Jim Knowles, Buckeye Defense Preview Rose Bowl Matchup Against Oregon

COLUMBUS — Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles met with reporters on Friday to discuss his defense and the matchup with the Oregon Ducks in the Rose Bowl. Defensive tackle Ty Hamilton, defensive end JT Tuimoloau, linebacker Cody Simon, and safety Jordan Hancock answered questions from the media as well. The highlights of everything that was said can be found below.

Jim Knowles

What has changed the most defensively since the first Oregon game? “We’ve had a pretty good season. That game, we gave up a few plays that we shouldn’t have.” There has been a renewed intensity to get lined up faster since that game “and do your job.”
How much of the last game was Oregon’s offense is just really good and OSU didn’t do what they needed to do? “Both.” OSU needs to be better.
Denzel Burke is steady. He’s a great player. Great person. His job is about being on an island. “There are times when you don’t make the play.” But his resolve has been the same and the trust in him has been the same. He’s always going to bounce back.
Oregon’s offense has been steady all season long.
Is preparing for Oregon when you’ve already played them more of a burden or beneficial? “It’s both.”
Is the defense fixed from the last time you played Oregon? “I’m always confidence that it’s fixed.” It’s a process. “Obviously we have to go out there and do it. Every game day is a test. No matter what is done previously, you don’t get any credit for that. You’ve got to go out and prove yourself.”
On Eddrick Houston: “He’s got great strength and competitiveness. He’s one of those guys who comes in early and things don’t seem too big for him.” He’ll make mistakes but he’ll learn from them. You have to know as a young player that you’re going to make mistakes and you can’t let it get you down. He just keeps going.
What gives you the confidence in this defense? “Yeah, there’s an edge. There’s veterans. I think that always gives you confidence when there’s veterans. There’s no panic if we give up a play or something negative happens.” There’s always communication back and forth. There’s always resolve to do what it takes to win a game. “Our guys don’t flinch.”
Can you tell this defense wants this rematch? “You always hope for a second shot when you don’t do well. That’s life. Sometimes you don’t get it.”
Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau are both great players and great men. He sees more than media and fans about what they do. “They’ve been consistent throughout my tenure here.”
What really did change structurally or psychologically after the Oregon loss? It wasn’t hard for him to make adjustments. If you’re going to grow in this profession, you always have to look at yourself. You have to see the things that happened on the field and take responsibility. It was harder to do that when he was younger because you take it personally. Now his job is to not be emotional about it, his job is to fix it. You can’t blame the players. “That’s the biggest thing.” You have to go back to how you’re coaching the process. In terms of the changes, he can’t really put it in a list, it’s just seeing what’s wrong and fixing it.
Jermaine Mathews is considered a starter. Like Cody Simon was the previous two years. “We can put him in a game at any time, and we need to.
On Dillon Gabriel’s ability to avoid pressure: “He’s really good at that.” Any game, you can see it. You have to have a plan for that. “We’re going to have a plan for it.” The fact of the matter is that he’s going to escape and make plays and then either deliver the ball or scramble.
JT Tuimoloau on being a tone setter: “JT does everything. You couldn’t ask for a better player in terms of the skills that he has.” Both against the run and pass. He does it with a very consistent demeanor and with leadership skills. Just an all-around great player and great person.
What has changed defensively in the lack of giving up explosives: That’s part of the plan every game. When you get burned by some it becomes even more real. There has been a continued emphasis on it.
Kenyatta Jackson’s progression: “He’s really talented. He’s moved himself in that position” of playing more and more. He could be a starter this year and he’s earned it.
On Kenyatta Jackson’s roughing penalty: “He didn’t do anything wrong.” They highlighted his effort in practice. That’s a really tough call. If the QB pulls the ball down and gets landed on, then it’s not a penalty. It wasn’t late. It wasn’t dirty. It was clean in his eyes.
On the safeties since this Oregon game: They have grown more of what they do with Jordan Hancock since then. They have all been solid. “I think they’ve all been great.” On Caleb Downs’ skill set: When you have a guy like him, you don’t necessarily want to take him away from a position where he can make plays. So they try to keep him closer to the action because they want him more involved more. “He can make a lot of people right.”

