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Jim Knowles Likely to Leave Ohio State, Become Penn State’s DC

A report from Ross Dellenger has shared that Ohio State DC Jim Knowles is likely expected to leave Ohio State to head to Penn State for its DC opening.

The initial report is that Coach Knowles is expected to be making an average of more than $3M per year, an all-time record for a coordinator. The previous record on the defensive side of the ball was $2.5M.

Coach Knowles becomes the 3rd DC in as many seasons for Penn State, as Tom Allen left to be the DC of Clemson and Manny Diaz left to be the HC of Duke.

Penn State Co-DC Anthony Poindexter Expected to Remain at Penn State

According to Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger, Penn State Co-DC Anthony Poindexter is not expected to be going anywhere despite the hiring of Coach Knowles.

Coach Poindexter has been the Co-DC and Safeties coach since 2021 and was reportedly set to take over as the full-time DC after Coach Allen left before it was known that Coach Knowles was going to come be the DC.

Coach Poindexter is expected to receive a new contract to remain at Penn State, and was also apparently supportive of the addition of Coach Knowles, according to Dellenger.

Former Rutgers HC Chris Ash May Be A Strong Candidate for Notre Dame DC Position

Notre Dame currently has a DC vacancy after former DC Al Golden left for the same position in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals. Pete Sampson of The Athletic is reporting that former Rutgers HC Chris Ash is a “strong candidate” to be the next DC for Notre Dame.

On3’s Pete Nakos is reporting something somewhat conflicting, sharing that there is no top candidate for the job. But even if there is no top target, it would appear that Coach Ash is likely on the shortlist for the job.

In 3 seasons (plus 4 games of the next season), Rutgers was 8-32 while he was Head Coach, going 3-26 in Big Ten play. In his career, he has made stops at Drake, Iowa State, San Diego State, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Ohio State, Texas, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Las Vegas Raiders.

His experience on the defensive side of the ball includes being the Co-DC of the Ohio State team in 2014 which won the first 4-team CFP.

Shane Beamer Shares WR Nyck Harbor Focusing on Football Over Track

South Carolina’s Shane Beamer recently shared that WR Nyck Harbor is focusing on football over track.

Harbor arrived to South Carolina an elite athlete in either football or track, participating in both during his true freshman season. Last spring, he finished 5th at the SEC indoor track & field championships for the 200-meter dash. He also earned 2nd Team All-America honors in both the 100m dash and the 200m dash.

“He’s solely focusing on football right now, and that was Nyck’s decision. That was something that he talked to us about. We had some conversations around the bowl, after the bowl, within the last couple of weeks, as far as what he wanted to do. I think he realized that he did a lot of good things in track last year but missing spring practice – I don’t want to say set him back, but it was more of a challenge to be ready for the season. I think he just wanted to really focus on football, not that track is over, but right now, that’s where his focus is, is just football.”

2026 4-Star QB Brady Smigiel Decommits from Florida State

2026 4-Star QB Brady Smigiel has decommitted from Florida State after originally committing back on June 22nd.

The next programs to look toward for Smigiel are Ohio State, UCLA, Washington, and South Carolina, to name a few. Michigan and Michigan State also stand out to Smigiel.

Smigiel is rated a 5-star by Rivals, ranking 13th nationally and 3rd at the QB position for the 2026 class, but he is ranked more modestly as the 48th recruit nationally and 6th ranked QB according to the On3 industry composite rankings.

This is a blow to the Florida State class, for sure, but the Seminoles’ 2026 class does still have 3 Blue Chip commitments and 5 commitments overall for a young class that currently ranks 10th nationally and 1st in the ACC.

3-Star OT Chastan Brown Commits to Florida State

3-Star OT Chastan Brown recently committed to Florida State following a decommitment from UCF.

Brown told Warchant ahead of his official visit to Florida State that adding Coach Gus Malzahn, along with adding Coach Herb Hand were large factors.

Brown ranks as high as 226th nationally and 21st at the OT position according to 247Sports, but the On3 industry composite rankings place him 424th nationally and 28th at the OT position.

For Florida State’s 2025 class, this is the 23rd commitment for a class which ranks 19th nationally and 2nd in the ACC behind only Miami.

Syracuse Hiring Blaine Miller as New Nickels Coach

ESPN’s Pete Thamel is reporting that Syracuse is expected to hire Blaine Miller as the Orange’s new Nickels Coach.

Coach Miller has been a defensive analyst for Georgia the past two seasons, where his experience overlapped with Syracuse HC Fran Brown in 2023. Coach Miller’s works as a defensive analyst has also included collaborating closely with DC Glenn Schumann.

Texas A&M DC Jay Bateman A Top Candidate for Virginia Tech’s DC Vacancy

Aggies Today is reporting that Texas A&M DC Jay Bateman is emerging as a top candidate for the Virginia Tech DC vacancy.

Coach Bateman has been with the Aggies for one season, having been a DC at several levels, but having been a DC at Ball State for 3 seasons, Army for 5, and then a Co-DC and safeties Coach for North Carolina for 3 years before taking the ILB’s job at Florida for 2 seasons before becoming the Texas A&M DC and LBs Coach this past season.

Indiana Has Finalized New Contract with DC Bryant Haines

CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz is reporting that Indiana has finalized a new contract with DC Bryant Haines.

Haines was a Broyles Award finalist as he helped lead the Hoosiers to a 2nd ranking nationally in total team defense. Coach Haines has been with Coach Cignetti for all four of Coach Cig’s coaching stops, including in at James Madison and Elon. With Coach Cignetti, Coach Haines’ defenses have historically been towards the top of their Division or Subdivision’s level.

TCU Hiring Tre Watson as New Safeties Coach

Jeremy Clark of HornedFrogBlitz is reporting that TCU is hiring Cal DBs Coach Tre Watson to be the new Safeties Coach of the Horned Frogs.

There was a vacancy on staff as Coach Paul Gonzales left TCU for the same job at Baylor.

Coach Watson spent four seasons with Baylor as a DBs Coach and has long been a name with national respect – in 2020, he was on the 30Under30 list from 247Sports. His defenses have also historically excelled at forcing turnovers, including leading the country in forced fumbles in 2023.

Other Commitments/Decommitments

3-Star (88) ATH Chamarryus Bomar commits to West Virginia

2026 3-Star (88) OT Owen Linder commits to Iowa

3-Star (87) CB Armoni Weaver commits to West Virginia

2026 3-Star (87) WR Milan Parris commits to Iowa

3-Star (86) RB Joseph Troupe commits to North Carolina

3-Star (86) OT Aidan Martin flips from Washington State to Wake Forest

2026 3-Star (86) OT Malachi Mills commits to Kansas

3-Star (85) CB Jordyn Criss commits to BYU

2026 3-Star (85) TE Jaden Hernandez commits to Sacramento State

3-Star (84) IOL Nathan Tveit commits to FIU

3-Star (84) LB Jack Leuthe commits to St. Francis (PA)

3-Star (82) S Landan Goff commits to BYU

2-Star (79) DL Reggie Kloehn commits to South Dakota State

Unrated ATH Max Anderson commits to West Virginia

Unrated TE Carter Zuliani commits to West Virginia

Unrated CB Dorian Mallary commits to USF

Unrated WR Joe Kolega commits to South Dakota State

2027 Unrated IOL Bradley Sturdivant commits to Arkansas