Penn State football changed his perception, and perhaps his immediate future, with a single gesture.
With the hiring one man.
THE Nittany Lions and head coach James Franklin, athletic director Pat Kraft and university officials have proven, once and for all, that they are truly invested in becoming the best program in the country.
At least that’s how it feels after Sunday’s reports that they drew Ohio State. defensive coordinator Jim Knowles – the best in the business – to run their show. That they are about to finally climb the college football mountain that they have seemingly been riding for the past decade, and seemingly handcuffed, as they go.
While it takes talent and luck to advance to the College Football Playoff semifinals, as the Lions did last season, it takes even more to win it all — which they don’t. have not been able to do for almost 40 years.
These days, that means spending surprising amounts of money to back up your demanding assessments and rock-solid foundations.
And the Lions are now doing it to the maximum of their abilities to give themselves the best chance of success.
Consider: Penn State arguably would have landed the best assistant coach in the country… away from its hated rival… by appointing him the highest paid in the country for what he doesNever.
This is the kind of thing real national title contenders do. What Ohio State did. The Buckeyes had one of the strongest groups of returning players in the country last year, spent big on key transfers, lured a former NFL head coach to lead their offense and renewed Knowles agreement.
They won it all, weathering difficult storms along the way, due to their makeup.
They gave themselves the best opportunity — something Penn State didn’t always seem willing to do.
The PSU did not go as far or as expensively as possible, for example when recruiting offensive leaders in 2018, 2020 and 2021. At first, it struggled to organize and mobilize zero funding. He has struggled to get the long-needed renovations to Beaver Stadium off the ground.
But the investment protocol has changed, it seems, in the past two years after the athletic director and university president were hired — and with Franklin still maneuvering the pieces.
Not only be willing to spend a lot of money to make more money, but be smart, relentless, creative and timely when you do it.
Surely Penn State spent more money than ever to help bring back its core of key players for 2025, players who could have left for the NFL or big college salaries elsewhere. The list is surprisingly long: quarterback Drew Allar, running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, center and team leader Nick Dawkins, and defensive linemen Dani Dennis-Sutton and Zane Durant and safety Zakee Wheatley are just the headliners.
It even appears they keep Anthony Poindextertheir outstanding safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator who was the best internal candidate to fill that void on staff if Knowles didn’t work out.
But it is. Adding Knowles is the boldest and most malicious move possible for Penn State: we did everything we could to bring the best defensive mind in the country back to his home state.
To make an elite defense even better.
To overcome other possible flaws and make a national championship not only possible but probable.
Penn State football: Why Jim Knowles is needed most, now
Because such movements, of course, are not always realistic. The timing and circumstances must be assessed, captured and delivered.
That’s something this team, for all its progress, consistency and improvement, has failed to achieve in crucial moments on the field since Franklin took over.
Starting in 2016, when they missed the College Football Playoff by one spot, then lost in the Rose Bowl in the final game. Losing by one point to those Buckeyes and narrowly missing the playoffs the following year. Since then, they have fallen just short of their ultimate goals, in many ways, so close.
It could be argued that they were not equipped, as necessary, to make these successes accessible, at least easier.
NOW?
They began to change direction by hiring arguably the savviest and most promising offensive coordinator possible last year in Kotelenicki.
They upped the stakes even further with Knowles.
Which means Penn State, already a surefire preseason top-five team, will attract more attention from the No. 1 seed.
The best kind of expectations and so-called pressures to have, really.
Because they owned them and earned them, regardless of how ever-increasing money continues to transform college football.
Raise the bar on the salaries of university coaches? So be it.
Penn State is finally giving itself the best chance to succeed.
Which seems rather different, certainly.
Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.
This article was originally published on York Daily Record: Penn State football analysis: Why Jim Knowles matters so much now, later
