Jim Knowles says Penn State football was ‘everything’ to him in first comments after OSU exit

Jim Knowles made a move few have in the course of college football history, leaving a program fresh off a national championship for a conference rival.

The decorated defensive coordinator had at least one big reason to go from Ohio State to Penn State — a reported three million per year, to be more specific — but there was another factor at play for him. It was home, or at least something closer to it.

In his first address to Nittany Lions players after being officially named their new defensive coordinator on Monday, Knowles spoke of the role Penn State football had in his childhood growing up in Philadelphia and repeatedly referred to the Nittany Lions as “everything” to him.

“We had like three channels on TV and you got up Sunday morning and you watched the Penn State highlights…Penn State was everything,” Knowles said in a video released by Penn State. “It was everything. That’s what we aspired to be. I couldn’t get there as a player, but through a lot of work, a lot of time, a lot of really good players, that allowed me to reach that point in my career where I could pick wherever I really wanted to be. Growing up as a kid, Penn State was everything and this is where I want to be.”

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Knowles played an instrumental role in Ohio State’s march to a national championship during the 2024 season, overseeing a loaded unit that finished first among all FBS programs in scoring defense (12.9 points allowed per game) and total defense (254.6 yards allowed per game). The Buckeyes reached those marks despite playing four games in the College Football Playoff, all of which came against top-10 opponents.

Knowles’ work with that defense put him in high demand. Both Penn State and Oklahoma pursued him for…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/jim-knowles-says-penn-state-215515140.html

Author : The Columbus Dispatch

Publish date : 2025-01-28 21:55:00

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