Ohio State Buckeyes College Football Pregame Quote, 12/26/2023

KEVIN TRAINOR: Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to the 88th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. Today’s breakout news conference features Ohio State Defensive Coordinator Jim Knowles and student athletes.

Across the hall, we will have Steele Chambers, Ty Hamilton, and Jack Sawyer. A little bit later on, we will have Denzel Burke and Josh Proctor. We will spend some time here with Coach Knowles.

Coach, before we go to questions, I just mentioned these players. Let me read them out again, and if you could give a brief comment on each of them and what they contributed to the team. We will start with cornerback Denzel Burke.

DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR JIM KNOWLES: Denzel has really upgraded his game this year. I think he’s becoming an elite corner, a guy who can match up against anyone. He is playing more aggressively. He’s playing with a lot of confidence. I think he’s made tremendous strides since last season.

KEVIN TRAINOR: Linebacker Steele Chambers.

COACH KNOWLES: Steele has gotten better every day since I have been here. When I came here, he had just moved from running back. And he’s got great athleticism. He’s learned the game. He’s learned the defense. He’s playing fast. He’s become more physical. I think he’s just grown a lot in two years.

KEVIN TRAINOR: Defensive tackle Ty Hamilton.

COACH KNOWLES: Ty, he’s a force inside. You have to have defensive tackles who control the line of scrimmage, and Ty is a guy who does that. And he also makes plays.

I mean, he and Tyleik [Williams] and Mike Hall, those guys – the reason we have done well is because our defensive tackles are actually making tackles. I think when you see those guys make plays, it changes things.

KEVIN TRAINOR: Secondary Josh Proctor.

COACH KNOWLES: Josh has always been a guy with a lot of talent. He had his struggles in my first year. But he was a guy you were just waiting for him to break out, and the light bulb has really gone on for him. He’s become a premier safety. He could always hit and run, and now he’s deciphering offenses and understanding our package, which just allows him to utilize his skills, make more plays.

KEVIN TRAINOR: Defensive end Jack Sawyer.

COACH KNOWLES: Jack has graded out extremely well all year. In the pressure game, he’s done a great job in the success of our pass defense.

You see him a lot, too, in the run game. I think his run grades have been extremely high, and he’s a guy that you can count on to control things on the edge, but also make plays. He does all the right things and he’s talented.

Q. Coach, from what we saw at practice, didn’t look like any opt outs there on defense. I don’t know if you are going to confirm that. Is that accurate?

COACH KNOWLES: Not that I know of.

Q. When you see that, what does it say about this team that your entire silver bullet defense wants to go out and play in this game and finish on the right note?

COACH KNOWLES: In today’s day and age, things have changed so much. You love to see a bunch of guys who believe in the brotherhood. They believe in how far our defense has come, and they want to finish the job. No matter what their future is, they keep playing because they care about their brothers and they care about the silver bullets. And that’s kind of an old school mentality these days, but it’s great to see.

Q. Jim, building off of that question, not so much about this game, because it’s pretty clear those guys are going to play, but what’s your level of optimism that most or all of those guys are going to come back for next year? And if so, how important is that?

COACH KNOWLES: Yeah, it’s really important. You saw the growth from year one to year two, so the more veterans you can bring back, obviously you have a better chance to keep improving.

I’m optimistic. I like to remain optimistic. I think those guys enjoy playing. They see a chance to improve. They have a great understanding of the draft and how improvement helps them ultimately in the end.

But I’m optimistic. I think they look at our defense as being successful, and it gives them a chance to refine their game.

Q. Coach Knowles, Missouri’s offensive line was a semifinalist to the Joe Moore award given to the best offensive line. You guys played a couple other semifinalists like Notre Dame and Michigan. What qualities do you see in those other two teams that made them tough to go against? And do you see similar qualities in Missouri, or differences?

COACH KNOWLES: No, I see a lot of the same qualities. I mean, they combine size and athleticism. So you have big guys who can run, who can move, understand the offense. They seem to be in the right position all the time. And that’s tough to go against. I mean, they’re as good as anybody we’ve played.

Q. Jim, the Missouri receivers, what makes them special? And is this the best group that you guys have faced in terms of receivers this year?

COACH KNOWLES: Yeah, overall, it’s challenging because they do spread the field. I think they create openings for their receivers and mismatches. There’s a lot of motions. There’s a lot of shifts. So they do a great job of getting those guys free. I think that’s really a big thing. They’re really good, but their offense is structured to get them free through movements and shifts.

