Columbus, Ohio — Jim Knowles, the defensive coordinator for Ohio State football, says his mind never stops, even with one of the finest defenses in the nation returning.
His most recent idea, which hasn’t been put into practice yet, calls for a significant adjustment for two of the defense’s most seasoned players. Knowles stated he hopes to “at some point” train fourth-year defensive ends J.T. Tumolo and Jack Sawyer as outside linebackers following Thursday’s second spring session.
OSU’s typical four-man front would become a five-man front with that package. Knowles likes to refer to it as a “double eagle,” although some people would rather call it a 3–4 or 50 scheme. It might be possible to nullify twin tight end formations by positioning those two standup ends on either side of three additional defensive linemen.
If that seems like a significant change, keep in mind that last season the defensive ends lined up more in 9 techniques, outside of the tight end. Knowles saw this as a logical progression.
Knowles remarked, “It could get the best of both worlds.” “Perhaps you have three inside guys who are still performing as instructed, and if not, you have the option to train those two guys in a different manner.”
Knowles attempted to introduce the jack formation in 2022 with Sawyer, utilizing a hybrid end/linebacker to move around the front. It had little impact on the field, and Knowles subsequently expressed concern that it might have hampered Sawyer’s progress as a rush end. He now believes that OSU’s staff would be better suited by this five-man idea, which would also offer some versatility without requiring the jack. Due to their similar athletic characteristics, Sawyer and Tuomala may be given consideration as outside linebackers by NFL teams using 3-4 schemes. Jonathan Cooper, a former defensive end for the Buckeyes, has made that adjustment with the Denver Broncos.
This idea would be applied situationally, such as when an offensive moves into a larger configuration. For such games, Ohio State currently used a three-linebacker formation, and Knowles mentioned that Cody Simon, C.J. Hicks, and Sonny Styles may also play together. Nonetheless, this package would remain adaptable due to the variety of persons available for those three intermediate positions.
Tuomala and Sawyer might bookend three tackles in a run scenario. Knowles originally mentioned the idea in the interview when discussing Hero Kanu, a third-year tackler, and his improvement.
Two more defensive ends might enter the game as four rushers with a nose guard in pass situations. With third-year players Kenyatta Jackson and Caden Curry, veteran Mitchell Melton, and true freshman prospect Eddrick Houston lining up behind the fourth-year starters, the roster is deep at the end.
At OSU, Knowles will likely have more creative freedom than ever before because almost every group has more potential than is required for starters. Even though there are just two practices listed in the records, it appears that the players are starting to adopt that mentality as well.
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