UNIVERSITY PARK — When Jim Knowles was introduced as Penn State’s new defensive coordinator in February, he said his main goal was to “have answers for the players to be able to succeed.”

He believed all the tools were there for a serious championship run.

“I mean, they’re so close,” Knowles said then. “I think I can help. I think I can be of service.”

Now at the start of preseason camp, he is in the midst of installing a new defense, doing that as a new school’s defensive coordinator for the fifth time in his career.

There were stops at Western Michigan, Duke, Oklahoma State and Ohio State before coming to University Park, along with a six-year stint as the head coach at his alma mater of Cornell, where he had a modest 26-34 record.

The good news about the installation process is Knowles has 17 years of experience at this position, and like most things in life, they become easier with time.

“Hopefully this is the last time he’s doing it,” Penn State head coach James Franklin said.

“We’ve had four defensive coordinators here, and every single one of them has had a top-10 defense at Penn State. I feel like that was attractive to Jim. But I think it was also attractive to Jim that when he watched our tape there’s some similarities to what he believes.”

One of the cons of the installation process is the time it takes to learn Knowles’ system, which is renowned to be more complex than most defenses around the nation.

“I think in today’s game of football it needs to be somewhat complicated,” Knowles said. “You need to have answers for everything, particularly at this level. Offenses don’t run the same things in college. In the NFL, they do. You better have all different kinds of answers.

“Our job is to be great now. If it’s too complicated or I can’t get it installed where the players pick it up quickly, that’s my fault. I think I’ve developed a process that moves it along at a more rapid pace.”

There’s no question why Franklin was eager to bring Knowles to Happy Valley. The stats speak for themselves. Knowles had control of the No. 1 defense in college football last season with the national champion Buckeyes.

Before Ohio State, he also had success at Oklahoma State in the Big 12 — a conference where all the best resources are typically used on offense.

That resulted in Knowles becoming the highest-paid defensive coordinator, signing a three-year deal worth an average of $3.1 million per season.

His extensive installation has made quite an impression on the rest of the staff, as well.

“Coach Knowles is so detailed, smart and intelligent,” outside linebackers and nickels coach Justin Lustig said. “He’s a great teacher. You can learn a lot working with him.”

The process started at the beginning of spring ball in March, but the goal is for everything to be ready for the opening week against Nevada on Aug. 30.

“I think we’re in a good spot,” Knowles said. “They’ve shown that they’ve responded to the installation without getting the reps.”