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I mentioned in the recruiting thread that I thought he would be the most important addition to this year's team for several reasons. It couldn't have started any better.
Knowing Knowles' defense and the experience obviously huge, but he's also a hell of a player from what I've seen in his highlights. Thinking he'll be exactly what the secondary has lacked.
Knowles is tasked with fixing an Ohio State defense that sat barely inside the top 60 in the country and top 10 in the Big Ten in each of the last two years. McCalister is a player that can help the process happen quicker.
“He's that guy who can talk to the players, not only about scheme, but he can talk to them about me too,” Knowles said of McCalister at the start of the Buckeyes’ spring practice earlier this month. “Day 1, if I go from being Mr. Calm to running around and screaming, he can say, 'Hey, that's just Knowles. Chill out. He's fine. That's just the way he is. Don't take it personal. He just wants you to get better.' To have a guy their own age, who knows me as a person, and he's gonna be able to tell the guys a lot about me, not just as a teacher and scheme and he can teach the scheme, but he can tell them about me and how I operate and who I am.”
Given the high volume of snaps Ronnie Hickman, Tanner McCalister, Josh Proctor and Kourt Williams are expected to receive at Ohio State's three safety positions this season – not to mention Lathan Ransom vying for time as well – it only makes sense that the Buckeyes would experiment with Martinez and Dunn at cornerback.
Tanner McCalister and Martinez split the bulk of reps at nickel safety.
Players on the second-team punting unit included Simon, Joe Royer, Miyan Williams, McCalister, Gaoteote, Hickman, Trayanum, Sam Hart and Proctor.
Matched up one-on-one with Denzel Burke, Harrison raked in a pass from Stroud despite Ohio State’s star cornerback being draped all over him on the right side of the field. Egbuka made an equally challenging contested catch in the same series with Tanner McCalister providing nearly perfect coverage.
The Oklahoma State transfer knows the scheme, and in a previous article (above) I talked about how McAlister brings quite a bit to the table for the Buckeyes. McAlister was a multi-year starter at Oklahoma State in Jim Knowles’ scheme, starting in 23 games for the Cowboys. Last season, McAlister produced at a high level, recording 78 tackles, 10 pass break ups, and one interception.
The production is part of the reason McAlister will be major contributor, but the knowledge of Knowles’ scheme is a significant reason he ended up at Ohio State. McAlister will start Week 1 against Notre Dame, and his veteran savviness will bring an intensity to the defense that was missing from the nickel safety spot last season.