JD PicKell: Why Jim Knowles’ defense delivers on third down
Ohio State’s defense failed them last year. Their offense lit up scoreboards. It placed two wide receivers in the first round of the draft. Their third-best broke a laundry list of records in the Rose Bowl. And their quarterback attended the Heisman Trophy ceremony. The Buckeyes had it all except for the defensive side of the football. On3’s JD PicKell sees that changing in 2022.
Ryan Day brought in a new defensive coordinator to help right the ship. Jim Knowles from the other OSU, Oklahoma State. In a video over on the On3 YouTube channel, PicKell broke down why his addition will make such a difference even in year one. Watch his comments right here or read what he had to say below regarding the OSU D.
JD PicKell on new Buckeye defense under Knowles
“They’re gonna be a lot better on third down. Last year, Ohio State was like 42% conversion. They were giving up a first down 42% of the time on third down. Some of that’s to scheme, some of that’s to how they called the defense. Not the case with Jim Knowles. Jim Knowles at Oklahoma State: 28%. Only 28% of the time was the offense converting on third down against them.
“A lot of that has to do with how they decided to play their third down. Especially on third down and short, Oklahoma State was content to play man coverage. You say…okay, that’s cool, I’m all for man coverage. But why does that matter on third down? Well, if it’s third and short, that means everybody who’s not in man coverage, according to Jim Knowles’ defense, they’re committing to the run. So if you game-plan well and if you’re able to have your keys correct as a defense, you’re able to turn more guys loose to go tackle whoever that ball carrier is.
“By process of the statistics, based on what we’re seeing here, Oklahoma State, that worked for them. Jim Knowles got his guys in the right position. So that man coverage on third down and how they played those third and short situations, was really successful for them. Expect to see more of that. Expect Ohio State to play a similar flavor of defense on third down as Oklahoma State did a season ago.
“Ohio State has a lot of dogs on this defense. A lot of guys who came in with four stars next to their name. It’s not a matter of talent. Jim Knowles paired with that talent — opposing offenses need to be weary of the Buckeyes defense in the fall.”