Ryan Day shares what attracted Ohio State to Jim Knowles

During his early Signing Day press conference, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day took a little bit of time to speak with reporters about his new defensive coordinator, Jim Knowles, brings to the Buckeyes. He talked about why he was attracted to the former Oklahoma State defensive coordinator.

“Well, it was all of the above. I think if you’re coming in to be the defensive coordinator at Ohio State…but you have to check all the boxes, not just one,” Day said. “I think his past and what he’s done. You watch the guys that have played for him, what they’ve done schematically, how they speak of him, former coaches, that have worked for him, that he’s worked for—you add up all of those things with the production–it speaks for itself.”

Jim Knowles job with Oklahoma State Cowboys

Oklahoma State has neve been known for its defense under current head coach Mike Gundy. As a matter of fact, the Cowboys defense had been atrocious for years. It was usually one of the worst in the country before Knowles got there, and he helped turn them into the third-ranked defense nationally.

When Knowles first started as the defensive coordinator with the Oklahoma State defense in 2018, they were ranked 112th in total defense. It took him a few years, but the defense showed steady improvement and the Cowboys put up mind-blowing stats this year on the defensive side of the football.

They ranked first in the nation in sacks (54), first in the nation in tackles for loss (113), second in the country in opposing third-down percentage (25.8%), third in the nation in yards allowed per game (278.4), fourth in the country in yards allowed per play (4.41), and eighth in the country in points allowed per game (16.8).

Not only that, Knowles built up the defense at a place that has traditionally been known for their high powered offense, not defense. He was a finalist for the Broyles Award this year, given to the nation’s top assistant coach. He also was able to develop Duke’s defense into a top 25 ranked scoring defense nationally in 2017, which once again, is unheard of. Knowles clearly has an elite track record of not only developing talent, but developing players that aren’t blue chips.

It’s going to be fascinating to see what he does at Ohio State with the top notch recruits the Buckeyes pull in every year.