Jim Knowles has tweaked some of his patented positional terminology during the implementation phase of his new defense at Ohio State.
At his introductory press conference at the start of February, Knowles was still calling the free safety position the “bandit." By the start of spring practice on Tuesday, the former Oklahoma State defensive coordinator was referring to the free safety spot as “the adjuster,” while bandit is now the name for the boundary safety position.
“That’s different than it was at Oklahoma State,” Knowles said after Tuesday’s practice. “Sometimes when you move, you look at what you say and say, ‘I could really say this better.’ So instead of calling the bandit like we did at Oklahoma State, he was the free safety. Well, the bandit is the boundary safety, it makes sense, ‘B.’ And then make the middle safety, we call him the adjuster, because he is the guy that has to really adjust to the formation. So there’s things you get to do when you take a new job to make things better for the players and understandable.”
What hasn’t changed is the importance of the safety in Knowles’ scheme, even if his most direct influence position-wise is with the linebacker unit. Knowles spoke extensively on Tuesday about four safeties in particular that could be vital to a successful defensive turnaround for the Buckeyes in 2022, offering insights into what he’s seen from Kourt Williams, Ronnie Hickman, Tanner McCalister and Josh Proctor so far this offseason.
For Williams, a redshirt sophomore who came on strong at the end of 2021, Knowles envisions a role at the bandit position. The 6-foot-1, 220-pound defender played Ohio State’s bullet safety role for much of last season as a hybrid safety/linebacker, but didn’t play more than 28 snaps in any single game until the final three games of the season as Hickman emerged as one of the Buckeyes’ most consistent defensive players.
Ohio State played Williams a season-high 47 snaps in the Rose Bowl in order to stop Utah’s run threat, and it appears Knowles wants to use him for a similar purpose in 2022.
“I think right now from where I saw Kourt from last year and his leadership skills, this is a safety-driven defense, it really is. And he’s been playing a lot at our boundary safety position, which we call bandit,” Knowles said. “We feel like he can get into the run fit there when we want him. We feel that he’s a guy who’s a leader. Off the field, when I watched him in the weight room, he’s a worker, he’s a leader. So I like him with more depth and vision to be able to see the ball and to control kind of the movements of the secondary.”
As impressed as Knowles has been with Williams, he doesn’t think Williams’ prospective role will have to eclipse that of Hickman, who led all Buckeyes with 100 total tackles last season.
“The answer is yes, I do envision them both playing together,” Knowles said. “I just think (Hickman)’s a heads up guy, I think he’s a football player, he understands defense, he communicates, he’s got a great personality. He’s everything I want in a safety, so I definitely want him on the field and I want Kourt on the field too.”
Hickman played his second-fewest snaps of the season (35) when Williams took his place in the starting lineup for the Rose Bowl, but Knowles seems to like the idea of finding a role for both of them to play at the same time this season. Perhaps Knowles may even try Hickman out at his adjuster position during a spring in which a couple of the Buckeyes’ regular options at free safety may be out.
One player who has yet to begin taking live drill reps as spring practice begins is Proctor, who started 2021 as the Buckeyes’ top free safety before suffering a season-ending leg fracture in just the second game of the season. Having recruited the Owasso, Oklahoma, native years ago, Knowles already has some familiar with the 6-foot-2, 205-pound defensive back, but may not be able to see him go live for most of the spring.
“It’s my job to make sure that he still learns and Perry (Eliano)’s job to keep him engaged mentally and all of our jobs to encourage him to stay involved,” Knowles said. “But when it comes to on-the-field coaching, there’s not much we can do. He’s got to take a lot of mental reps, we just got to just give him encouragement. I remember him from high school and from what I’ve seen on film, he is a guy that can have a really positive effect for our defense on the field. So it’s just really mental reps and encouragement.”
McCalister played the nickel role in Knowles' Oklahoma State defense for the past several years, and he’ll do so again for the Buckeyes, likely in a starting role right off the bat. Knowles said McCalister has already made quick progress in the Buckeye program, having earned an honor from Mickey Marotti for his hard work during winter workouts just before spring practices started in Columbus.
“Tanner, I’m really proud of him. He came in here, didn’t say a word and Coach Mick gave him a high honor at our champions banquet,” Knowles said. “For a guy to come in and get that honor, I’m really proud of him and to be a part of his life.”
Knowles is also happy to have McCalister around as a liaison of sorts between him and his new pupils, who may need McCalister’s help in transitioning to both Knowles’ new scheme as well as his personality on the field.
“He’s that guy that can talk to the players not only about scheme, but he can talk about me, too. Day one if I go from being Mr. Calm to running around and screaming, he can say, ‘Hey that’s just Knowles, chill out. He’s fine, that’s just the way he is, don’t take it personal. He just wants you to get better,’” Knowles said. “To have a guy their own age that knows me as a person, he’s gonna be able to tell the guys a lot about me, not just as a teacher and scheme – and he can teach the scheme – but he can tell them about me and how I operate and who I am.”
Knowles knows a lot of improvements must be made in the secondary between now and the start of the season, but he already likes what he sees from the talent on the Buckeye defense just one practice into the spring, particularly with the top players at several safety positions.
“We have speed everywhere, we have size everywhere, the way guys move on the football field, it’s impressive to me,” Knowles said. “Obviously day one now, it’s my job to mold that into a cohesive unit in the defense.”
