When Ryan Day lured Jim Knowles away from Oklahoma State, he did so knowing that his defense needed a boost. Thus far, it seems like the new defensive coordinator is doing just that and he’s brimming with confidence at the same time.
Recently, Day was asked what his expectations were for the defense in the upcoming season after a few down years by Ohio State standards. The head coach’s reply was to be ranked in the top 10 nationally. Apparently, that was a low expectation according to Knowles.
Knowles was asked about living up to producing a top 10 defense and he seemed to take offense to the notion, feeling like Day was expecting too little.
Knowles reply… “I wish he would’ve said top-five. That’s our expectation.”
Jim Knowles on Ryan Day’s challenge to produce a top-10 defense in his first season at OSU:
“I wish he would’ve said top-five. That’s our expectation.” pic.twitter.com/wleq24oZqA
— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) August 9, 2022
I like the confidence the new DC is bringing to the unit. And it seems to be rubbing off on his players as well. Teradja Mitchell was also asked about expectations for the defense and took it even a step further saying, “My standard and the way we work, I feel like we should be aiming for No. 1.”
Teradja Mitchell’s response to Ryan Day’s challenge for a top-10 defense:
“My standard and the way we work, I feel like we should be aiming for No. 1.” pic.twitter.com/Boz76LNJsG
— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) August 9, 2022
There is a fine line between confidence and arrogance and this is pure confidence. Arrogance says we deserve it just because we’re four and five-star guys. Confidence says we’re doing the hard work now and because of that work, we’re going to be successful.
That’s the kind of attitude you want to see as a team who has national championship aspirations as they prepare for a top-five matchup up in week one of the season. In just a little over three weeks, we’re going to find out how much confidence the Buckeyes really have.
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