Tag: Jim Knowles

Florida 2024 four-star safety has Ohio State in his top five

The Buckeyes are included in his final group #GoBucks

It’s widely known that in [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag]’s defensive scheme under [autotag]Jim Knowles[/autotag], safeties make the calls and are the focal point of the strategy.

The Buckeyes are trying to find the best prospects that fit the scheme and 2024 Florida safety [autotag]Zaquan Patterson[/autotag] does that. The 6-foot, 1-inch, 195-pound defender has narrowed his list to five schools: Florida State, Miami, Auburn, Michigan and Ohio State.

Patterson is the No. 5 best safety and 73rd overall prospect in the 2024 recruiting cycle on the 247Sports composite.

At this moment, Ohio State could have athlete commitment [autotag]Garrett Stover[/autotag] play the position, but he could also end up at linebacker. There is a need for top-end talent at safety, and Patterson is one of the top targets for Knowles and head coach [autotag]Ryan Day[/autotag].

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Texas linebacker is offered a scholarship by Ohio State

The Buckeyes love recruiting Texans #GoBucks

The [autotag]Ohio State Buckeyes[/autotag] are making a habit of going after Texas linebackers. Last week they received a commitment from Payton Pierce, a 2024 Texas linebacker.

Now that Pierce is in the fold, head coach [autotag]Ryan Day[/autotag] has his sights on another Texan, [autotag]Kelvion Riggins[/autotag]. The 2025 linebacker was offered a scholarship by the Buckeyes on Friday.

At 6 feet, 205 pounds, Riggins is the No. 24 linebacker and 227th overall player according to the 247Sports composite. It also looks like defensive coordinator [autotag]Jim Knowles[/autotag] is the one leading the charge on his recruitment. The leader of the Buckeye defense was tagged in Riggins’ Twitter announcement.

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The day after: Lasting thoughts on Ohio State’s spring game

Plenty to think about after the Scarlet and Gray game. What sticks out in your mind the most? #GoBucks

If you are like me, you’re going to miss updates on [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] football for the next four months. Yesterday’s spring game was football, even thought it wasn’t really football.

It is the last glimpse of the Buckeyes we will get until camps starts in late summer, so many of us will be thinking about what transpired during the Scarlet and Gray game.

After having a day to think about it, there were some aspects that have continued to stick out in my mind. Here are some thoughts still brewing in my head after yesterday’s glorified scrimmage.

Brian Hartline and Jim Knowles provide Ohio State spring football updates

A little of what both coordinators said after spring practice on Tuesday for Ohio State. #GoBucks

The sixth of fifteen spring practices for the Ohio State football team is now complete as we work towards the annual LiFEsports Spring Game on April 15.

Throughout some of the practices and observations, some of the coaches and players have been made available to answer questions from the local media in Columbus. After the latest practice, assistant coaches Brian Hartline and Jim Knowles were on hand to provide some updates and field some inquiries from reporters.

Ohio State has been a little more tight-lipped this time around during the spring, so it’s always nice to hear directly from some of the coaches when we get the chance after observing a little bit of the action on the field in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.

Here’s some of what offensive coordinator, Brian Hartline, and defensive coordinator, Jim Knowles, had to say after spring practice on Tuesday.

FIRST … Offensive Coordinator Brian Hartline

This clip from Ohio State’s spring practice gives hope for defensive back improvement

This group has to be better this fall, doesn’t it? #GoBucks

This past season the Ohio State cornerbacks did not fare well at all. The group totaled no interceptions and had plenty of costly penalties called on them as they rarely looked for the ball while it was in the air.

It seems like Buckeye defensive coordinator [autotag]Jim Knowles[/autotag] and secondary coach [autotag]Tim Walton[/autotag] are trying to fix that. In this clip shared on Twitter by Dan Hope, it looks like the group is making a much more concerted effort to look for the ball while it’s in the air.

The Ohio State secondary will have plenty of different names roaming the backend of the defense, some new (Davison Igbinosun and Ja’Had Carter) and some old ([autotag]Sonny Styles[/autotag] and [autotag]Denzel Burke[/autotag]). The hope is that this mix of new and old in the 2023 season will have much better results.

If Ohio State can figure things out on the back end of the defense and limit some of those big plays we saw the last couple of years, there could be a lot of memorable moments playing for some pretty special things this coming season.

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Report: Ohio State hosting 5-star Georgia safety in June

Great news for the star safety and the Buckeyes #GoBucks

In [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] defensive coordinator [autotag]Jim Knowles[/autotag] scheme, safeties are a very important piece of the puzzle. That group for the Buckeyes played well overall, but had hiccups, especially in the final two games.

The best way to fix this issue is through recruiting and Georgia safety KJ Bolden is at the top of the list for the 2024 cycle. There is an easy connection for Bolden and the Buckeyes, his uncle, [autotag]Perry Eliano[/autotag], is Ohio State’s safeties coach.

