COLUMBUS, Ohio — Caden Curry spoke to Jim Knowles the day after he was hired as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator.

At that point, the former Oklahoma State defensive coordinator had already seen the four-star defensive end’s film.

“(He) said he loved me,” Curry said. “He can’t wait to get to know me, coach me.”

Knowles wasn’t officially starting as the leader for Ohio State’s defense until Jan. 2, but he had a job to do in the days leading up to Early Signing Day. His job was to sell himself to the members of the 2022 defensive class: answering any questions they had, calming any fears that transition may bring. When it wasn’t Knowles himself, it was head coach Ryan Day and assistant coaches like defensive line coach Larry Johnson raving about the latest hire, encouraging recruits to watch Oklahoma State film to see what he brought defensively.

As the Early Signing Period neared its start, Day’s job was the same recruiting even before Knowles’ hire: telling prospects that he’s going to do everything in his power to put them in the best position to be successful.

That’s why Ohio State hired Knowles: to be a fulfillment of that promise.

“When you come in to be the defensive coordinator at Ohio State… you have to check all the boxes. It’s not just one,” Day said. “His past and what he’s done, you watch the guys that have played for him, what they have done schematically, how they speak of him, former coaches that have worked with him, that he’s worked for, you add all of those things and you look at the production, it all speaks for itself.”

In 2021, Oklahoma State led the Big 12 in points allowed (16.8), touchdowns allowed (21) and yards allowed per game (278.4), leading the only defense in the conference to allow less than five yards per play. The Cowboys had the fifth-best run defense in the country, allowing 91.2 yards per contest and 2.74 yards per rush along with being one of 12 defenses in college football to allow less than 10 rushing touchdowns, including Alabama, Georgia and Clemson.

Schematically, Day said the Ohio State defense will be looking for the same type of players for its 4-2-5 base defense, one that Knowles will add its own flavor to once he arrives.

It’s a flavor that already has players like defensive end Jack Sawyer excited.

With Oklahoma State, Knowles used the Leo: a hybrid edge player that replaces a traditional weak-side defensive end in a three-point stance with an end that stands on the outside ready to rush, be ready to drop back if necessary or even set up in the middle as a linebacker with a defense showing only three traditional linemen up front.

It’s something that worked in a major way for the Cowboys, recording 55 sacks in 13 games while opposing quarterbacks completed 57.9% of passes against the Oklahoma State pass defense: the lowest in the Big 12.

“It’s definitely intriguing for a guy like me that kind of played everywhere growing up and played linebacker for the majority of my life until high school,” Sawyer said. “How they kind of stand him up and back him off the ball, it’s definitely intriguing for a guy like me who likes to play in space too. I took a little bit of a look at that position. It looks pretty cool. I’m not going to lie.”

It’s something junior defensive end Zach Harrison feels like he can do, saying “it can fit my skillset a lot,” as he waits to talk with Knowles ahead of his decision to either stay with Ohio State for another season or leave for the NFL.

While Oklahoma State was the only team in the Big 12 to allow less than 6.3 yards per pass, what stood out most to redshirt sophomore safety Ronnie Hickman was Knowles’ defense’s success on third down: allowing 26.1% of third down attempts to become first downs, the second-lowest percentage in the country.

Knowles will inherit a veteran pass defense of cornerbacks Denzel Burke and Cameron Brown, who announced Thursday night he would be back for his redshirt senior season.

“I’ve looked at it. He’s really good on paper,” Hickman said. “Their defense was very good last year on third downs and stuff like that. We’re excited and looking forward to meeting him and seeing what he can do here.”

While Knowles’ official start day is Jan. 2, Day said the incoming defensive coordinator would be coming in for a few days before then to meet people and to have a better idea of what he’s getting into. And even though him and Day have already been talking as to what his defense will look like after he officially takes over after the Rose Bowl, the head coach said Knowles will not help the Buckeyes prepare for Utah.

Yes, Knowles will change some things up when he arrives, but Sawyer doesn’t expect too much of a difference.

“I think we’re still going to do a lot of the same things schematically, but we might tweak things here and there to how he likes it and how he thinks it could help us,” the freshman defensive end said. “I think we’re all open for it, a little bit of a change and excited to get into that and learn how to play a little more of that stuff.”

To Kourt Williams II, it really doesn’t matter who’s leading his unit.

For him, it goes back to the trust, the promise Day encourages prospects with during the recruiting process.

If Day feels like Knowles is the best person for the job, Williams is ready to go, ready to follow his lead.

“It’s all about holding up a standard. It’s more about how I look at myself. I trust in Coach Day… I know my teammates do as well,” Williams said. “I know Coach Day is always going to bring in people that he feels is best for the team, best for the defense. I have to trust that, I have to trust him, and I do. It’s just about making sure I’m always prepared as a player and making sure I keep getting better and improving myself and the rest will take care of itself.”