Jim Knowles Sees Several Young Buckeyes Establishing Roles

COLUMBUS — Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles met with reporters Tuesday afternoon to recap the Buckeyes’ defensive performance over the first two weeks of the season and preview the next step for his coaches and players. The highlights of everything he had to say can be found below.

Is Denzel Burke’s targeting avoidable? “It’s unfortunate.” It’s understandable because they’re trying to protect players, but you just have to keep your head up. It’s been something since players put on helmets, that tendency to drop your head. See what you hit and keep your head up.
Cody Simon is the leader of the defense. The quarterback of the defense. He bleeds Ohio State.
Depth is critical. Jermaine Mathews is proof of that. He may not be a starter, but he’s considered a one. You don’t blink when he goes in. He’s kept himself prepared with a good attitude.
Arvell Reese and Kayden McDonald’s roles will continue to grow this season. Reese has made tremendous improvements since he arrived. He’s playing fast. He has tremendous physical tools. It’s a matter of not having to think about it anymore. He understands where all the pieces go. McDonald has been doing a great job since he arrived, even back on scout team last year. “We’ve been expecting him to have a breakout year.”
Concerns on defense? “I see a lot of things.” Formational things. They may have not shown up in the game itself but he’s seen the possibility for it to show up. Other teams may see it, so he’s doing some self scouting.
Malik Hartford and Jaylen McClain “are coming along.” They have shown up with the reps they are earning. They are playing hard, making the checks, and making the plays when their numbers are called.
The iPads are giving the coaches information in real time. You can pretty much grade a player after every series. You can see what his value is to the defense after each series.
Ty Hamilton has been making an impact “since I’ve been here.” He has developed into a dominant player. He can control the interior of the line of scrimmage, and that’s a big deal. When your DTs make tackles, that frees up a lot of other things for you. “Ty’s quiet but he’s like a cold-blooded gentleman. He’s a force.”
How does the defense get better this week? It comes down to 1) fundamentals — those things in matchup games that are going to be critical; 2) looking at what they did and predicting where future attacks will come from.
Any discussion on CJ Hicks becoming more of a line of scrimmage player rather than linebacker? Not really because he’s still developing at linebacker. But it’s always in the back of Knowles’ mind because he has the skills to do that. “It’s always there for me because I know it may come to that point.” It would require depth issues in other places. “We’re so talented on the edge right now and our depth is so good that it’s not something we need to do right now.”
Arvell Reese has added another guy to the linebacker mix. His growth has been fantastic. He’s gone through some lulls as a younger guys, but now he’s on a path of sustained production. You see him jumping off the film and playing fast. They need four or five linebackers they can trust.
Gabe Powers has really done a good job with limited reps.
They work on red zone all the time in practice. Every week. Sometimes against the scout team, sometimes good on good. So they are still getting work with that even though they haven’t seen it in a game yet.
This defense is striving for perfection. Lathan Ransom and Caleb Downs haven’t really been unleashed much yet, but you’ve seen glimpses when they do trigger them. They’ll continue to push those two and tweak some things. “We just haven’t had to do it much yet, but when you see it, it’s pretty cool.”
On the comfort level of having Lathan Ransom and Caleb Downs: “I don’t want to say you take it for granted, but you don’t sweat it.” He can change gameplans week to week and it’s not something he worries about them handling. “It certainly makes it easier to make adjustments.”