Penn State's Jim Knowles Offers Strong Early Feedback on His New Defense

Jim Knowles didn’t get much of a break after helping Ohio State win a national championship in January. Just days later, he was introduced as Penn State’s new defensive coordinator, quickly getting to work with a team he spent three years beating with the Buckeyes. As he installs his schemes and philosophies with the Nittany Lions, Knowles is benefiting from his coordinator counterpart, Andy Kotelnicki.

Their personalities and coaching styles contrast, but Penn State is elevating spring practices thanks to the synergy between its defensive and offensive coordinators. Kotelnicki gets involved in Penn State’s practices. He’s vocal and energetic , yelling and directing players.



Knowles is the opposite. He’s quiet, preferring to assess his players from the background while taking notes. As Penn State football coach James Franklin said, “Jim, he’s a man of few words.

” Speaking to reporters in State College this week, Knowles discussed his approach to practice. “I try to stand in the back and see how they operate,” Knowles said in this video provided by Mark Brennan of Fight on State. “I try to stay out of the picture a lot in practice because I've scripted it all, I've set it all up.

So now I like to just kind of watch how it comes together.” Despite their differences, Knowles and Kotelnicki share a pedigree of success and creativity in their respective roles, though Knowles has had the advantage head-to-head. Before joining forces with Franklin, the coordinators had faced each other twice.

Knowles’ Oklahoma State defense held Kotelnicki’s Kansas offense without a touchdown in 2021, and Knowles’ Ohio State defense held Kotelnicki’s Penn State offense without a touchdown last season. Now, their competition is helping to sharpen Penn State players on both sides of the ball. “It's more than I've ever gone against in a spring, to be quite honest with you.

And I try to tell that to the defensive guys, that this helps us, because our offense is so multiple and creative, and the formations and the different things that they do that are really challenging,” Knowles said. “It gives us a lot of good tape to be able to watch this summer.” Already, Knowles and Kotelnicki are bouncing ideas off one another at a rate the 60-year-old defensive coordinator hasn’t experienced before.

“Andy and I have a really good relationship,” Knowles said. “We do work together a lot in an exchanging of ideas, and ‘Hey, this hurts us,’ or he’ll be like, ‘This is good.’ So we do talk a lot, probably more than anywhere I've ever been.

” Nearly three months into the job, Knowles estimated that he has implemented about 50 to 60 percent of his 2025 defense. The coordinator still has a few months until Week 1 preparations officially begin, but he has formed some early impressions of the Nittany Lions’ defensive strengths. “I love the way we cover.

Our corners are aggressive and talented, and I've been really impressed with that,” Knowles said. “Up front, I think there's a lot of depth and a lot of guys there, and they're all kind of fighting for playing time. With Dani [Dennis-Sutton] and Zane [Durant] not having gone a whole lot, it’s giving guys a lot of chances.

” At the nickel spot in the secondary, redshirt junior Kolin Dinkins “has really shown up,” Knowles said, while redshirt freshman Kenny Woseley Jr. has turned a corner after a slow start to the spring. Among the linebackers, Knowles said redshirt freshman Anthony Speca has shown solid instincts, Keon Wylie has flashed his talents and Dom DeLuca is “very steady.

” As for Max Granville, a young defensive end who could play a role in replacing Abdul Carter’s production, Knowles has been impressed with his effort and mindset. “For a young guy, [he’s] a mature guy,” Knowles said. “He plays hard every day, he comes off the ball hard every down.

So youth and size and all the things that you get maybe later in your career, he's making up for it right now just with aggression.” Knowles joined Penn State with experience building top-ranked defenses. Now, with a title fresh under his belt, does he think his new squad has a chance to win the 2025 national championship? “Yes,” Knowles said.

“Next question.” Check out Knowles’ media availability here, courtesy of Fight on State..