On Sunday, Penn State sent shockwaves through the college football world by officially poaching Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles from the Buckeyes. Knowles, fresh off calling the plays for the nation's No. 1 defense and of course, helping lead the program to a national championship.
Now, he'll join a Penn State program that was on the verge of competing for its first national championship since 1986 and is going all-in on its 2025 squad.
Next fall, the Nittany Lions will return a bevy of talent that could've opted to chase their NFL Dreams this offseason. Instead, the likes of quarterback Drew Allar, running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton, defensive end Zane Durant, and safety Zakee Wheatley are just the headlining names returning for another season.
James Franklin's football program already had a strong coaching staff as well; offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki is a well-regarded offensive mind and almost landed the head coaching job at West Virginia in December. Running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider is one of the best at his position in the country, the same can be said about the likes of of offensive line coach Phil Trautwein, cornerbacks coach Terry Smith, and safeties coach Anthony Poindexter. Younger, rising position coaches such as tight ends coach Ty Howl and defensive line coach Deion Barnes are both well on their way to that stature as well.
Now, they add Jim Knowles to the mix, widely considered one of, if not the top defensive coordinator in all of college football. That addition, now arguably Penn State for the first time in modern college football; the best coordinator duo in college football.
Penn State now has elite creative minds on both sides of the ball
If there is one thing that Penn State's play calling on either side of the ball will be creative. Andy Kotelnicki is already one of the most creative offensive minds in college football. The 43-year-old Litchfield, Minnesota native likes to compare his offense to a Dairy Queen Blizzard. It's very vanilla in its base and once you have that base, you can add on top of the vanilla with your favorite chocolates, candies, and other toppings. In football terms, that mostly equates to different formations, motions, and other ways that will cause the defense's eyes to wander and as a result, create opportunities for explosive plays.
While Penn State statistically did not improve all too much when it came to the scoring offense in 2024 compared to 2023 under head coach Mike Yurcich, the Nittany Lions offense was much more creative, explosive, and dynamic as a whole under Kotelnicki's play-calling. With Drew Allar, Kaytron Allen, and Nick Singleton returning and a pair of promising wide receivers entering the program in Kyron Hudson and Devonte Ross, the expectations for the offensive line will be high in 2025.
Now to pair with the elite offensive mind of Andy Kotelnicki, the Nittany Lions will have an elite creative mind on defense. It's important to note that Knowles runs a 4-2-5 defense at its core and loves to run three safety looks. He will commonly preach throughout the offseason, preseason, and in-season that his defenses are safety-driven. This is good news for the Nittany Lions who should have a strong safety room once again in 2025.
That being said, Knowles is a creative in-game playcaller who loves to disguise his looks in numerous fashions and will be aggressive when it comes to blitzing. At times this season, the Buckeyes blitzed upwards of 25% of the time, that percentage is a far cry from former defensive coordinator Tom Allen who was risk-averse and didn't call too many blitzes throughout a game.
Knowles during his coaching career has consistently outmaneuvered and outcoached his competition, including Andy Kotelnicki.
In Kotelnicki's time at the FBS level, his offenses have only been kept from scoring touchdowns twice. The defensive coordinator in both of those games? You guessed it, Jim Knowles. Having Knowles on staff is only going to help an already great defense get to the next level but he'll also be a valuable asset to the offense as well. His insight will be pivotal in the self-scouting of the Nittany Lions offense from week to week.
Together, Andy Kotelnicki and Jim Knowles have an opportunity to be a brilliant and dynamic coordinator duo for Penn State as the program goes all-in for the 2025 season. The Nittany Lions are already one of the more talented teams in the country, now, they have a pair of mastermind coordinators who have shown the ability to out-scheme and outcoach their opposition.
So, does Penn State have the best coordinator duo in the country?"
The simple answer in our opinion is a resounding yes.
No duo in the country can supply the offensive and defensive prowess and upside of Andy Kotelnicki and Jim Knowles.
While there may be several offensive coordinators who could have arguments as better offensive coordinators than Kotelnicki, the list is extremely small. When it comes to Knowles, that list is even smaller, and to many, the list would be non-existent.
As a whole, very few programs can boast staffs that even come close to that of the Nittany Lions. Some could argue Georgia has had extended success under Mike Bobo and Glenn Schumann, though Bobo's offenses do leave more to be desired at times. Schumann is a defensive mastermind himself and will soon lead a program of his own.
The Oregon Ducks' combination of Will Stein and Tosh Lupoi could soon work their way into consideration but both will need to continue to build on top of their success so far. Clemson and the combination of Garrett Riley and Tom Allen will have serious potential in 2025 as well, the same could be said about Miami's Shannon Dawson and Corey Hetherman as well.
But at this moment, the best coordinator duo in all of college football resides in Happy Valley.
The hiring of Knowles is the next step in what has already been a potentially defining offseason of the James Franklin era as Franklin with the help of athletic director Pat Kraft and university president Neeli Bendapudi is eyeing a national championship in 2025 while looking to cement Penn State in the conversations of the nation's elite for the foreseeable future.
--------------------------------------------------------------
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
