Latest / Buckeyes TomOrrow Morning / Is Jim Knowles' Revamped Defense Ready For The Ducks?

Transcript

Is Jim Knowles' Revamped Defense Ready For The Ducks? · Buckeyes TomOrrow Morning

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Welcome to a special bonus episode of Buckeyes tomorrow morning.
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: This is one of those weeks where we are going
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: to use every part of the buffalo, going to let
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: you hear pretty much everything that we got a chance
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: to hear. This week, we got a chance to talk
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: to a whole bunch of the Ohio State Buckeyes. Today,
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: we're going to start with some of the guys on
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: the Ohio State defense, and specifically on this show, you're
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: going to be hearing from Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: There's a lot to talk about in the lead up to,
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: of course, to the Rose Bowl game, a lot of storylines,
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: especially considering how that first game with Oregon went a
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: thirty two to thirty one loss for the Buckeyes, and
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: it was really kind of a little bit of an outlier.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Let's say, where the Buckeyes have been so good among
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: the nation's leaders in virtually every defensive category, and then
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: there's that thirty two point game against Oregon and that
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: game really changed the season. So they've had a very
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: different look on defense since that game. They changed some
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: stuff schematically since that. We're going to get into all
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: that stuff on this show with Jim Noles. So let's
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: start with those changes. We just talked about, what is
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: the biggest thing that has changed in the defense since
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: that first Oregon game.
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: Oh, you know, it's a it's been a pretty good season.
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: I mean that that that game, we gave up a
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: few plays that we shouldn't have.
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: So I don't know.
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: I guess i'd just say a renewed intensity to you know,
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: get lined up faster and you know, do your job.
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: But I think it's, uh, it's been pretty strong throughout
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: the year. We you know, we we had a subpar game.
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: When you have a game that is as much of
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: a statistical outlier as that thirty two point game was
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: for the Ohiosted defense, how much of that is just
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: it was a bad day for the Ohios Date defense
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: versus how much of it was Hey, Oregon's pretty good
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: on offense.
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: Both they're really good.
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: They challenge in a lot of ways, and we can
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: be better and we have to be better, but certainly
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: they're very good team, very good offense, and they challenge you.
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: One of the things that really stood out in that
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: first Ohio State Oregon game was it was just not
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: a very good day for Denzel Burke, he got beat
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: deep several times and he's been really consistent for the
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: rest of the season. So has he improved since that game?
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: And was that game just kind of a weird anomaly.
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Denzel's he's steady. He's a great player, great person.
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: You know that that job that he does and then
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: he'll be doing it for many years. It's you know,
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: you're on an island and there there are there are
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: times where you know you don't make the play. So
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: but but I feel like his resolve has been the
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: same and our trust in him has always been the same.
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: So you know, we all or handle ourselves in times
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: of adversity, and you know he's a guy that's always
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: going to bounce back.
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: That first Ohio State Oregon game was on October twelfth,
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: and obviously a lot has changed since then. So when
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: Jim Knowles puts on the film now as he's seeing
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: different things from the Ducks than when they first played.
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: Them, you're always going to see things. You know, you
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: can see how they attacked us and how they attacked
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: other teams for the remainder of the season, So yeah,
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: you're always going to pick up things. That's the job
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: of a coach. But they've been pretty steady, you know,
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: They've been really good the entire year.
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: This is the first time that Ohio State will get
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: a second game against the team since they played Wisconsin
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: twice in twenty nineteen. When you're a defensive coordinator like
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: Jim Knowles, is there a downside to playing a team
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: twice in one season where they've sort of seen what
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: you'd like to do against them, or you know that
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: is it not that big of an issue and it
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: is just kind of there in the same boat as
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: you are. You're gonna hear his answer on that, and
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: then a quick follow up from a buddy Tony gerdaman
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: if Bucky Huddle dot com.
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: It's all, it's all beneficial and it's all a burden,
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: you know what I mean. It's a it's a it's
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: all it's everything. You know, that's just that. That's just
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: the life we live.
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: You know. Good luck in your chosen profession.
