Sep. 9—Jim Knowles appeared to imitate a university professor as he stood on the team room stage during the first postgame press conference of the season, resting an elbow on the podium and holding his eyeglasses in his right hand.
It made sense for Knowles, the Oklahoma State football team’s defensive coordinator, to present himself in this way. When Cowboy defenders fill those rows of chairs in front of him, the space becomes their classroom, but they don’t have to worry about Knowles boring them with monotonous lectures.
Knowles emphasizes visual examples, breaking down pieces of film as he injects humor into his messages and candidly evaluates the defense. He works with a close-knit, intensely competitive group, and those qualities extend off the field.
The bold, ruthless tenacity the Cowboys strive to exemplify on game days starts in the team room.
“The energy is very up when (Knowles) has those team meetings,” said Jarrick Bernard-Converse, a senior cornerback from Shreveport, Louisiana. “He wants a lot of competition, and he wants guys energized. He always says, ‘Why are you gonna come in here if you’re not gonna get better?’ and I think that’s held true since he’s been here because every year, we get better and better because of the standard he has set.”
During the past weekend, OSU’s opening game put the defensive unit to the test as Missouri State launched a second-half comeback, standing only a touchdown away from the Cowboys in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Although OSU scored one field goal and no touchdowns in the second half as its run game stalled, the defense sealed the Cowboys’ 23-16 victory in the final seconds with back-to-back sacks of Bears quarterback Jason Shelley.
It was a rollercoaster of a season opener that could have potentially ended with a crushing upset, but it reinforced the Cowboys’ realization that their defense has what it takes to solidify a victory. Tanner McCalister, a senior safety from Rockwall, Texas, said he has seen this shift — an increased level of trust in the defense — since arriving at OSU in 2018.
“Last year, we had the opportunity to actually see our defense win football games and actually see Oklahoma State can be a team that doesn’t have to put up 50 points to win a game,” McCalister said. “After seeing that, our confidence is through the roof. I think last game, we got put into some tough situations on defense, and I think we came through and allowed our team to get the win.”
That sky-high confidence level pervades defensive meetings. When the defense gathers in the team room, Knowles isn’t the sole tone-setter. The Cowboys fill the space with energy the moment they arrive, speculating about who will receive the coveted Defender of the Day title as they settle into their seats. If someone disagrees with Knowles’ decision, most guys aren’t shy to let him know.
They’re working as a unit, but a little rivalry within the group can be healthy.
“It’s just a culture like that he’s set in stone since we’ve been here,” said Devin Harper, a supersenior linebacker from Knoxville, Tennessee. “Just keeping everybody in a competitive nature, because you gotta be competitive. If you don’t eat, you’re gonna starve at this point.”
Although individual recognition creates extra motivation, this doesn’t mean anyone is shielded from critiques. When Knowles shows game footage or practice clips on the screen, he has a frank, observant approach, pointing out precise moments when a different move could have resulted in a better outcome.
If someone had turned around just a few seconds earlier, for example, he could have grabbed an interception.
“Those are the details that we can’t let up (on),” Knowles said.
Sometimes, he even throws in a historical reference for comedic effect, but bringing up the name of an infamous Revolutionary War figure conveys his point.
“If you’re not chasing the ball, we call that a traitor, you’re a traitor, you might as well go play for the other team,” Knowles said. “Benedict Arnold. So we’ll put a guy out there (on film), put a little colonial hat on him, and say, ‘Hey, you didn’t run after the ball that play.’
“You try to make it a fun way, but you try to say, look, we are trying, we want to get to the next level, so we’re gonna call you out on that, and then … we’re gonna put the good plays up there, too.”
McCalister said he enjoys his coach’s humor, and the Cowboys feed off it. They know they’re supportive of one another at the end of the day, even if teammates engage in some casual roasts during meetings.
“Our defense as a whole, we’re like one big family,” McCalister said. “So if somebody messes up, we’re all laughing at you. But when somebody does good, we’re all clapping for you.”
It might be an amusing scene, but Knowles and the Cowboys have serious reasons for encouraging this vibe. During fall camp, Knowles talked about his two main strategies for making sure the defense maintains competitive intensity. One, he said, is personifying it himself, yelling and staying animated during practice. The second key is constantly sharing visual examples.
Knowles said he recognizes this generation of students responds well to this style of instruction, and though he hasn’t ventured as far as creating TikToks or Instagram reels to provide coaching pointers, his focus on video is essential to the team dynamic.
“I have to run around on the field, but then I have to visually show them,” Knowles said. “I have to put the example up there, slow down, keep their attention for 20 minutes, just with some serious clips, like, ‘Hey, man, this is how you win games.'”
All of these factors — the detail-oriented film sessions, the Defender of the Day competitions, the jokes among teammates — contribute to OSU’s defensive chemistry. Bonds extend off the field, particularly among longtime Cowboy defenders such as Harper and Malcolm Rodriguez, and competitiveness isn’t all-consuming when they enjoy working together.
“It’s business, but at the same time, we’re having fun, because it’s still football,” McCalister said. “It’s still the game that we’ve been enjoying since we were kids.”
Follow News Press sports reporter Hallie Hart on Twitter @halliehart for live updates from Oklahoma State football games.