Jim Knowles Ohio State New Defense-part 2 3rd down package

 Jim knowles defense was top 5 in the country in 2021 in numerous offensive categories One of the areas they excelled in was 3rd down defense.  He brings some mug looks, 3-2 fronts and sprinkle in some 3 safety looks as part of the package.

Oklahoma State was  #2 behind Houston at 28% efficiency and had an excellent 3rd down package. They caused confusion with their pre snap looks and disguises and rotated into different coverages from their 2 deep shell.

One  of the aspects you will see from Knowles is some mug pressures. He loves to walk LB's  up into the gaps and show pressure. You will see him bring man pressures and then drop and play 8. He definitely keeps offenses on their toes with the different ways he can get into coverage from different looks. It can cause some confusion in protection as well as coverage and make life difficult for young qb.

presnap cover look cover 0

post snap cover 2 hole (2 with a 3 read concept on #3 in trips)

That was a disguise but the next time they show pressure and bring it.

next possession

3rd and 8

presnap cover 0

postsnap mug double a and bring 2 ILB and the safety. They play cover 0.

 Boise sees the pressure and throws quick for a 6 yard gain, not enough for a 1st down.

3rd and 5 vs West Virginia

presnap-cover 0

post snap cover 3 or 2 hole depending on how you look at it. Depth of the OLB makes it look like 3 but cb playing outside leverage so I call it 2 hole.  Either way have a middle of field defender to take away the dig/in breaking routes.

see the 3 safeties get deep 1/3  and 2 OLB bail to the curl. 

mesh is covered by the CB up top. Sit route is open late but pressure disrupts it. 

Vs Texas Tech

3rd and 5

presnap cover 0 mug pressure look

post snap cover 0 but only blitz 4. The LB have zone underneath help as DB forcing everything to the inside.  Most college teams will play with a free safety with this kind of look but Knowles is aggressive and plays it with zero middle of the field safety help.

3rd and 8  vs Texas Tech 

Later in the game, they show the same look and bring 7. Texas Tech only has 6 blockers and tries to throw the fade to #1 to the boundary. The pressure forces a quick throw and incompletion.

He will also work out of his dime 3-2 package which he ran vs. Texas Tech.

They went 3-2 with some man concepts on a few occasions. They only rushed 3 and played man with a spy on the QB.  The coverage was man free from a 2 high shell with a middle of the field defender. The safety drops to the middle hook area and the other safety plays deep 1/3. 

3rd and 9

Knowles goes man free hole with a 3 man rush and spy on the qb. Nice design. QB tries to take off but no place to go as the LB is waiting for him. 

Here are 2 clips of the coverage discussed above.

Here's an amoeba look with only 1 def lineman with his hand in the ground. The look causes confusion and they bring the safety from depth. The confusion messes up the TCU protection allowing the FS to come clean. 

3rd and 10 (man free coverage)

 

These are just a few of the concepts Coach Knowles will bring to the Ohio State defense this year.