How Steele Chambers sees Jim Knowles' revamped Ohio State defense

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Steele Chambers still has to find a balance.

In his transition from running back to linebacker before last season began, the Ohio State redshirt junior learned as he went, developing a “see and you go” mentality.

It’s what defensive coordinator Jim Knowles calls the “escape hatch.” A former running back playing linebacker knows where opposing running backs are going to land, bringing in Wayne Gretzky’s adage of not going where the puck is, but where the puck is going to be.

It’s what brought Chambers to where he is heading into 2022, seemingly penciled in as one of the Buckeyes’ two starters at linebacker along with Tommy Eichenberg; a room with so much more depth than there was at this time a season ago.

But with Knowles as the leader of the defense and his room, that “see and you go” mentality is getting Chambers into a bit of trouble.

“Now I’m kind of getting my ass chewed out for it,” Chambers said. “A couple times, I was supposed to be in man and not go. Next thing you know, Coach (Knowles) is mother effing me, telling me to get on the sideline.”

The change has been a lot for Chambers and the rest of the Ohio State linebackers. He feels everyone is in the same boat, learning a brand new scheme with pretty much a brand new coaching staff, relying on one another to master something that’s expected to become second-nature.

At the core, Chambers said it’s not too different. His job as a linebacker is the same: just find the football and tackle accordingly. But everything else is still fresh with a unit that’s still trying to get its feet wet.

But it's a defense that needed change.

For all of the success Chambers found at linebacker last season — the 47 tackles, the five tackles for loss, the two pass break ups, the interception — that’s not what the redshirt junior thinks of when he reflects on 2021.

He bases the performance – his own, the defense's and the overall team's – on that single game at the end of the year. The Michigan loss that kept the Buckeyes out of the Big Ten title game and a likely College Football Playoff berth.

It was cringey for Chambers to watch film that he hadn’t seen since the “Team Up North” period Wednesday. Film that signifies his feelings that opposing offenses were too much in tune with what the Ohio State defense was doing last season and how frustrating that was for every player involved.

“Knowing that we have more than like two or three plays in a game, it’s definitely a lot better knowing we have a lot more ammunition,” Chambers said of Knowles’ defense compared to what he saw last season.

It hasn’t been easy for the linebacker. Frankly, the installation process has pissed Chambers off.

But at that point, he said he takes a step back to get that big picture of what Knowles is doing through running a batch of plays with 10 more the next day, running them all on the practice field and getting yelled at if they are not right.

“It’s pretty outstanding,” Chambers said.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said he sees that progress in Chambers, watching a player who flipped positions late become one of the mainstays in the middle of a volatile linebacker room in 2021.

Chambers sees that progress too, reluctant to give himself praise given that season-defining loss in Ann Arbor.

“I guess I feel a lot more free,” Chambers said. “I’m pretty confident in my play style now, so even if I don’t know something, I would just go get the ball. Last year, I felt at the beginning I was just doubting myself with a lot of stuff, just not really sure what to do in what moments. Now, I kind of just go.”

That’s where Knowles wants Chambers, just like he wants every other player in his linebacker room. The Ohio State defensive coordinator has made it clear that it’s his job to get his players to a point where they can play without thinking.

It’s something Chambers thinks he can do. It’s a bit iffy sometimes, he admits, but it’s something he’s trying to get the hang of.

That’s what makes football fun for him: knowing what he’s supposed to do, seeing and going with that base of scheme anchoring every play he does.

Whenever the game is fun, Chambers said, you just play better, even if the process of getting there is a grind.

“I mean, he’s a hard ass,” Chambers said of Knowles. “He’ll scream at you, but I know what he’s doing for this program is pretty awesome.”