Jim Knowles is bringing two young defensive assistant coaches with him from Oklahoma State to Ohio State.
Michael Hunter, who was a defensive graduate assistant at Oklahoma State, and Koy McFarland, who was a defensive quality control coach at Oklahoma State, are both joining Ohio State’s coaching staff in support staff roles, according to Football Scoop’s John Brice.
Hunter and McFarland are both listed in Ohio State’s online directory, indicating that both have already been hired by the Buckeyes, though their specific roles have not yet been announced.
McFarland and Hunter are part of an influx of new defensive coaches at Ohio State that also includes new secondary coaches Perry Eliano and Tim Walton as well as Knowles, who is replacing Kerry Coombs as the Buckeyes’ defensive coordinator. Hunter and McFarland will not be among Ohio State’s 10 full-time on-field assistant coaches.
Hunter is a former Indiana and Oklahoma State cornerback who also spent time with six NFL teams from 2016-19 before ending his playing career. He began his coaching career with Oklahoma State in March and served as the Cowboys’ assistant defensive backs coach last season.
McFarland, who played at Arkansas-Monticello and was also a graduate assistant there before heading to Stillwater, served as an assistant linebackers coach at Oklahoma State, where he took over full-time linebacker coach duties for the Fiesta Bowl after Knowles left to join Ohio State’s staff. He drew praise for his work with the Cowboys leading up to the Fiesta Bowl, with defensive line coach Joe Bob Clements describing McFarland as a “very bright mind” who is “going to be a star in this profession.”
