Even though Ohio State had one of the nation’s best offenses last season behind Heisman Trophy finalist C.J. Stroud, the Buckeye defense was not strong. But with the addition of new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles from Oklahoma State, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day set his expectations high – and Knowles is setting them even higher.
The Buckeyes ranked near the bottom of the country in several categories last season, ranking No. 96 in passing defense, No. 100 in third-down defense, and No. 124 in red zone touchdown percentage – all out of 130 FBS schools. Day doesn’t just want the defense to improve, he wants it to be a top-10 defense at the end of the season.
“In terms of expectations, we expect a top-10 defense. That’s what we want,” Day told Eleven Warriors. “When we’ve played our best football, it’s because we played really good defense, and we’ve been balanced and played complementary football. We want to obviously stop the run to begin with and then go from there, but we expect a top-10 defense.”
Day’s expectations put pressure on Knowles, but he’s embracing it, and then some. After hearing Day’s comments, Knowles doubled down on the challenge, saying he’s expecting a top-five defense, not just a top-10 defense.
“I wish he would’ve said top-five,” Knowles told Griffin Strom of Eleven Warriors. “That’s our expectation.”
At Oklahoma State last season, Knowles’ defense ranked third nationally in total defense and No. 8 in scoring defense. The Cowboy defense ranked fourth in yards per play, sixth in run defense, 14th in passing defense, and in third-down defense. The Cowboys also led the nation in both tackles for loss and sacks.
Knowles is no stranger to leading elite defenses. Now, he’ll try to do it at Ohio State.
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