It takes real conviction – and a significant payday – to leave the program you just won a national championship with, but that’s what longtime defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has. In one of his first interviews since leaving Ohio State to become the defensive coordinator at Penn State, Knowles made his goals for the Nittany Lions defense crystal clear.
When asked by former Penn State linebacker and State Media’s Michael Mauti about his recruiting pitch to potential recruits now that he’s running the defensive side of the football for head coach James Franklin, Knowles laid out his aspirations: “We’re telling them that we’re going to be the No. 1 defense and that we’re going to win a national championship.”
The 59-year-old Philadelphia native has had a lengthy coaching career in the college ranks and a particularly successful three-year stint in Columbus that culminated with a national championship last month. So, when now-former Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen left for Clemson after just one season in Happy Valley, Franklin’s sights were set on poaching Knowles away from his biggest Big Ten rival.
It took over $3 million a year to sway Knowles, who began his coaching career at Cornell, his alma mater, in 1988. Knowles is known for his timely blitzes and aggressiveness which led the Buckeye’s talented unit to rank No. 1 in the country last season. Beyond just pitching a potential national championship – which is the goal and is fast becoming an expectation in 2025 after Knowles’s hiring and the retention of many of the best players from last season’s College Football Playoff semifinalist roster – Knowles will be able to sell his insights and experience to the best high school players in the country.
“You are going to learn about situations and about big-picture defense. We’re going to have enough change-ups and teaching where you’re going to have the opportunity to elevate your game from a knowledge perspective,” Knowles continued to tell Mauti. “When you move to the next level, even past us to the NFL, everybody’s good, so you better have some advantage with the mental game.”
With Abdul Carter, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, heading off to the NFL draft this Spring, Knowles won’t have as much high-end talent next season as he had in Columbus over the past three years. However, the return of former five-star edge rusher Dani Dennis-Sutton along with Zane Durant on the defensive line and Zakee Wheatley in the secondary will give Knowles more than enough to work with as he chases another championship ring.