Knowles won a national title as Ohio State's defensive coordinator last month. He is happy to relocate to a program he followed as a child.

New defensive coordinator Jim Knowles met the Penn State football media for the first time. Here's what we learned

Loved Penn State football, never made it to Penn State. Knowles did play football at St. Joseph’s Prep, and now he’s the Lions’ DC. “State College could have been California, when you lived in Philly,” Knowles cracked at one point during his 30-minute introductory press conference Tuesday afternoon inside Pegula Ice Arena.