COLUMBUS — Upon Jim Knowles’ arrival at Ohio State this offseason, he took responsibility coaching the Buckeye linebackers.

Steele Chambers will enter his fourth season in the Ohio State program, but his second campaign focused solely on playing linebacker. He said Tuesday that Knowles’ new coaching and defensive styles have been challenging, noting that he’d “get down on myself sometimes” during the process.

But Knowles means — and sees — differently.

“Steele, I think, just has a confidence a little bit more than the other guys in confidence because he's played,” Knowles said. “He's kind of battle tested.”

Chambers said it’s a “shocker” and “kind of weird” hearing praise from Ohio State’s new defensive coordinator given the high standard Knowles expects, but he understands, too, that it’s only raised his confidence in his play.

“He'll make fun of me in walkthroughs or in film, and I mean, got to take it on the chin but realize that he created the defense. He knows what he's talking about,” Chambers said. “Just going off what he says, really taking what he says and learning it, I feel like that's made me a more confident person.”

Chambers said he feels like a linebacker after spending a full 2021 season in the room, exceeding expectations and finishing sixth among Buckeyes with 47 tackles — all after converting from running back where he originally began in 2019.

Ohio State’s linebacker room last season, however, embraced an expected learning curve. The Buckeyes replaced all of their starters from 2020, trotting out a new lineup that showed areas of improvement but also some that needed tuning up.

“We played on our heels last year, plain and simple,” Chambers said. “As coach Knowles says it's pulling our trigger. We just got to be more aggressive in general.”

The Buckeyes allowed 126.4 rushing yards per game last season, which ranked sixth in the Big Ten Conference. In both losses against No. 12 Oregon and No. 5 Michigan, Ohio State surrendered 269 and 297 rushing yards, respectively, which were the two most of its 13 games.

Chambers admitted there “was a little bit of a setback” for him after the changed defensive coaching staff and scheme during the offseason, but he said he feels “pretty great” with where he is now and the direction Ohio State is headed.

“When coach Knowles came in, he just started teaching just like big-picture stuff,” Chambers said. “I felt like at that point, I was able to study the position a lot better and then become a lot more aware of what I was actually doing out in that field.”

Chambers added five tackles for loss and two pass break-ups in addition to a sack and interception during his return season to linebacker. He was a two-way player in high school, and earned a Georgia Athletic Coaches Association all-state selection on defense at Blessed Trinity Catholic High School in Roswell, Georgia.

Head coach Ryan Day said Thursday that with Chambers having a full year under his belt at linebacker at Ohio State and the college level, he thinks it’s sharpened his skill set.

“Says a lot about him as a person and his ability to throw himself right into the fire and just not afraid to fail,” Day said. “I think now it gives him his chance to be his best version of himself and play his best football, and so I think his ability to diagnose plays is even better than it was at this time last year.”

Tommy Eichenberg will likely line up next to Chambers often as the two leaders of Ohio State’s linebackers unit. Eichenberg, who Chambers said is “like the heart” of the Buckeye defense, said his counterpart has grown into a true, confident linebacker after his move across the line of scrimmage from running back last season.

“That experience has helped him a lot,” Eichenberg said. “He's awesome. He's a great player.”

Chambers said he’s felt a sense of community and leadership among Buckeyes linebackers, referencing “units” created within the room leading up to the preseason.

He thinks Ohio State could “go a really long way” with the strides its taken defensively, and for Chambers personally, he’s placed a goal on his 2022 season.

“I'd like to think I'll be a lot better,” Chambers said. “Goal is to be one of the best in the Big Ten, one of the best in the nation, so that's what we got to aim for.”