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Jim Knowles explains how Ohio State will help Davison Igbinosun cut down on penalties
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Jim Knowles knows how gigantic this Saturday’s game is, and Ohio State’s defensive coordinator is taking every step he can to get his unit ready for an enormous challenge against Penn State’s offense, on the road, with the Buckeyes already having a loss and having little margin for error when it comes to their Playoff hopes.
Knowles talked during Tuesday’s weekly press conference about junior cornerback Davison Igbinosun and his propensity to commit pass interference penalties. Some weeks, Ohio State can get away with that, like in last week’s victory over Nebraska for example. But this Saturday, at raucous Happy Valley, the Buckeyes defense will be up against it no matter who plays quarterback for Penn State, and Knowles isn’t holding anything back.
He’s having Igbinosun wear gloves this week in practice so he can’t grab onto wide receivers, hoping that is the path forward in helping Igbinosun clean up those costly DPI penalties. Knowles doesn’t want Igbinosun, who has 13 solo tackles and 1 interception this season, to lose his identity though.
“I still want him to play physical,” said Knowles, noting that he just wants Igbinosun to finish better.
“We have to help him, which we’ll be doing this week,” said Knowles. “We got to put the gloves on, so that he can’t grab. I like him being physical … we just have to keep coaching.”
The Buckeyes and Nittany Lions will kick things off at noon ET on FOX with Playoff implications everywhere.