The Ohio State football program has done a good job recruiting on the defensive side of the ball over the last few years. Ryan Day has hired the right assistant coaches to help recruit effectively. Jim Knowles, as the former defensive coordinator, certainly helped with that.
Knowles did have the Buckeyes as the top-ranked defense in the country when they won the national championship. Of course, he ended up leaving the Ohio State Buckeyes for Penn State to become the highest-paid coordinator in the nation. However, he was fired just less than a year into that job.
In the post-Knowles world, the Buckeyes have kept their standards high on the defensive side of the ball. They have been able to recruit at a high level on that end. That includes the defensive line spot. That begs the question: was Knowles hindering the recruiting up front?
Was Jim Knowles holding back Ohio State's recruiting on the defensive line?
Larry Johnson is in the midst of recruiting what could be his best-ever defensive line since becoming the defensive line coach over a decade ago. He has landed two five-star recruits and a couple of four-star recruits, including Karlos May on Saturday afternoon.
Johnson was landing these kinds of prospects pretty much every single year before Knowles was hired as the defensive coordinator. Knowles didn't really let the defensive line get after the quarterback much in his system. Instead, he wanted them to just eat up space.
That could have been a big reason why Johnson was slowing down on the recruiting trail. Defensive line recruits want to be able to have high sack numbers. That's how they get drafted in the first round. Perhaps Johnson wasn't slowing down at all. Perhaps it was Knowles whom the recruits were weary of, instead.
Ohio State has flourished under Matt Patricia
The Buckeyes had the best defense in the country last year in the first year under Matt Patricia. Patricia made an immediate connection with all of the players on the defensive side of the ball. That was something that they didn't have under Knowles, as he didn't explain why the players were doing what they were asked to.
Patricia has changed that. If anyone has questions about why they are doing what they are, Patricia will explain why he is putting them in the best possible position to succeed. The current crop of defensive linemen sees that, and that has helped them get the great class they are assembling now.
Ohio State could eventually end up with one of the best recruiting classes in the country. They are still in the running for a five-star recruit and a few other four-star players. They will use the Fall to help solidify their class, and that should help them get some really good players late in the cycle.
The Buckeyes are going to be great on defense this year. Knowles is now the DC at Tennessee. It remains to be seen if he will have them playing at a high level in his first year. His track record says otherwise.
Add us as a preferred source on Google