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: You know, played with cancer failure twice in twenty twenty one.
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: What did you learn from that that applies to anything here? Yeah,
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: nothing that I recall exactly off the top of my head.
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: But it's a it's a constant. It's a constant learning process.
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: I mean, if you're not learning as a coach or
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: as a player, you're not growing. So it's just experience.
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: When you look back at that organ game, that thirty
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: two point performance by the Buckeye defense, obviously that was
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: an outlier and they have also made some pretty big
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: changes since that game to try and fix it. So
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: how confident is Jim Knowles that he really has fixed
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: the issues given that they haven't really faced a team
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: of Oregon's power since then to really stress test it
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: like they will be at the Rose Bowl.
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: I'm always confident that it's fixed, you know. And then
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: of course, you know, you always stay up at night
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: concerned about other things, you know, So it's a it's
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: a process. Obviously, we have to go out there and
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: do it. You know, it's every game day is a test,
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: you know, it's a test. Every game day is a test.
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: So no matter what is done previously, you know, you
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: don't get any credit for that. You got to go
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: out there and prove yourself.
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: One of the young Buckeyes who was starting to make
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: his mark very early in his career is defensive tackle Houston.
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: He's taken on a bigger role in the last month
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: or so. What does he have that has enabled him
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: to take on that kind of a bigger role this
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: early in his career.
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: Yeah, edrickst he's got great strength and competitiveness. You know,
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: he's one of those guys who comes in early and
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: things don't seem too big for him. You know, a
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: lot of guys need that transition time. He's a guy
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: that you know he'll make mistakes, but he'll learn from
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: them and he really lets it roll off his back.
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: And that's what you need in order to play early
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: at this level. You got to keep your fire, you
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: got to keep your intensity, and you got to know
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: you're going to make mistakes, you know, and not let
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: him get you down. I think that that can hamper
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: a lot of young guys early because you're going to
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: make mistakes. But Edrick, there's a guy who's got great
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: personality and great energy and he just keeps going.
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: Jim Knowles talks a lot about confidence, So what gives
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: him confidence in this defense?
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: Yeah, there's an edge. There's veterans, you know. I think
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: that always gives you confidence. When you have veterans, there's
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: no panic. You know, if we give up a play
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: or something negative happens. I mean, there's no panic. Guys
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: know how to fix things. There's a lot of communication
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: back and forth. You know, there's a lot of resolve
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: to do whatever it takes to win the game. You know,
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: no matter what happens during that game, our guys don't flinch.
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: Pretty much. As soon as the first Ohio State Oregon
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: game ended, we were all kind of talking about, boy,
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: that might not be the last time that we see
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: these two teams play. And here we go, they're about
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: to do it again. So is this a rematch that
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: Jim Knowles has been hoping for?
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: You always hope for a second shot when you don't
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: do well in that's life. You know, a lot of
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: times you don't get them.
• 8:02
  Speaker 3: So we got it.
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: We have a chance to do better and be better.
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: But in terms of the week to week process, I
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: think you know, when you have a team that's together
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: with veteran leadership, the week to week process stays the same.
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: You know, no matter who we're playing. The point has
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: always been for us to be at our best, to
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: get better from the week before, get better from earlier
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: in the season, and keep improving.
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: Jack Sawyer and j T. Twey Molowell have both had
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: great careers at Ohio State. But I couldn't really think
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: of a time, and the person who was asking this
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: question couldn't either of a time that that those two
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: guys both had such a dominating performance at the same
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: time against such a good opponent as against Tennessee on
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: Saturday night in the Horseshoe. So has Jim Nole seen
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: a game where Jack and JT both were at such
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: a high level at the same time.
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, in my mind they're They're both great
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: players and great young men, and you couldn't find better guys.
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: So I probably don't see it kind of the way
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: that you guys do, because you know, I'm seeing every
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: play and every block and you know, run game and
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: everything that goes into it. I know, you know, you
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: guys are the fans tend to just see the highlights,
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: you know. But they've been consistent throughout my tenure here.
