Ohio State Football: How much is second-year knowledge worth?

The Ohio State football team will now be in the second year of the defensive system brought in by Jim Knowles this season. Knowles was brought in last year after being at Oklahoma State and turning that defensive around into one of the best defenses in the country.

Turning Oklahoma State around wasn’t an overnight job though. It took a couple of years before the defense was a top-five defense. Even though the Buckeyes were able to improve last year over the previous season defensively, they still have a long way to go.

As I mentioned, this is now year two under Knowles. How much is the fact that the team is now in its second offseason under that system worth? Knowles mentioned that he only installed about 75% of the defense last season. You’d think he’d get the full thing installed this year.

The players should be a lot more comfortable in their movements in this system now. They should be able to move faster because they aren’t thinking anymore. They are just reacting to the play knowing that they are in the right place. Thinking slows you down.

If the Ohio State football team is going to get where they want to go, they can’t be thinking too much on defense. They have to be reacting and flowing to the ball. They can’t have breakdowns in the secondary that allow big plays to happen. That’s what killed them last season.

I expect the defense to be better this year than they were last season, but I’m not sure by how much still. I’m not sure if they will be able to fix their fatal flaw this year. They may not have the personnel in the secondary quite yet. But we are going to learn just how much a second offseason learning the system is worth.