Q. How much are you guys pointing out Luther Burden? Do you always have to know where he is when he’s moving around?

COACH KNOWLES: Absolutely.

Q. Especially in the backfield?

COACH KNOWLES: Absolutely. He’s everywhere. He’s as talented a guy as we have faced. He’s a guy – you said it, you better know where he is at all times. And he’s in so many different places, so it makes it challenging.

Q. Bowl season is such a good time for younger guys to get more reps and get more practice. Did you see what you needed to see from the 2s and the 3s over the last month to let you know that the future of the defense is in good hands?

COACH KNOWLES: Yes. And it is. It’s like another spring practice. So you get those guys – I look at C.J. Hicks and Gabe Powers, Arvell [Reese] at the linebacker spot where somebody is going to have to step up. And I see all those guys improving a lot towards the end of the season and into this bowl practice. I think that’s the position where we’ve made a lot of strides.

Q. To follow up on the linebacker situation there, when Cody [Simon] made his decision, what does that mean for you? Did that come at any surprise for building that group for next year? What was the reaction there with Cody?

COACH KNOWLES: It was joy, I guess. I rarely smile, but Cody is that kind of guy. I mean, he represents everything that we do here, and he’s got a great understanding of the game. I have always said that he could be a starter really anywhere in the country. So to have him back is a pivotal cog for the defense. I think the more he plays, everyone is going to see how talented he is, and he’s a great young man, too.

Q. With Sonny [Styles] taking over for Lathan [Ransom] in that strong safety spot, what have you seen for his development? Look at his development and trajectory overall in the safety position?

COACH KNOWLES: Sonny started out right in that nickel position. And I have always believed that he could be a high safety; he could be a dominant high safety. I think he’s shown that he can do the things that any safety can do with that kind of size and athleticism.

It gives us a lot of options, because he’s played to the field in that nickel position. He’s played the high safety. Sonny is really talented. Sonny can move down into the box. He has really shown he can be anything we ask him to be. He really has a multitude of skills.

Q. Jim, I was wondering, what did you emphasize sort of overall in pre-bowl practice leading up to this, coming out of the season? Because with the exemption of maybe one drive, it was a hell of a season, when you get right down to it. What have you seen? Have you seen a resolve from these players, as they talked about going out the right way?

COACH KNOWLES: Yeah, there’s a resolve. These guys, like you said, it’s been a year of improvement on defense. It’s been a year where the defense has taken the challenge to step up for everyone. And I know they want to go out that way. I think that’s why you don’t see any opt outs.

I mean, you see guys got a bad taste in their mouth and they want to finish the right way. The emphasis during bowl practice is really fundamentals. Maybe that’s a clich , but it is because everything always reverts back to your training. It all reverts back to your training.

So many things happen during a game: the motions, the shifts, the guys in different places. You work on that all bowl practice because you always go back to your fundamentals and your understanding of the defense. So as much as we can go against the offense, which we did, like spring ball, that’s the best thing for us, because you get challenged all the time, different sets.

I’m not predicting what the offense is going to run so much, right? It’s more of a wildcard thing. And you really have to focus on your fundamentals.

Q. Josh Proctor is going to be playing his last game here. Looking back on his story, 2021, with the injury last year and getting benched for stretches and sticking out to finally have a breakout year this year, what does his story say to you and maybe say to future players as an example?

COACH KNOWLES: Yes, it says, hopefully, to future players, to stick it out. To not jump ship when times get tough. Don’t give up. Have a belief in yourself and in the coaches and in the development process.

He’s a great story, where he came from, where he is now; things that he’s had to deal with in his life that a lot of people don’t know. He’s just, he’s overcome a lot, so I think everybody can look at that guy and say, you know, if I stick to the plan and I trust the coaches, I’m going to eventually succeed. Josh has done that.

Q. Jim, you are facing a receiver, Luther Burden, who does so much after the catch; he’s second nationally in the yards after the catch. When you face a receiver who can do all that, once the ball is in his hands, what’s the challenge of trying to contain him?

COACH KNOWLES: You have to tackle him before he gets started. That’s the key. Really breaking on the ball and getting him before he gets started. Because, like you said, he’s dangerous after the catch. So you got to be great in your breaks and leveraging him and owning your hip and doing all the right things that you’re trained to do. But most importantly, you can’t give him that much space, because he will make you pay.