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: There's been a lot of talk about how the Ohio
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: State defense kind of got rebuilt from the ground up
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: and how they looked really stripped it down to the
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: studs and looked at everything before they sort of started
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: to put the parts pieces and parts together to build
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: the sort of updated Ohio State defense for the back
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: half of the season. How hard is it to do
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: that kind of strip it down to the studs kind
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: of look in the middle of the season.
• 9:50
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it wasn't It wasn't hard at all. I think.
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: If you're going to survive and this profession and grow,
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: you know, not just survive, but grow and get better,
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: you always have to look at yourself. You have to,
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: you know, see things that happen on the field and
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: go back to how did I coach that, How did
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: I prepare for that? You have you have to take responsibility.
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: So probably when I was younger, that was hard, you know,
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: because you're you know, you take it personally. I think
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: now my job is to not be emotional about it.
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: My job is to is to fix it, you know,
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: That's that's my job. So you gotta evaluate and you gotta.
• 10:47
  Speaker 3: You can't blame the players. I think that's the biggest thing.
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: You know, you have to go back to how you're
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: coaching in your process, so you know, in terms of
• 10:57
  Speaker 2: the changes, you know, if I could write them all
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: down for you, I would, but I wouldn't anyway.
• 11:07
  Speaker 3: I mean, I wouldn't anyway I do that, but.
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: I don't think I could. You know, I think it's
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: it's a it's a it's just a matter of seeing
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: what's wrong, what happened, and fixing it.
• 11:20
  Speaker 3: That's it.
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: Sophomore cornerback Jermaine Matthews did not play in that first
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: Oregon game. That was the only time all season he
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: didn't play in a game. So what went into that decision?
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: And are we going to see him in the Rose Bowl?
• 11:34
  Speaker 3: Yeah?
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: I don't recall what went into that, but I know
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: Jermaine should play and we trust him. So, you know,
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: he's been getting in there more and you know, we
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: consider him a starter, you know, kind of like Cody
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: Simon was for the past for the first two years
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: I was here. You know, he's that next guy. But
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: we can put him in the game at any time
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: and we need to, and if anything happens, he could
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: play the whole game.
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: New Oregon offense presents a lot of different challenges, starting
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: with quarterback Dylan Gabriel. He of course, is a fantastic passer,
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: holds all sorts of NCAA career records, but he's also
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: just really elusive avoid sacks, extends plays. What kind of
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: challenge is that persent for a defense.
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: He's really good at that, you know, So.
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: Whether it was our game or any game, you know,
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: you have to have a plan for that, and.
• 12:36
  Speaker 3: You know we're going to have a plan for it.
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: But you know, I think the fact that of the
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: matter is he's he's going to get out. You know,
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: he's going to try to make plays with his feet
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: and then deliver the ball or scramble. So we have
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: to be very aware of it in both the coverage
• 12:58
  Speaker 2: and the rush.
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: JG. Twey Moloow is wrapping up his fourth season as
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: a Buck Guy, his final season as a Buck GUYE.
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: He came back for one more year and has put
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: together the best season of his career. What makes him
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: one of the anchors on the Ohio State defensive line.
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: He couldn't ask for a better player in terms of
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: the combination of skills that he has, you know, both
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: in the run game, in the past game, and in
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: making outstanding plays.
• 13:26
  Speaker 3: So he does it all, and he does.
• 13:29
  Speaker 2: It with a very consistent demeanor and leadership skills. And
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: you know, everybody looks up to him, including me. He's
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: just an all round great player and a great person.
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: Talked about Edrick Houston earlier. Another young defensive lineman that's
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: making a big splash this year is Kenyatta Jackson. He's
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: definitely taking on a bigger role. So what has he
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: done to earn more snaps in big moments this season?
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: He's really talented, really talented young man, and uh, you know,
• 14:04
  Speaker 2: he's moved himself into that position through through his uh
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: you know, work ethic and things he's shown us in
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: practice and in games.
• 14:14
  Speaker 3: He's just.
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: He's moved himself into that area where you know he
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: could be a starter, and uh, you know, he's earned it.
