Remember how Ohio State beat Notre Dame and snagged its first 12-team College Football Playoff title on January 20? Well, just two days after that, Penn State’s James Franklin received a call at 5:40 a.m. with the news that Jim Knowles’ coming to Penn State “may be real,” and seven days after the win, Knowles was a Nittany Lion.

Yes, the deal was done quickly, yet it was a tedious process. “It’s kind of a twisting and a winding deal. There’s guys that you think you may be able to get and you can’t,” Franklin said in February, while also stating how they tried to gauge mutual interest and narrow down their list but in the end, the HC didn’t need the confirmation of other Penn State assistant coaches to hire Knowles. Everyone had seen what he achieved with Ohio State, and so, Knowles was welcomed with a three-year deal that will average $3.1 million per season.

With this contract, the DC also conquered a lifelong dream. In February, he shared, “Penn State for me, growing up in inner city Philly, was the epitome of college football. I was never talented enough to make it to Penn State as a player. But given the opportunity to do it now as a coach, it’s really where I want to be.” Turns out that Franklin’s $3.1 million gamble is paying off. After all, the HC is satisfied with his new hire.

On April 1, Franklin faced the media and could not just stop talking highly about Knowles. “He’s a man of few words. That’s in the staff meetings in the morning, that’s out here on the field; he’s a believer that he’s going to spend a ton of time in the meeting room and taking notes down. Kind of like I do.” That’s how detail-oriented the 59-year-old coach is.

Plus, living in two minds is a BIG NO-NO for Knowles, as he prefers to draw a blueprint in his mind about how he would like to make things fall into place. As Franklin noted, “He is thorough; he is detailed to the point where I think he’s very comfortable on the field, letting the coaches coach. But from a big-picture perspective, he sees it all. He’s got a very good understanding of what he wants it to look like and how it’s all supposed to fit together. I’ve been very impressed with how it’s gone so far.”

Well, no doubt that Knowles is a perfectionist who worked his magic in bringing the championship trophy home to Columbus. He was the one who polished the ‘Silver Bullets’ into the nation’s best defense (12.9 points per game).

Since Penn State hired Pat Kraft in 2022, Franklin’s team has a 34-8 overall record with a Rose Bowl victory, a Peach Bowl appearance, and two CFP wins. So Knowles is likely to write another success story. While the coaching roster looks picture-perfect, the players’ roster is bound to give fans some panic.

James Franklin’s cryptic update on missing key players

There’s a message pinned to Penn State defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton’s X account. It read, “I will be the best defensive end in CFB.” After all, he had a stellar junior year, coming up with 24 solo tackles. His fourth-quarter interception in the Orange Bowl against Notre Dame set Penn State up for a go-ahead score. The Nittany Lions ultimately lost that game, but there’s no denying Dennis-Sutton’s impact. However, his teammate, Abdul Carter, grabbed all the spotlight. There was a buzz that Dennis-Sutton would enter the NFL Draft. However, he announced his return to the Nittany Lions for the 2025 season.

The same goes for offensive tackle Nolan Rucci. The Wisconsin transfer has been key to the success of Penn State’s run game and offensive line as a whole. Rucci’s confidence is something that’s been built throughout the year as a result of his improvement since transferring. So, the Nittany Lions fans had high hopes for these two stellar performers, but it turns out that the universe had other plans.

When asked during his mid-week press conference on Tuesday night about their absence in practice, head coach James Franklin said simply, “No, they’re just not available right now.”

Last season, Dennis-Sutton suffered a groin injury in the first half of Penn State’s 28-13 win at Wisconsin. Through the first four spring practices, both Dennis-Sutton and Rucci have not made an appearance, making fans worried about their health status. And it’s not just the duo. In March, the Penn State HC announced that they would be running without their offensive lineman, Anthony Donkoh; linebacker Tony Rojas; and tight end Andrew Rappleyea.