By the numbers, there isn’t much room for growth for Penn State football on the defensive side of the line of scrimmage, finishing with a top-10 unit in each of the last two seasons. Yet, this offseason, James Franklin hired Jim Knowles with the sole purpose of elevating the Nittany Lions to the next level.
On the eve of the 2025 season, it appears Knowles is doing just that. Beyond the X’s and O’s, the Nittany Lions’ new defensive coordinator has spent the spring and summer raising the already high standard set inside the Lasch Building.
“I mean, high expectations. His level of standard for us to practice is different than it was last year or the year before,” senior linebacker Dom DeLuca said this week. “So, we have to live up to that standard that he sets for us and just be able to execute on that standard during the game.”
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Coming from one of the few defenses in the country that was better than the Nittany Lions a season ago, Knowles is charged with installing a similar level of championship-caliber habits in Happy Valley.
“Jim Knowles just had a national championship last year,” James Franklin said recently. “So I’m trying to encourage Jim to say: look, like I just was a part of it. This is what it looks like. What we just did at practice yesterday, that’s what it looks like. This doesn’t, this is not aligned with championship-level football.”
Knowles and the Penn State defense will get their first opportunity to prove themselves against Nevada on Saturday afternoon. The Nittany Lions’ season opener will air on CBS at 3:30 p.m.
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