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: When you talk about Kenyata Jackson, it's hard to not
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: think about that penalty he got called for for roughing
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: the passer that everyone kind of scratched their heads and thought,
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: am I watching the correct replay? Where's the roughing penalty?
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: There is that one that Jim Knowles kind of looks
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: at and you kind of almost appreciate it in a way,
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: how hard he was playing on that play.
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: He didn't do anything wrong, you know, he didn't do
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: anything wrong. So yeah, we we highlight, we highlight as
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: we highlight his effort.
• 14:53
  Speaker 3: I mean.
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: That's a really tough call, you know, because you're into
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: the quarterback, you know. So it's one of those things
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: that's like, Okay, I'm into the quarter of bit if
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: he pulled the ball down and I landed on him,
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: that wouldn't be a penalty, what you know what I mean.
• 15:13
  Speaker 2: So if I'm here on okay, well pull it down, Zach,
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: They're not going to call it. That's not a penalty.
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: But release the ball and then it's a penalty, you know.
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: So it wasn't late, it wasn't dirty, it was it
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: was clean in my eyes, and so we highlight it
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: for sure.
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: And finally, something I've talked to Ross Fulton about a
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: bunch on the sort of scheme focused shows that we've
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: done earlier in the week. Buckas has shown a lot
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: more three high structure on defense with Caleb Downs kind
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: of in the middle. Ross has talked about him as
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: sort of the pole runner in the Tampa two or
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: the three high. Look, so, what is it what is
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: it that that allows him? What is it about Caleb
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: Downs that allows him to perform that kind of a
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: position and do some things that maybe a lot of
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: other people can't do. You're gonna hear it. That answer,
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: and then a quick follow up from Bill landis.
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean you you have a guy like Caleb Downs.
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: You know, a lot of times you don't want to
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: get him removed from a position to make plays, right,
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: because Caleb is a guy who can track the run
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: and play the pass. So in that kind of setup,
• 16:24
  Speaker 2: you kind of keep him, You keep him closer, closer
• 16:27
  Speaker 2: to the action, you know, and he and he's a
• 16:29
  Speaker 2: guy that we need to make plays and he and
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: he can in the run in the past game.
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: I guess what got you to the point where you
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: sort of involved in doing more of that this year.
• 16:39
  Speaker 3: I don't know that we saw a whole lot of
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: the first half of the season.
• 16:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, again looking at, uh, how we can
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: do things better. You know, I've done it in the past,
• 16:51
  Speaker 2: you know, So just wanting to get him involved more too.
• 16:58
  Speaker 2: You know, he's a guy, like I said, who can
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: make a lot of plays and make a lot of
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: things right. He can make a lot of people right,
• 17:05
  Speaker 2: So you think about how to get him involved more,
• 17:07
  Speaker 2: and that's one of the ways to do.
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: It, all right, So that will do it. For bonus
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: show number one, we'll have another bonus show coming up
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: a little later on today with more defensive players. Can
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: have interviews with the Ohio State offensive side of the ball,
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: Chip Kelly if you a handful of Buckeye offensive players
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: as well. And then the Buckeyes will be out in
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: California on Sunday, December twenty ninth. They're going to get
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: there sort of mid evening. I think it's about six
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: o'clock Pacific time at nine pm Eastern time, give or take.
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: They're going to be arriving at their hotel out there.
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: Tony Gertaman, and Kevin Noon and I will all be
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: out there covering that will be there for the hotel arrival.
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: We'll try and get you something from the Oregon Ducks
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: as well. It's going to be a lot to talk about,
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: a lot to cover while we were out in California.
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: As the countdown to the twenty twenty five Rose Bowl
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: moves on, make sure you were following us at Buckeyehuddle
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: dot com, at YouTube dot com, slash bucket Huddle on
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: your podcast platform of choice is just a search bucket Hudle.
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: Next year, subscribe to all of our shows there.
• 18:04
  Speaker 3: That'll do it.
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: For now. We'll be back with another show a little
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: bit later on