He didn't agree with the call. Not even a little bit.

At the same time, now that the game has come and gone, Florida State defensive back Kevin Knowles II isn't going to spend a lot of time dwelling on it, either.

The talented freshman from Hollywood, Fla., who has started three of FSU's last four games at nickelback, was flagged for pass interference Saturday on what would end up being Clemson's game-winning drive.

Replays showed Knowles did a great job of closing on Tigers wide receiver Beaux Collins as the ball was arriving and knocking the ball out of Collins' hands. Shortly after the play, however, one of the referees threw a flag and gave Clemson 15 yards and a first down.

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"I definitely didn't," Knowles said Wednesday, when asked if he thought the call was accurate. "They (FSU's coaches) have really just been preaching, 'Control what you can control.' ... Through the play, I did what I was taught. Stayed true to my technique. Played through the hands, and it was a call I couldn't control. ...

"There's nothing I could do about it. Just keep moving forward."

One would be hard-pressed to find a more focused first-year player than Knowles, who made an instant splash when he enrolled in January and stood out during spring drills. He continued his strong play into fall camp and earned playing time early in the season.

Then against Syracuse, in the fifth game of the season, Knowles was placed in the starting lineup at nickelback, primarily covering opposing slot receivers. His emergence there has allowed veteran Jammie Robinson to move to safety, which seems to have solidified the back end of the Seminoles' defense.

And as each day passes, Knowles appears to grow more and more comfortable in his role.

Going up against the first-team offense during a two-minute drill Wednesday, Knowles broke off of his receiver and picked off a pass from quarterback McKenzie Milton in the end zone. That came just a couple of plays after he nearly picked off another pass.

"I feel very confident," Knowles said. "Coming in [to college], everything was fast. And I felt like I wasn't moving to the speed that I could. After a few games, got a few games under my belt, everything's been true. I feel like I can move way better than I did. I can see things better. Everything's starting to slow down for me now.

"That's putting me in position to make picks in practice."

It hasn't come without a great deal of effort.

When he isn't practicing, working out or handling his school responsibilities, Knowles said he spends virtually all of his free time watching film -- either that of upcoming opponents, or of himself in practice and games to make sure he's using proper techniques and fundamentals.

"I don't really do nothing outside of that (watching film) on game weeks," he said.

While Knowles wasn't one of the highest-rated recruits in FSU's 2021 signing class -- Rivals and other outlets listed him as a three-star prospect -- it didn't take him long to prove he could compete at this level. He played 24 snaps in the season opener against Notre Dame and 47 snaps one week later.

But Knowles says it wasn't until midway through the season, during preparation to face North Carolina, that he really began to feel like he did back in high school.

"Through that week of practice, everything slowed down for me," Knowles said. "Everything just came easy. And through that week, it started going and going and going. Now, I feel very confident. ... Everything's slowing down for me."

As good as he feels about his own progress, Knowles sounded most excited Wednesday when asked about fellow freshman cornerback Omarion "Duke" Cooper.

Cooper didn't get to take part in spring practice and missed most of preseason camp with an injury, but ever since then, he also has been on a fast track to playing time. Since the Louisville game in Week 4, Cooper has been receiving more and more action, culminating with 26 snaps at Clemson.

It was on one of those plays that he recorded FSU's lone interception against the Tigers, when quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei tried to hit receiver Joseph Ngata down the left sideline. Cooper had tight coverage, the ball was slightly underthrown, and the Lehigh Acres product made a leaping interception.

"That's my boy, man," Knowles said. "Duke's gonna be great. I'm telling you, Duke's gonna be one of the greats. ... We watch film together. Outside of football, we go work out together. We teach each other. If I have something that he doesn't, I teach him. If he has something, he'll teach me."

Knowles, Cooper and the entire FSU secondary will face another big challenge this week when No. 19 N.C. State comes to town.

Wolfpack quarterback Devin Leary is an extremely accurate passer -- he is completing 66.1 percent of his passes and has thrown for 21 touchdowns with just two interceptions -- and he has several talented weapons around him.

Very high on that list is junior slot receiver Thayer Thomas, who likely will be Knowles' main assignment. Thomas ranks second on the team with 37 catches for 399 yards and a team-high six touchdowns, and he had a field day against Florida State last season. Thomas caught 11 passes for 135 yards and two touchdowns in that matchup.

"Very great player," Knowles said after watching Thomas on film. "Great route-runner. Shifty. Great feet."

As the nickelback, Knowles also will have to be dialed in when it comes to run support. The Wolfpack have a pair of very good running backs in Zonovan "Bam" Knight and Ricky Person, and they combine to average over 120 yards per game and over five yards per carry.

At 5-foot-11 and 184 pounds, Knowles would be giving up considerable size to either of them -- Person is listed at 6-1, 222, while Knight is 5-10, 210 -- but the confident freshman insists that is not a major concern.

Knowles believes tackling is one of his greatest strengths, and the Pro Football Focus grades bear that out. According to PFF, Knowles has a tackling grade of 84.0, which ranks second on the team behind only Robinson.

"I've been undersized probably my whole life," Knowles said. "It didn't stop me from coming up and making a tackle. It didn't matter if you were 150 pounds or 250 pounds. That's my job to get you down, so that's what I'm going to do."

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