Penn State has a new defensive coordinator, and it’s time fans who don’t know about him find out more about Jim Knowles.
Knowles is a name most rabid college football fans have known for years.
Most recently, he ran Ohio State’s defense for three seasons, the most recent one being the most successful.
OSU had the No. 1 total defense in the country, which was a big reason why the team won the national championship.
That national championship game ended up being Knowles’ last at Ohio State. A combination of money, location, disagreements with coworkers and whatever other factors there were has led Knowles to Happy Valley.
‘You Don’t Mess Around With Jim’: Penn State Set to Hire Jim Knowles as Defensive Coordinator
Here are five things to know about the man who will soon run Penn State’s defense.
NO. 1: HE’S A PA GUY
Jim Knowles/USA Today
Jim Knowles is a PA guy. Not only is he a PA guy, he’s from Philly, which is a hotbed for Penn State recruiting. Abdul Carter turned out pretty well. He went to Philly’s LaSalle College High School. Tyseer Denmark could become a star receiver. He’s from Philly, as well. As far as the further goes, Zahir Mathis is a guy to watch. The No. 3 player in Pennsylvania was committed to Knowles and Ohio State but de-committed in November.
Penn State Recruiting: One of PA’s Top Players De-Commits From Ohio State
Penn State was in the race before Knowles’ hiring. Does Knowles being with a Penn State make Mathis committing more likely?
“The best in PA stay in PA,” has been a saying of James Franklin since he took over as head coach. It turns out, that applies to assistant coaches as well as recruits.
NO. 2: HE’S BEEN A HEAD COACH BEFORE
COLUMBUS, OH – APRIL 13: Ohio State Buckeyes defensive coordinator Jim Knowles walking into Ohio Stadium before the Ohio State Spring Game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio on April 13, 2024. (Photo by Jason Mowry/Icon Sportswire)
Knowles has been a head coach before. This is important, since Franklin has long stressed a desire for Penn State to have a head coach on offense and a head coach on defense. Knowles’ HC experience— six seasons and a 26-34 overall record at Cornell— doesn’t look like much. It isn’t much relative to Penn State’s two previous coordinators— Tom Allen, who won National Coach of the Year at Indiana before coming to Penn State, and Manny Diaz, who had a winning record at Miami before PSU. But Knowles has led a DI program before, and that’s worth something.
NO. 3: HIS SCHEME
Scheme is important when it comes to getting to know a coordinator. What does Knowles’ scheme consist of?
Nittany Sports Now’s Jarrod Prugar broke it down like this:
“Knowles prefers a hybrid defense which can look like a 3-3-5, which is the base defense, a 4-2-5, which Penn State ran under Tom Allen this past season or even a 5-1-5 which allows an immense ability to be flexible and disguise blitzes and pass rushes much like the one below in the College Football Playoff semifinal against Texas.”
“He wants to get matchups he can take advantage of and with the returning front PSU, there really shouldn’t be much of a difference schematically than what has been seen in previous years by Allen and Manny Diaz.”
In short, Knowles’ scheme fits Penn State’s personnel like a glove.
NO. 4: BEEF WITH LJ
Part of the reason Knowles left Ohio State is his relationship with assistant coaches. The main issue was how Knowles got along with Larry Johnson Sr. Nittany Sports Now can confirm that, for one reason or another, the two just didn’t mesh. Johnson, who’s in his early 70s, has been Ohio State’s defensive line coach and assistant head coach since 2014. Before that, he was Penn State’s defensive line coach from 2000-13. PSU’s staff doesn’t have an equal to Johnson in terms of experience. The closest one is probably safeties coach/co-DC Anthony Poindexter, and apparently, Poindexter is fine with Knowles coming in. Maybe that means things with be smoother behind the scenes for Knowles at Penn State.
NO. 5: SUCCESS AGAINST KOTELNICKI
Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now: Andy Kotelnicki
Knowles has dominated Penn State’s offensive coordinator, Andy Kotelnicki. Penn State fans know some of the story from the team’s latest loss to Ohio State. PSU fell 20-13 this past November and didn’t score an offensive touchdown— the only overall touchdown came on Zion Tracy’s pick-6. But that wasn’t the first time Knowles’ defense got the best of Kotelnicki’s offense. Kotelnicki was at Kansas from 2021-23. In 2021, Kansas scored three points against Knowles and Oklahoma State in a 55-3 loss.
Is this a result of small sample size? Maybe. That 2021 Kansas team was terrible and went 2-10 as a result. The 2024 Penn State team wasn’t terrible but that loss to Ohio State— as magnified as it was— still was just one game. But maybe there’s something more to Knowles’ success against Kotelnicki. If there is, Knowles can tell Kotelnicki what he thinks the flaws are with his unit and Kotelnicki can work on them. How’s that for a thought, Penn State fans?
PSU opens the 2025 season Aug. 30 against Nevada at Beaver Stadium.
