It was 5:40 a.m., two days after Ohio State’s national championship win over Notre Dame, and James Franklin received a phone call. It was Jim Knowles, architect of the Buckeyes’ top-ranked defense. Franklin’s eyes widened. He was conducting a search for a new defensive coordinator and, there, on the other line, was the nation’s best.
“That’s when I thought it may be real, we may have a chance,” Franklin said on Tuesday. “Before that, we hadn’t had any communication. And this isn’t one of these talks where I say I haven’t had any communication but I had to talk to his agent. Like, there was none.”
Franklin had searched the college ranks and the NFL to find a replacement for Tom Allen, who left the Nittany Lions for the same position at Clemson on Jan. 14. It was a “twisting and turning process,” Franklin recalled. And it concluded better than he likely would have anticipated.
Knowles was announced as Penn State’s next defensive coordinator on Jan. 27, just a week after winning the national title with the Buckeyes.
“It happened pretty quickly,” Franklin said. “What I think helped with this is we spoke a couple years back when the position was open, so that helped. We already had pretty good familiarity with each other. But [we] were able to start conversations after the national championship game, obviously, and it went quickly.”
Franklin called a team meeting shortly after Knowles’ signed his contract. It was there that Knowles addressed his new players, speaking of his background in Philadelphia, his dream to coach at Penn State and his desire to help the program he grew up idolizing win a national championship. It didn’t take long for his players to buy in.
“You can just tell, when he walks into a room, he knows how to control it, and he just knows what he’s talking about,” defensive end Max Granville said on Tuesday. “So, he has the respect of everybody in the locker room.”
There were some players in the meeting room, like safety Vaboue Toure, who already knew Knowles from the high school recruiting process.
“I got recruited by a lot of guys, but he was one of the guys I respected more through the process,” Toure said. “His defensive mindset, and, honestly, his background.”
Others, like Kenny Woseley Jr., were thrilled by the idea of being coached by another Philadelphia native who had already accomplished the goals with the Buckeyes that the Nittany Lions had set for next season.
“It’s amazing, man,” Woseley said. “I mean, like, I want to be the No. 1 defense in the country and also win a national championship, but we can’t do that if we’re not working now. So just going in every day, working in winter workouts, pushing to strive for greatness this season.”
It’s been a treacherous road for these goals to even hold some substance at Penn State. The years of falling just short of a breakthrough appear to be nearing a conclusion. With the help of athletic director Pat Kraft, the Nittany Lions are paying up to compete among the most elite teams in the country, and the hire of Knowles was just the latest indication of that.
Franklin has spoken highly of his newfound alignment with the athletic department and administration in recent years. And, now, Penn State is beginning to see proof in his statements. A national championship appearance was in reach this past season, and it should be again, even more so, in 2025 with the addition of the nation’s top defensive coordinator.
“I think, really in the last two years, the commitment level has matched the expectations, and I think there’s very few places in the country that can actually say that,” Franklin said. “… I think to a passionate and hungry fan base, I think it speaks volumes. I think it speaks volumes.”