That relationship has put the Buckeyes in high consideration. According to the report by 247Sports Blair Angulo, Bolden has scheduled an official visit to Columbus for the weekend of June 16.

Bolden is also considering Alabama, Georgia, USC and Oregon, and could visit those schools as well. Angulo also notes the star safety is looking to make his decision later in the summer. He is the No. 4 overall player and top safety in the country according to the 247Sports composite.

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Ohio State trending to add SEC defensive back in transfer portal

This would be a huge transfer portal win for the Buckeyes #GoBucks

As we outlined in our recruiting weekend recap, former Ole Miss cornerback [autotag]Davison Igbinosun[/autotag] visited Ohio State this past weekend. What we didn’t know was where the freshman All-American was leaning after his visits.

There was some very good news on that today. 247Sports transfer portal specialist Chris Hummer put in a crystal ball for Igbinosun to end up at Ohio State.

This is huge news for [autotag]Ryan Day[/autotag] and defensive coordinator [autotag]Jim Knowles[/autotag] for multiple reasons. First, the cornerback depth is lacking. There are just six scholarship players at the position, including the incoming freshman.

Experience is also needed. Even though he was just a true freshman, Igbinosun made a big impact this past season, registering 36 tackles with 5 passes broken up. He’s a longer cornerback, too. At 6 feet, 2 inches and 185 pounds, he’d be the biggest on the roster.

If the crystal ball turns out to be accurate, Igbinosun would fill a big need for the Buckeyes and would be a start toward quieting the chatter that this staff can’t recruit transfers.

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WATCH: Five-star Georgia safety spotted wearing Ohio State gear

The gear looks good on him #GoBucks

Although it may seem like a small gesture, when a recruit wears a team’s gear, in this case for [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag], you can definitely read into the situation.

This has gone both ways for the Buckeyes recently. We saw former commit [autotag]Kayin Lee[/autotag] wearing Auburn attire during his state championship game only to see him flip to the Tigers during the early signing period. Not what Ohio State wanted to see.

What the Buckeyes should be happy seeing is Georgia five-star safety [autotag]KJ Bolden[/autotag] and his choice of gloves. It’s not easy to see that he’s wearing the Buckeye version, but we will take On3’s Sam Spiegelman’s word as he was up-close and personal with the star defender.

This is a good sign for [autotag]Ryan Day[/autotag] and defensive coordinator [autotag]Jim Knowles[/autotag]. The safeties in a Knowles defense are the focal point and if the Buckeyes are able to sign Bolden, it would be a massive win.

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What to expect from Ohio State’s newest transfer, safety Ja’Had Carter

The Buckeyes picked up a good one from the portal #GoBucks

The Ohio State football programed gained its first big win of the 2022-23 transfer cycle when it received a commitment from former [autotag]Syracuse[/autotag] safety, [autotag]Ja’Had Carter[/autotag]. The rising fourth-year player has two years of eligibility remaining. He has been terrific for the Orange, making the freshman All-American teams in his first year, followed by a solid sophomore year and a better junior year.

Carter was a menace with takeaways this season, grabbing three interceptions to go along with a fumble recovery that he took to the house. He played his best football in a three-game stretch against [autotag]Pittsburgh[/autotag], Notre Dame, and Clemson. Carter had 20 tackles, 3 picks, and a fumble recovery during that run.

It wasn’t easy finding highlights for Carter, but from what I did find, Buckeye nation should be pretty excited about the potential of the 6-foot-2-inch, 198-pound transfer.

Carter is always around the ball, even if he’s not making plays. His instincts are great, which is why he picked off multiple passes this fall. Carter has the speed to make up ground and that translates when he comes up to play the run.

The versatility that Carter has is just so impressive. One play he can read the run and come up to make the stop. The next, as the single-high safety, make the right read, keep his proper depth and come away with a pick.

There is a reason Carter was viewed as the best safety in the transfer portal this cycle. [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] head coach [autotag]Ryan Day[/autotag] knew that he was losing at least one of his starting safeties in [autotag]Ronnie Hickman[/autotag] and found a replacement that should be plug-and-play for [autotag]Jim Knowles'[/autotag] defense next fall.

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The day after: Thoughts on Ohio State’s crushing loss to Georgia

So many thoughts but these stuck out in my mind the most. How about yours Buckeye fans? #GoBucks

If you were like me, it was hard to sleep Saturday night.

For more than three quarters of the [autotag]Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl[/autotag], it looked like [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] would face [autotag]TCU[/autotag] with a national championship on the line. Georgia had different plans. It mounted a massive comeback during the fourth quarter and sent the Buckeyes back to Columbus with a disappointing loss.

Since the game ended, many thoughts have passed through my head, some good, some bad and a great many pondering what the future for [autotag]Ryan Day[/autotag] and his program will look like. Here are my thoughts the day after Ohio State’s 42-41 loss to Georgia in the College Football Playoff semifinal. (Also, happy New Year’s everyone, even if it wasn’t what many of us wanted).

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