Jim Knowles Updates: Buckeyes Have Stiff Test In Tennessee Offense

COLUMBUS — Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles met with reporters on Tuesday to answer questions about his Buckeye defense, their plans for Tennessee on Saturday, and much more. The highlights of everything that was said can be found below.

On the Tennessee running game: They spread you out from sideline to sideline. They create seams in the defense and combine it with tempo, forcing you to get lined up fast. It’s a challenge, but OSU has the right guys to do it. “I’m confident in the plan.”
“I’m confident in our players. I’m confident in how they perform in crucial moments.” You operate under the mindset that you can win this game on defense. “We have a history of that. The guys know they can do it.”
Great confidence in the three cornerbacks. It doesn’t matter who you are playing. Tennessee will challenge them in different ways but those CBs are on an island all the time anyway.
On rotating on the defensive line in this game after not doing it against Michigan? As a coordinator, you have to trust your coaches. “Coach Johnson’s been doing this a long time and there’s no one else we would want to make those decisions.” There’s a natural tendency for coaches to rely on the guys who have been in big situations.
The defense did not do enough to win the game against Michigan. “It’s that simple.” It’s a team sport. You always have to strive for perfection.
On Lathan Ransom: Awesome young man. Great leader. One of those guys who is the reason you get into coaching. He has been through adversity on the field “and he is finishing strong.”
On QB Nico Iamaleava: “Got a really strong arm.” He has to make throws from hash to sideline. “He’s got a cannon.” He is faster than everybody thinks. He makes plays with his feet also.
On the role of the home-field advantage: “It’s a home game. Treat it like any other home game. It’s historic, but it’s still our field, our stadium. And our job as a defense is to defend that — and we will, but we’ll take all the help that we can get.”
Defending a run-heavy or RPO up-tempo offense is different than facing an up-tempo passing attack. They have been facing the scout team and the second-team running up-tempo in practice. Hats off to the scout team. You try to simulate the tempo, even when you’re not running tempo, you are forcing the defense to operate quickly. Even having them turn their backs to the line of scrimmage before a play, and then turn and get ready to get lined up.
This defense is built for tempo. Duke head coach David Cutcliffe made him do the defense that way because that’s what everybody was doing 12-14 years ago. “That’s how we set it up. Our calls and everything. It’s been that way in this system. It’s built for tempo.” Cutcliffe wanted to be the fastest-play calling defense in the country. They still are. “That’s the way we do it.”
“Who says we played well enough to win (on defense) if we didn’t win? That’s my point.”
How do you keep the defense from getting frustrated with the offense? You have to have good leaders. You’re always going to talk about what you did well, didn’t do well, how can you improve. But also, there were games this year when the defense didn’t play so well. “Remember that?” So go pick up one of your buddies on offense and support them.
Is there a risk of paralysis by analysis with so much time before a game? A little extra time is good. Too much time… If you work too late, “you’re just going to screw it up at some point.” You go through the first week, then you tweak that, then you get ready for the game.
How much do you watch the games where defenses were effective against Tennessee? You always do that. You watch everything and put the game plan in but then you keep going back to the games where opponents were successful and where they weren’t.
On Jack Sawyer’s interception against Michigan: “Amazing. We all love this game, but it’s like a god moment. But we screwed it up.” People don’t understand how good a play that was.