STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- On Jan. 22, two days after the 2024 season had officially ended with Ohio State beating Notre Dame to win the College Football Playoff national championship, Penn State coach James Franklin was in Philadelphia recruiting. His cell phone rang.

Ohio State could have kept Jim Knowles had the program communicated its intentions with him, that’s at least according to Knowles. Knowles sat down with ESPN saying it was all timing with Ohio State.

New Penn State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles was admittedly in an “awkward” situation with his departure from Ohio State this offseason. Knowles opened up about his exit from Columbus in a recent article from ESPN’s Heather Dinich,