Q. When a team has a superstar receiver like Luther Burden and their own Heisman finalist in Cody Schrader, how does that complicate things on defense as far as adjustments and who you guys key in on play to play?

COACH KNOWLES: It makes things really difficult. I mean, great runner downhill, hits the hole fast, can make you pay.

So you better be sure in that first, and then how much can you double the receiver and those kinds of chances that you can take. You really got to be judicious with that, because you don’t want to open yourself up for the easy runs, because he’s a great back. And he’ll take advantage of it. So it’s just a constant game of back and forth because you can’t really focus in one area.

Q. We heard your name come up in the Duke coaching search. And I think when you came here from Oklahoma State, a lot of us were unsure if you would ever want to become a head coach again. Where do you sit with that now? How much is that a motivating factor for you? Is there anything you can say about your interest in that job?

COACH KNOWLES: I’m not going to talk about that job, so to speak, but it’s a good question when you reach my age, I guess.

Really worked my whole career to get to a place where you’re expected to win all the time, where you’re given the resources, where you have a shot to play for the national championship every year. I mean, that’s kind of a career arc for me.

So any of those opportunities, while you are always grateful, I try to look at it from this is where I always worked to be. And you have to judge that against the benefits of being a head coach versus being at a place that’s top five premier all the time with high expectations and talent. I mean, from where I started to get here, I don’t take that lightly. That’s not something you leave easily for any job, head coach or not.

I see myself as being at the best place right now, so I have to always look at that and say: Why would I want to go anywhere? Why would I want to go anywhere else? Ohio State is the top of the top. So I think when you are a young coach and you aspire, yes, you aspire to be a head coach, and I have done that.

But once you get to a play where winning is expected, where it’s a purpose driven program with a great head coach with the chance to run the defense, I couldn’t have imagined anything better when I was a young coach.

So you look at all those things and all those opportunities, but I really appreciate where I’m at.

Q. We haven’t talked to you since Signing Day. Wanted to get your thoughts on your three corners and your two linebackers specifically.

COACH KNOWLES: Yeah, I think the corners are premier talents, I really do. I think that we’ve come a long way in the secondary in two years, and I think these guys even help raise our level. I think they will come in right away and push everyone, kind of like Davison [Igbinosun] did. Davison made us better. He ended up starting, but just when he arrived on campus, he made us better because he pushed everybody else. He challenged everybody else.

And I think that’s what those young corners will do. I mean, they’re really talented. And it’s going to help us keep growing, keep competing.

And then the two linebackers, I just think they re as tough as they come, in terms of being silver bullets. You are losing Tommy [Eichenberg]. You are losing Steele [Chambers]. And you want guys with just a hard nosed mentality. I think those two represent that. They’re just hard nosed, physical linebackers that you can count on to work. They’re both hard workers who are going to be great team guys.

Q. Are you expecting Tommy [Eichenberg] to play on Friday?

COACH KNOWLES: That’s still up in the air.

Q. A corollary to that, I guess. You told us back I guess it was May the famous quote that you were going to unleash C.J. Hicks this season. Only one game left to potentially unleash him. I’m trying to get an update on where you see him right now development wise, and maybe more importantly, what you’re projecting maybe going into the spring for him?

COACH KNOWLES: Yeah, that’s a good question. I did hope to do that, and I don’t know that it will get done in this bowl game. But I still think of that term as unleashing him, and it will happen eventually.

You see things in bowl practice, right, where you get a chance to line him up in different places. And I think you see that incredible talent and speed. And I know that I have my work cut out for me with C.J. and finding the right place for him, because he’s really a guy who needs to be unleashed. He needs to be able to play free and roam and do a bunch of different things.

It’s a good question. It’s definitely something that I’m going to spend a lot of time in the offseason to get him going. You’re going to create some things around him. And now with Tommy [Eichenberg] and Steele [Chambers] gone, I think that’s going to drive me even more to put him in the right place so that he can succeed.

Q. I don’t know how this will shake out with the coaching staff. James Laurinaitis has been a graduate assistant. That’s not an option next year. What has his role been this year? How important is he to have him stay on the staff, presumably as linebackers coach, if that happens?

COACH KNOWLES: He’s really important. You got a guy who’s a three-time All-American, a true Buckeye, a silver bullet. He handles a lot of the linebacker things that allow me to free up and do work in other areas. He’s really been critical to our success.

I like to say I’m a middle manager, so finding a home for him, I know, is important to all of us, not somebody we want to lose.