Happy Valley and Philadelphia may not be right next door to one another, but Penn State is still popular throughout the state. Because of that, for Philadelphia native Jim Knowles, coming to Penn State as a defensive coordinator is a sort of homecoming.

Knowles was introduced as Penn State's defensive coordinator on Tuesday, one week after he left Ohio State to take the job.

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.