Breaking News: Jim Knowles Sends Clear Ultimatum to James Franklin’s Penn State After Blunt OSU Exposé Reveals Ryan Day’s Double Standard
No. 1 in yards allowed per game (255), points allowed per game (12.9), and red zone TD percentage (42%), the Ohio State Buckeyes’ 2024 season was a defensive masterclass. Even though Ryan Day’s team won the natty, something felt off in the OSU camp despite ending their 10-year title drought. The mastermind behind the OSU’s defense was gone simply because the Buckeyes did not offer Knowles a new contract before the championship game. “Season’s over, everything coming to a head again quickly,” Knowles said earlier this week. “Ohio State hasn’t come forward with a deal, and it’s like, OK, if I’m going to act on this or at least explore it, I have got to make the call.”
On the other hand, Penn State’s James Franklin quietly made a landmark signing by bringing Knowles to the Nittany Lions. A program that was already “pretty far along” in its search to replace their former DC Tom Allen, Knowles was too good of an option to just let go. Knowing what the former OSU DC brings to the table, the Nittany Lions’ HC directly called the AD Pat Kraft and asked him to make the highest bid for a DC in the country.
“In years past, we wouldn’t have been able to do that,” Franklin said. Now, as we move to the next season, Penn State is set to kick off a new era with the nation’s best DC guiding them. And while HC Franklin could not have asked for a better DC at his program, DC Knowles has sent a clear ultimatum to the Nittany Lions ahead of the regular season.
Penn State already has a polished defense that ranked 7th nationwide last season. And with Knowles at the helm, only sky is the limit for the Nittany Lions. Talking to Adam Breneman on his podcast, veteran DC opened up about his mission at the program. “You have to be able to stop everything. You have to have answers for everything, you know. There’s no more of, ‘Oh, we can just focus on this or that, tight spread, whatever. You have to have answers in your system for all of it,” Knowles said. That all-hands-on-deck approach has been crucial in Knowles tallying one stellar record after the other.
The DC likes to be prepared for everything. “There’s so much variety out there. So, the things that maybe in the past we didn’t really talk about on a regular basis, you know, we talk about it all now. So, there’s a lot to teach,” he told Breneman. The, Knowles was able to take a lackluster defense from its 59th position in total defense to 14th place. How many defensive minds can do that, and that too in one season?
Penn State, too, is warming up very easily to its new DC. Prior to spring ball, Franklin and Knowles seemed to be going ahead with a 4-2-5 plan. Knowles was to install about 50-60% of his system within just one month of the program. His major tasks before the opening game would be finding a No. 2 pass rusher, since equally formidable Dani Dennis-Sutton would take the top spot vacated by Abdul Carter. Then lies the replacement of the DT room, which is one of the deepest in the country. At the linebacker position, which has a gaping hole left by star player Kobe King, needs more cementing. The defense has some very new faces, but is stepping into the legacy of an elite one from the past. And with Knowles in charge, Franklin has a shot at going further than where he finished in 2024.
Jim Knowles’ loss might be Ryan Day’s biggest mistake
Towards the end of the season, Knowles was not having a great relationship with the Buckeyes’ staff and management. One very particular reason for his disinterest in an OSU future was clashing with Larry Johnson. The veteran D-line coach and Knowles had some ideological differences, especially in terms of positioning strategy. Both wanted to do things differently. But the final nail in the coffin was a contract fallout with the OSU top brass.
Knowles’ one-year contract was not extended by the management. In fact, the fallout was so sour that Day prevented Knowles from participating in the championship parade. Blake Ruffino and Joe DeLeone discussed how brutally Knowles’ loss can manifest in Day’s future. “Ryan Day and [Ohio State] not getting this done might come back and bite them in the rear end. I mean, I don’t think that Matt Patricia is going to be a bad DC. I don’t. But there also comes a place and time where I ask, ‘What if that does go bad?’…[If] Patricia isn’t good, then you’re like, ‘Ryan, what were you doing!’”