JT Tuimoloau

On being the QB spy against Tennessee: It’s not an easy role. He’ll continue to do whatever the coaches ask.
If this defense plays as hard as they can, everything should fall in line.
On no sacks against Oregon: Just need to play as a collective four up front and find areas to attack.
On Dillon Gabriel: He knows what to do in every situation. He’s smart. He doesn’t take too many chances. He goes through his reads well.
On the safeties: They are relentless. They can cover but they will all crash down to stop the run. There are times when the safeties need to make a tackle and they do it. They play a huge role.
Hungry and thankful to have this rematch with Oregon.
What do you remember most about leaving the field in Eugene? “I don’t think anybody imagined us losing. I didn’t, that’s for sure. It hit deep.” You can let it sting for a little bit but you can’t let it stay with you for too long.
On Kenyatta Jackson: “That’s my boy.” Every time his number is called, he goes out and makes the most of it. They see him make plays all the time in practice. What he does in a game does not surprise them.
On Dillon Gabriel’s scrambling: It comes down to being disciplined and understanding the goals of the plays being called.
On his relationship with Jack Sawyer: “That’s my brother. We’re different but we’re very alike.”
On developing the synergy for the defense this season: “We went through a lot of trials, but there’s a lot they can take away from the wins and losses.” From the wins, they understand they can be the best defense in the country. From the losses, they understand that there is still room to grow. You collect all the learning points you can and grow from them.
What has the defense done better in getting home against the quarterback? It was a process of understanding what the defense was doing as a whole. “I think once we understood that and got a better understanding of everybody’s job” things got better. They all know everybody’s job so they know the purposes of the calls better now as well.

Cody Simon

What goes into being a good open-field tackler? Tackling a quarterback is a lot different than tackling a running back. You have to stay down and stay square. Plus QBs will always make a ball threat no matter where they are. RBs will give you more jukes. “If you’re jumping for throws you’re probably going to be wrong.”
On Dillon Gabriel: He’s smart and experienced. He moves around the pocket really well, so they have to make sure he gets different looks and they have to make it complicated for him.
On playing against Oregon a second time: It’s easier to correct your own mistakes.
On Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau playing well: It makes it so much easier for the defense. They create something for the entire defense. They need to keep it up. “I’m really confident in them.”
Was that the first helmet he ever cracked? “I think so.” Did it send a message? “We knew how important stops were in that game. More so than just the hit” it was important to get them off the field on third down.
What changed the most after the Oregon game: The most prominent changes were attitude and mindset. They had played well before that but that made them adjust. There have been some schematic changes, but they came out of that game believing that they have to do whatever it takes to win every game defensively. “That was a rough two weeks for us after that game. We had a lot of tough conversations.”
On JT Tuimoloau as a spy: It’s a tough play. He’ll never stop playing as hard as possible.
On Caleb Downs and Lathan Ransom and communicating: “They’ve always been really great problem solvers.” They communicate a lot between drives. They know what’s going on. They’re always on top of it.
On his stellar play and drive since the Nebraska close game: He’s taken the meetings to the field and he’s been in position to make plays and he’s getting it done. Just being consistent day in and day out.
How much of the Oregon game was an anomaly and how much was Oregon’s offense is just really good? “I think it’s a little bit of both.” Oregon is really good but now it’s up to Ohio State to execute. It didn’t get done last game. “We’ll make the changes necessary and go out there and win.”

Jordan Hancock

On playing more deep safety over the second half of the season: That’s Coach Walton, Coach Knowles, and Coach Guerrieri helping him. Plus he’s a natural athlete and this allows the defense to be more flexibility.
On the challenge of Oregon’s offense: Have to challenge the receivers. Can’t let them run free. Trust your skills, trust your technique, and see what happens.
What does the secondary need to do better this time around: Have to challenge the receivers. “Every dog has their day.” Hopefully OSU can change the narrative. Go out there with the same confidence and good technique.
On Denzel Burke: “Oh yeah, he’s super-stoked for this rematch.” “We’re going to see a big game out of him this week.”
Oregon’s grown a lot as a team. OSU will go out there and play fast and physical.
The defense always talks about being unselfish. It’s fun moving around to different positions. “I’m always up for new challenges. A lot of people around the nation can’t do that.”
More valuable to watch the first game or what Oregon has done since then? Both. He watches what he didn’t do well but also sees how they have changed since that game. Every game matters.

Ty Hamilton

On collapsing the pocket and maintaining rush lanes at the same time: “I think it’s extremely important.” They have to rush as four and rush together. That makes it hard for him to make his reads.
What didn’t the pass rush do well enough against Oregon? It all comes down to technique. It’s the small things. Have to hone the technique.
How many changes were made from that first Oregon game? He’s allowed the defensive ends to get after it and allowed the blitzers to get after it more and that opens things up for the defensive line as a whole.
It was good prep to face a mobile quarterback in the first round. They can learn from those scrambles and how to handle it.
On Oregon’s center: “He’s definitely one of the better centers in the conference.” It’s hard to get around him. You have to use his tendencies against him.
On Oregon RB Jordan James: He’s one of the best guys in the conference. The first goal is to stop the run. Pass rush is good and all, but they have to stop the run. That’s the job of the front four.
The key to dealing with the tempo is just getting lined up as quickly as possible, but first you have to get the play called. But you always have to be moving.

Go to discussion...