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DC Jim Knowles (National Champion)

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woofermazing said:
Urban was also all in on DL recruiting, because he believed that was the difference in all the OSU vs SEC matchups. The depth we had at times was insane. I don't sense that same kind of commitment anymore.
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Recruiting isn't the problem though; it's development. We have two 5 star, top 10 overall DE recruits starting who've been in the program 4 years and neither has lived up to their ranking. Same thing with Zach Harrison when he was here
 
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OregonBuckeye said:
Recruiting isn't the problem though; it's development. We have two 5 star, top 10 overall DE recruits starting who've been in the program 4 years and neither has lived up to their ranking. Same thing with Zach Harrison when he was here
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I'm not sure if it's development, or that neither of these guys are quick/bendy enough to be elite pass rushers. Either way, they need to be more creative with stunts and figure out how to get to the QB. I don't expect him to turn just anyone into a Bosa/Young, but if it's clear the DL can't individually dominate passing reps, you need another strategy to confuse the OL and free your guys up. He doesn't seem to have one.

With the coaching limits gone, it's a good time to hire a new DL coach and LJ can either transition to a secondary assistant, or retire.
 
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OregonBuckeye said:
Recruiting isn't the problem though; it's development. We have two 5 star, top 10 overall DE recruits starting who've been in the program 4 years and neither has lived up to their ranking. Same thing with Zach Harrison when he was here
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Or maybe it’s that JT and Sawyer weren’t as good in college as their HS ranking. 5stars can dominate HS competition, but CFB history has countless former 5stars who had average to irrelevant college careers(remember Ronald Powell in ‘10 or DaShawn Hand in ‘14). It also Doesn’t help when defensive coaches refuse to rotate DL, causing massive fatigue by the 4th quarter.
 
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pnuts34 said:
Or maybe it’s that JT and Sawyer weren’t as good in college as their HS ranking. 5stars can dominate HS competition, but CFB history has countless former 5stars who had average to irrelevant college careers(remember Ronald Powell in ‘10 or DaShawn Hand in ‘14). It also Doesn’t help when defensive coaches refuse to rotate DL, causing massive fatigue by the 4th quarter.
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Because we certainly don’t have any other players that could play like Curry or Jackson for example.

This is probably my biggest bitch with Day and his staff and what I see as their lack of willingness to play the next level and give themselves more availability.
 
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RuGettinIt said:
Because we certainly don’t have any other players that could play like Curry or Jackson for example.

This is probably my biggest bitch with Day and his staff and what I see as their lack of willingness to play the next level and give themselves more availability.
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They (all the coaches) wait until they can sub complete units on in the end of the game like a JV game just broke out with 3 minutes left. I've been bitching about this very thing week after week for about 5 years and it seems to have bit us in the ass yet again huh?

I personally thought Knowles had been doing a really good job and if he's been handcuffed the way others are claiming, then it has been an outfuckingstanding job though I dont know why he would want to keep doing it.
 
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pnuts34 said:
Or maybe it’s that JT and Sawyer weren’t as good in college as their HS ranking. 5stars can dominate HS competition, but CFB history has countless former 5stars who had average to irrelevant college careers(remember Ronald Powell in ‘10 or DaShawn Hand in ‘14). It also Doesn’t help when defensive coaches refuse to rotate DL, causing massive fatigue by the 4th quarter.
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JT and Jack aren't as good as their HS rankings because of inadequate coaching. And as mentioned, it's not isolated to them. We've recruited tons of blue chippers and high-upside projects, yet none have developed into an elite DL since Chase. Who honestly believes we've just been recruiting busts? It's clearly a development/coaching problem
 
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OregonBuckeye said:
JT and Jack aren't as good as their HS rankings because of inadequate coaching. And as mentioned, it's not isolated to them. We've recruited tons of blue chippers and high-upside projects, yet none have developed into an elite DL since Chase. Who honestly believes we've just been recruiting busts? It's clearly a development/coaching problem
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And as that begins to sink in with elite recruits, their parents and now their agents, they start looking elsewhere and the talent dries up. Does Chase Young come to Ohio State after watching the stagnation of JTT and Sawyer?
 
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Always thought the LJ/Knowles issue was overblown, but between trying to find a replacement and more smoke/mysterious missing 3rd down packages it appears to be something. If true, bad look for Day allowing it to continue for this long.
ochre said:
Isn't LJ an Associate Head Coach? I realize that is probably an administrative thing to keep him paid at top levels as a position coach, but couldn't that muddle the reporting?
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Assuming it's an issue, it definitely doesn't make it easier. Depending on the source, associate or assistant head coach can be superior, but when Day couldn't travel to MSU during COVID, LJ was named interim head coach. Only Walton holding a similar title in Assistant HC, so it's safe to say LJ is 2nd in command if something happens. That makes things more complicated. You either need to strip him of the title or replace him, and they were trying to start a soft transition by hiring an assistant DL coach in the offseason.

I can understand early hesitation from LJ, as Sawyer didn't work out as a Jack, and they didn't have the exact personnel needed. In year 3, though, they have guys like Melton and Hicks who are blitz/3rd down specialists and could be used more creatively.

At this point, I'm not sure they could make these changes already midway through the season. I'm not an Xs & Os guy, so maybe it's just a matter of practicing different alignments and certain blitz packages over a few weeks, but I'm not holding my breath we'll suddenly see a different 3rd down defense before LJ leaves. Unfortunately that could cost them a lot.
 
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