Assessing Year 1 of Jim Knowles' defense and the focus for Year 2

COLUMBUS — Any number of statistical markers would tell you that Ohio State’s defense was improved in 2022 compared to the lean years of 2020 and 2021. So in that sense, Ryan Day’s — and more to the point, the athletic department’s — $2 million investment in getting that side of the ball back to championship standards did see some dividends.

The end result, however, felt like more of the same. In the biggest games, the Buckeye defense came up short. Day’s offense, of course, is not free from blame in losses to Michigan and Georgia that capped Ohio State’s season, but the big plays allowed by Jim Knowles’ defense in both contests stick out more than anything else.

“That hurt us in the last two games,” Day said. “That’s no secret there. Too many big plays. If we’re gonna win those games, we can’t give up big plays like that. Was that the only problem? No. But I think Jim knows that, and that’s something we gotta get fixed in the offseason.”

Knowles’ stylings come with some room for explosive plays built in. He’s not afraid to be aggressive and put players on islands. But when tackling breaks down or one player slips, it can be curtains. So there is a balance Knowles must strike in Year 2 that continues the forward momentum for the entire unit and allows players to continue their growth in the system, but cuts down on the killer big plays that are difficult for any team to overcome.

The plan to get Ohio State there starts with getting back to basics this spring.

Knowles admittedly obsesses over specific calls. Was that the right time and place for that particular look? When poring over the Michigan and Georgia film, he no doubt found himself second-guessing some decisions. He does not, however, second-guess the defense as a whole.

“It haunts me all the time,” Knowles said. “But switching things up? That’s not the answer. I think we do that well enough when you look at the extensiveness of our package. We had enough change-ups. Any time a play goes bad, I want to critique myself on the call in that situation, and if I had it back … blah, blah, blah, what would I do? Those are the things that keep me up. But it’s about the technique. Now that I’m in Year 2, I’ve gotta be more demanding and put on more steam with the player individually on the preciseness of the technique. I’ve gotta really bear down.”

If Knowles’ first spring was about coming to understand his personnel, their strengths and weaknesses and what makes them tick, then his second spring in Columbus is about using that information to push the right buttons and get the most out of those players.

“The bear is in the details,” Knowles said, “and that’s where I need to push.”

He has plenty of data to point toward that shows his methods are the right course of action compared to what Ohio State was doing previously.

The defense was improved in efficiency, points per drive, the percentage of available yards it allowed, yards per play, touchdown rate (percentage of opponent drives that end with a touchdown) and first down rate (percentage of opponent drives that end in a first down) — in many of those categories by significant measures.

Someone playing devil’s advocate might tell you, though, that Ohio State did not exactly play world-beating offenses for much of 2022. It faced five top-40 offenses (by efficiency) last season, compared to eight the year before. The average national ranking for offensive efficiency of Ohio State’s opponents fell slightly from 54th in 2021 to 61st in 2022. In either case, it wasn’t a consistent gauntlet.

Markers of splash plays — things such as sacks, tackles for loss and takeaways — were largely unchanged, if not slightly worse, from one year to the next.

When facing good offenses, Knowles’ outfit encountered its share of struggles last year, culminating in the big play bonanzas against Michigan and Georgia.

Ohio State’s 2021 defense allowed only nine plays of 40 yards or more. The 2022 unit allowed 18, with eight of them coming in the last two games.

It was not, then, a stark improvement across the board. Yet the feeling of having more answers and being systematic was more palpable with Knowles at the helm. And that did bear out moments of real promise, the high point coming in a stout third quarter against Georgia in the Peach Bowl.

“There are positives in that the adjustments we made and things we did in that third quarter, that we can show our guys that we can have a defense that wins the national championship,” Knowles said. “You want to go back and look at how a premier offense with a great quarterback did the things that they did to hurt us. At the same time, you can emphasize the positives, the good things we did against their tight ends, and the things they were strong at. It’s just so valuable because it’s the best competition in the country. There’s no speculating anymore. You can say here’s how this held up, good and bad, against the best competition in the country.”

The luxury to show such things is something Knowles didn’t have last year.

He didn’t watch or talk about Ohio State’s 2021 defense. Why harp on the past?

The tape they did watch was from Knowles’ previous stops. It should resonate more now that Knowles can show Ohio State’s players clips of themselves in the system.

It all needs to lead to further growth in 2022.

The debut had its moments, but too many letdowns in the biggest games in the end.

Year 2 must come with more of the former and fewer of the latter.