‘I don’t know how Coach Knowles knew this’ – Tennessee’s reported new defensive coordinator could actually make the offense better
The Tennessee Vols are reportedly hiring former Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to replace Tim Banks.
The Tennessee Vols are reportedly hiring Jim Knowles to be the program’s new defensive coordinator.
Knowles served as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator from 2022 to 2024. He joined Penn State’s coaching staff shortly after the Buckeyes won the national championship last season.
Jim Knowles could help Tennessee’s offense improve
The Vols are obviously hiring Knowles with the expectation that he will take the defense to the next level.
Knowles, however, could also help the Vols’ offense improve.
Tennessee faced Knowles and the Buckeyes in the first round of the College Football Playoff last season.
And Knowles’ game plan completely shut down the Vols’ offense.
Former Buckeyes safety Lathan Ransom said after the game that Knowles prepared the defense so well for Tennessee’s offense that Ohio State’s players knew what plays were coming.
“We had three weeks to prepare (for Tennessee),” said Ransom. “Hats off to the coaches. It’s easy to play fast when you’ve been shown so many looks, you’ve been shown what’s expected from them. And that’s why we were able to play fast and react fast because we had seen it three weeks in a row. Our coaches came up with a great game plan. Our scouts did a great job for the last three weeks [of] showing us the looks, the exact thing that we thought Tennessee was going to do.”
Ransom pointed out an example of Ohio State knowing what was coming from Tennessee’s offense based on the look from the Vols.
At one point during the game, the Vols ran an option play on third-and-seven. Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who has since transferred to UCLA, pitched the ball to running back Peyton Lewis. For a moment, it looked like the play was going to pick up some positive yardage.
Ransom, however, read the play perfectly because he knew it was coming due to the defensive look that Ohio State was in and the alignment of Tennessee’s offense.
“We actually had, I don’t know how Coach Knowles knew this, if we showed a certain look, we had an idea that they were going to check to speed option,” said Ransom. “And if it was to the field, it was going to be Caleb (Downs) that was going to take the pitch and if it was to the boundary, it was gonna be me. And we got that exact look on third down, we knew they were going to do it….there’s not a better feeling when you see that look in scout and then you see that exact look in the game.”
That type of detail is obviously a great sign for the future of Tennessee’s defense. But it should also help the Vols find deficiencies in their offense via practice and the film room.
No hire is guaranteed to work out. But Josh Heupel’s decision to target one of the top defensive minds in the country in Knowles shows that he understands that big moves are sometimes necessary to take a program to a championship level.
Heupel just has to hope this big move works out.
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‘I’ve gotten better at it’ – There’s one big concern with Tennessee hiring Jim Knowles as the Vols’ new defensive coordinator
The Tennessee Vols are reportedly on the verge of hiring Jim Knowles as their new defensive coordinator.
