Ohio State player’s admission is a bad look for now Penn State DC Jim Knowles and a breath of fresh air for the Buckeyes
The Ohio State Buckeyes won a national championship with the top-ranked defense in the 2024 season, but they’ve seemingly achieved the impossible. Faced with replacing Jim Knowles after he shockingly left the program for a lateral job at Penn State as the Buckeyes celebrated their title, head coach Ryan Day swung for the fences. He […]
The Ohio State Buckeyes won a national championship with the top-ranked defense in the 2024 season, but they’ve seemingly achieved the impossible. Faced with replacing Jim Knowles after he shockingly left the program for a lateral job at Penn State as the Buckeyes celebrated their title, head coach Ryan Day swung for the fences. He hired Matt Patricia out of nowhere, and no one knew what to expect.
Five games into the experience, and Patricia has left no doubt that he’s actually been an upgrade on the cantankerous Knowles. While Knowles took years to settle in, costing Ohio State a title shot in the 2022-23 season when his unit took a complete dump against Georgia, Patricia has elevated a unit that was breaking in a ton of new contributors.
The difference has been massive, per the players. Check out what one key underclassman who will play a big role in 2026 said about how Patricia compares to Knowles.
Ohio State defender slams Jim Knowles, praises Matt Patricia
Sophomore linebacker Payton Pierce has played 91 snaps this year and has looked like the future middle man for the Buckeyes’ defense alongside an incredibly talented young corps of backups. He made it clear that his development into an impressive player is thanks to Patricia, not Knowles.
“I got to know him pretty well. It was a lot different than the previous defensive coordinator. I talked to Patricia more probably his first two days here than I did with our old defensive coordinator my whole time being here,” Pierce said. “He’s poured into all of us, and he does every single day. I mean, he’s still sitting out here talking to players. Any questions we got, he’s always here to help and not just in football, but in life. He’s given us different advice and stuff like that and he’s been through so much, so it’s great hearing from him every single day, and I appreciate him a lot.”
There’s been a lot of internal and external chatter about Knowles’ prickly personality. He’s failed to bring the best out of Penn State’s defense this year, and the Buckeyes have benefited on the recruiting trail and in on-field situations thus far. We’ll see if Patricia can earn a ring, as Knowles certainly earned his keep in the College Football Playoff.
The difference could be in how The Game and this year’s CFP play out. We’ll know in about three months.
