive linemen with starting experience …
Continue reading “Jim Knowles Preaching Productivity, Doesn’t Want Players Hung Up On Starting”
They say football is a game of inches, which also makes it a game of split seconds and half-steps. That inch, step, or half-second can be the difference between a tackle in the backfield and a touchdown. That chasm between the two outcomes could not be greater, despite the fact that they were initially separated …
Continue reading “Finding Half-Step Could Make Whole Difference For Buckeye Defense”
It is going to be very interesting to watch how the defensive rotations evolve this year at Ohio State. We all know that the defensive line will play at least eight guys up front. It has been that way for years and it’s really the only way to successfully operate anymore. More interestingly, however, will …
Continue reading “Buckeye Football Notebook: ‘Playing defense at Ohio State, you have to earn it’”
Every year, Ohio State has some of the most elite athletes in college football. Despite these elite athletes, however, the Buckeyes haven’t had a punt return for a touchdown since 2014 and haven’t had a kickoff return for a touchdown since 2010. Despite the lack of touchdowns, special teams has still proven to be an …
Continue reading “Buckeye Football Notebook: ‘You gotta ask Emeka about that’”
An educated guess isn’t always correct, but more often than not it will get the job done. It may not be exact, but if it comes from a place of understanding and experience, it should fill in any unnecessary gaps. Guessing in football isn’t ideal, but being educated sure is. Since he arrived in January, …
Continue reading “Jim Knowles’ ‘Smart Swarm’ Defense Thrives On Making Correct Mistakes”
One of the more entertaining aspect of new Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles’ defense is how active and disruptive his linebackers are throughout the course of a game. After all, if you’re only going to play two at a time, you may as well make the most of it. Knowles doesn’t ask much of …
Continue reading “Versatility A Must When It Comes To Playing Time For Buckeye Linebackers”
The last three times Ohio State has overhauled its defense during the offseason, things have gone pretty well. In 2014, Urban Meyer hired Chris Ash to install the quarters defense. The process started early and went late, but from week to week the results kept improving. When it was all said and done, the Buckeyes …
Continue reading “Buckeye Defense Accomplished More Than Jim Knowles Could Have Hoped For In Spring”
Following Ohio State’s spring game, which was won by the Scarlet team 34-26, Buckeye head coach Ryan Day and defensive coordinator Jim Knowles spoke to reporters about the game and the spring as a whole. The highlights of everything that was said can be found below. Ryan Day + Impressions of the defense? “Today was …
Continue reading “Ryan Day, Jim Knowles Recap Buckeyes’ Spring Game Performance”
Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has said that this Buckeye defense is going to be driven by the safeties, and while football may start up front, it will be the back end that keeps everything under control. Fortunately for Ohio State, they return nearly all of their safety contributors from last season, including a …
Continue reading “Buckeye Safeties Taking Shape This Spring”
When Ohio State head coach Ryan Day hired Jim Knowles to be his new defensive coordinator, many in Columbus went to the internet to learn more about Knowles and what he would be bringing to the Buckeyes. One of the first things that was learned about was the “Leo” position, which is a hybrid weakside …
Continue reading “From A Jack To A King? Not So Fast For Buckeye Defensive Ends”
