Relaxed Fit Jim Knowles A Work In Progress

Don’t tell Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles that he’s a kinder, gentler football coach, and don’t tell his players either.

Nobody named in such an accusation would agree.

So while Knowles may not be any kinder or gentler, he has gotten less aggressive. But there’s a method to his … gladness?

A year ago, the Buckeye defense’s downfall was the allowance of explosive plays. Knowles talked about how his aggressive defense “baked in” five explosive plays per game, as if it was just understood that this was the cost of doing his kind of business.

Those five plays happened per game, but sometimes — such as the Michigan and Georgia games — they happened in the worst of ways.

For instance, only South Florida (9) and Vanderbilt (9) gave up more plays of 40 yards from scrimmage last November than Ohio State’s eight. Against Georgia, the Buckeyes allowed 10 plays of 20 yards or more.

Looking back at the two losses caused plenty of reflection for Knowles and Ohio State head coach Ryan Day. This year, Knowles is calling fewer blitzes than he’s ever called before. The Buckeyes are relying more on their defensive line to get pressure, while also forcing teams to pay the entire cost of moving up and down the field by being more focused on eliminating big plays.

Over the first four games a year ago, Ohio State allowed seven plays of 30+ yards from scrimmage, and five from 40 yards or more. This year, they allowed just three plays of 30+ yards in their first four games, and none from 40 or more.

The lack of aggression has become an acquired taste for Knowles, but that doesn’t mean those days are done.

“Yeah, I mean, Jim loves to blitz, and he will. He’s always going to be aggressive,” Day said on Tuesday. “We’re not going to be ‘bend but don’t break,’ but at the same time when the front four can affect the line of scrimmage and get a pass rush, then certainly it takes pressure off of the blitzing. But, I mean, I know he’s got a whole bunch of blitzes lined up down the road for when the right time comes in.”

The pressure from the front four is also an interesting topic because you can find metrics that say the Buckeyes are getting a pass rush from their defensive line, but the fact that they only have five sacks in four games is a neon sign that is impossible to ignore.

When Jim Knowles was offered the Ohio State job after the 2021 season, he was just coming off of a year where his Oklahoma State defense averaged four sacks per game.

Despite the lack of sacks, the Buckeyes are still doing quite well defending the pass. It helps to have cornerbacks like Denzel Burke, Davison Igbinosun, and Jordan Hancock, but it also helps to be part of a more cohesive defense.

Knowles would like to see more sacks, but he has more important metrics in mind.

“Winning third down, winning fourth down, and limiting explosive plays. That’s the most important thing,” he said. “So we seem to be on a good track with that. And we want to keep that up. Everybody loves a lot of sacks. So do I. I think when I was younger, I was probably driven more by that, like, you know, ‘How can we get more sacks, more negative plays?’ But the bottom line is eliminate the explosive plays, win on third and fourth down. So that’s what we’ve got to continue to focus on.”

Knowles was brought to Ohio State to install an aggressive and havoc-wreaking defense. That’s what he’s always done and that’s what he’s been most comfortable doing. Doing those things last year, however, didn’t produce all of the desired results.

This year, Knowles admits that he is being more conservative and holding his aggression back at times, but it’s been keeping the points off the board. The Buckeyes are currently second in the nation in points allowed (8.5 ppg), and the longest touchdown they’ve given up has been just two yards.

But he’s still got plenty up his sleeve for when the opportunity arises.

“The honest answer is yes,” he said about his new-found conservativity. “You know, yes. But what matters is what works, you know? You like to have enough because if you need to enact it, you want to be able to enact it, right? So there’s always that balance of practice time. Like how much do I work on all these things that I have? Because someday we’re going to need it. Stay on course, stay with the plan. Limit the explosive plays, win third and fourth down. So yes, but the answer is yes. It’s a constant battle fought just by myself.”

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