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Jim Knowles talks philosophy of the Jack position, what’s ‘non-negotiable’ in his Ohio State defense

Keith Farner

By Keith Farner

Published:

Jim Knowles spoke about the Jack position in his Ohio State defense, and was asked if it’s a non-negotiable piece of his scheme.

At Ohio State, nothing falls in the non-negotiable category, Knowles told reporters on Tuesday.

“My job is to get a defense that wins,” he said. “Whatever is best, that’s what we’re gonna do. We recruited for a 4-down (player), we have the best defensive line coach in the country, it’s not what I want, it’s what works. We’re going to continue to experiment with it, and if it catches fire with a guy like Mitch or C.J., if it’s good in recruiting, like I say, because we can show things to guys, where we can match them up against different people. So I think it’s always good to have in the arsenal. But we’re ultimately going to do what’s best for the team.”

The Jack is a hybrid linebacker/stand-up defensive end position, and Knowles is targeting Mitchell Melton and C.J. Hicks to play that position this year.

 

Keith Farner

Keith Farner has written about college football for newspapers and web sites since 2005.