Q&A: Former Duke DT Offers Insight Regarding OSU DC Jim Knowles

Fans’ opinions varied greatly when Jim Knowles was named Oklahoma State’s defensive coordinator. Knowles, the former defensive coordinator at Duke, has coached at the collegiate level since 1988.

I reached out to several former and current Duke players and got a response from former defensive tackle Mike Ramsay. Ramsay spent five seasons as a defensive tackle for Knowles, redshirting in 2013. I asked Ramsay a few questions so we could gain some more insight on Knowles, his philosophy and his personality. Let’s get to it.

Luke Garza: What’s your favorite thing about coach Knowles?

Mike Ramsay: I just think he was really cool. He brought a lot of energy into our meeting room. That was really important to him, and he definitely knows a lot about the game.

He would play a lot different music and different things, and I really got to enjoy him as a person but also as a coach.

LG: How would you describe his defensive philosophy?

MR: It was a single-gap attack style defense. There’s not really any two-gapping or anything like that. He was a really good guy on gap integrity and also doing your job, because when you’re not two-gapping, one mistake can have a pretty big, exponential effect on the defense.

It’s just a big thing to make sure to know where (your teammates are), but also the gap you’re on. Pretty aggressive, attacking, single-gap style defense that I really loved.

LG: How would you expect that type of defense to perform against spread offenses?

MR: I think it was really great against the spread. Coach Knowles is a knowledgeable guy so he definitely did his homework and knew what to run in certain situations. OSU is definitely lucky to be able to get him, because I feel like he’s a great mind as far as drawing up blitzes. So I think he’s gonna have a lot of success in the Big 12.

LG: What were some of your first impressions of him?

MR: The first thing I noticed was that he was very passionate about the game. He was very excited and brought a lot of energy, like I said. He brought that to our meeting rooms and to our practice. I feel like we got a good sense of how passionate he is and how fired-up he is and how much he loves football and how much it means to him. I feel like that was one of the biggest things.

LG: What kind of energy does he bring to the team?

MR: I feel like he’s definitely more vocal. I wouldn’t say he gets in your face, but he’s definitely more of a vocal coach during practice, things like that. He makes small corrections throughout practice. He’s a very vocal coach, very down-to-earth with you.

LG: What’s unique about him that separated him from other coaches you’ve had?

MR: He’s definitely unique as far as how personable he is. Being able to hang out with him, just talking and walking outside. He’s a great guy to be able to talk about anything. He definitely knows how to relate to us, tell us stories, things like that. He gets along with us well.

He’s a great coach who’s also a great man who cares a lot about our futures. I learned a lot from him. He was a great leader in directing us for my four-to-five year period while we were at Duke. He was valuable in that sense.