According to reports, Tennessee football is closing in on hiring Jim Knowles as the school’s next defensive coordinator. Knowles spent this past season at Penn State, but is not being retained by new Nittany Lions head coach Matt Campbell.
However, Josh Heupel has seen what Knowles’ defenses look like in person. In 2024, the defensive coordinator was at Ohio State and faced the Vols in the first round of the College Football Playoffs in Columbus, Ohio. The result was a 42-17 win for the Buckeyes.
Here’s a refresher on what the box score from that meeting looked like.
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Team Stats
First Downs
Tennessee – 17
Ohio State – 24
Third Down Efficiency
Tennessee – 6/16
Ohio State – 4/9
Fourth Down Efficiency
Tennessee – 1/2
Ohio State 1/1
Total Yards
Tennessee – 256
Ohio State – 473
Passing Yards
Tennessee – 104
Ohio State – 317
Rushing Yards
Tennessee – 152
Ohio State – 156
Penalties
Tennessee – 6-50
Ohio State – 3-25
Player Stats
Passing
Nico Iamaleava – 14/31, 104 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
Rushing
Peyton Lewis – 10 carries, 77 yards
Nico Iamaleava – 20 carries, 47 yards, 2 TD
DeSean Bishop – 7 carries, 22 yards
Dylan Sampson – 2 carries, 6 yards
Receiving
Bru McCoy – 4 receptions, 40 yards
Squirrel White – 1 reception, 17 yards
Dont’e Thornton Jr. – 1 reception, 14 yards
Braylon Staley – 2 receptions, 11 yards
Chris Brazzell – 1 reception, 8 yards
Peyton Lewis – 3 receptions, 7 yards
Miles Kitselman – 1 reception, 5 yards
Dylan Sampson – 1 reception, 2 yards
Defense (Ohio State)
Cody Simon – 12 tackles, 5 solo, 1 PD
JT Tuimoloau – 8 tackles, 5 solo, 2 sacks, 2.5 TFL, 1 PD
Caleb Downs – 7 tackles, 4 solo
Lathan Ransom – 5 tackles, 3 solo, 1 TFL, 1 PD
Sonny Styles – 5 tackles, 3 solo, 1 PD
Jack Sawyer – 5 tackles, 1 solo, 1.5 sacks, 1.5 TFL, 2 PD
Ty Hamilton – 4 tackles, 0.5 sacks, 0.5 TFL
Jaylen McClain – 3 tackles, 2 solo
Arvell Reese – 3 tackles, 1 solo
Jermaine Matthews Jr. – 3 tackles, 1 solo
Tyleik Williams – 3 tackles, 0.5 TFL
Davison Igbinosun – 2 tackles, 2 solo, 1 PD
Jordan Hancock – 2 tackles, 1 solo
Kenyatta Jackson Jr. – 2 tackles
Caden Curry – 1 tackle, 1 solo
C.J. Hicks – 1 tackle, 1 solo
Malik Hartford – 1 tackle, 1 solo
Tywone Malone Jr. – 1 tackle
Mitchell Melton – 1 tackle
Jason Moore – 1 tackle
Eddrick Houston – 1 tackle
Lorenzo Styles Jr. – 1 PD
Bryce West – 1 PD
