Spring Football Changes

This time of year is my favorite; college basketball teams are fighting for their lives and the passion and effort is obvious as players seem to be selling out each and every play.  But, atop of basketball, football is back, at least for a few weeks...and big things are happening in Camp Hope (according to GBI).

The hunted becoming the hunter?

We all knew about the logjam at QB that's coming in the fall...but it's really already here, really.

Marve, TerBush and Henry are all fighting for the number one spot...and regardless of whom gets the nod, there will be two guys behind him, automatically...and that's before Sean Robinson or walk-on, Berzinskas (or any other walk-on, for that matter) enter the conversation.

If you would have demanded that I give you the name of one QB that would change positions this spring, I would have said Dalapo Macarthy...but Sean Robinson is the first guy to make the move.  He'll be playing LB through at least the end of Spring ball.  Robinson has good size- 6'3" and 210 pounds...on paper, that'd make him fit in with many in the LB corps...but, I've never seen any film of him playing anything but quarterback...so I am not educated-enough to say if this is a move that will make sense.

It reminds me a bit of Kyle Smith being moved to Safety back in the mid-oughts...Smith stuck on the other side of the ball and contributed...because, like the last few years, safety was a tough position to fill.  You can't really say the same thing about LB, but in the new scheme, more LBs will be needed, and if nothing else, Robinson is a guy that is smart enough to figure out the thinking part of the game.

Other delicious morsels from Hopes post-practice report include the news that both Ross and Beckford are not on the roster for the Spring session...No surprise here.  Both guys have as much talent as I remember at WR and LB (respectively) since Selwyn Lymon and Kyle Williams...but like Lymon and Williams, both seem to be squandering the opportunity by making less-than-brilliant decisions off the field.  Hope kept the door opened for both, but with additional charges hanging over Beckford's head, and enigmatic behavior from Ross, coupled with academic issues, the writing seems to be on the wall, at least for me.  These guys don't have much time left in the program.  And while both were starters, I think both can be easily replaced.

Gary Bush, while not as fast as Ross, did a great job as a starter when Ross wasn't available.  Beckford, on the other hand, doesn't have a guy right behind him that can fill in, one-for-one...but two or three guys will be fighting for the spot immediately.  My best guess is we'll see true Freshman, Andy Garcia on the field a bit quicker than we might have if Beckford is gone...and Gilliam and Williams will also be involved.

Other news from the article included the easy-to-predict move of Bade from TE to tackle- his arm length make this move a no-brainer.  Bade has two years of eligibility left...I'm not sure if an additional RS year is available to him though.  Regardless, he's up to 270...that's noteworthy since he played his last season of basketball at around 230...and prior to that, he was playing at around 215...so the guy clearly has a frame that can add and hold weight.  Plus, with injuries at various OL positions, Bade comes right in to the 2-deeps...which he was no where near at TE. Kugler was also moved from TE to OL...but to center.  This was a move that had been whispered back in the late fall as Kugler has always looked more like an interior guy than a TE (at least to me).

Finally, Ismael Aristide will move from Safety to WR. If you don't know Aristide, he was a guy with a pretty high recruiting stock as a Junior, but he blew out his knee early in his Senior year of HS...He redshirted his first season at Purdue...but even after his RS season, he hasn't landed on the depth chart yet as a safety.  I don't know if his quickness is up to where it was in high school, or if something just wasn't clicking for him, but I hope he can make an impact on the offensive side of the ball; he was a pretty exciting player a few years ago with a ton of potential. The interesting part of his move was that he, not the coaches suggested the move.

Hope also talked about Marve, TerBush and Henry- He said both Marve and TerBush looked sharp...and Henry looked like a guy who had missed a year due to a bum knee...All will benefit from a full, healthy spring.  Hope said TerBush and Marve will both take #1 snaps, depending on the day.

Regarding the RB position, Hope loves Shavers and the way he finished the season last year. Behind him, he mentioned Gentry and Roberts...but I'd be shocked if we didn't hear any gushing about Hunt in the coming days.  Hope said Bolden's post-op recovery is going well...and Cottom's is going a bit slower.

If this is your first Spring around Purdue football- here's what you need to know- Hope is the most positive guy in the world with people he likes...if he doesn't talk positively about someone during Spring practices, it'll be a long-shot for them to make an impact in the fall.  If you didn't hear any glowing remarks from Hope about your favorite player, don't dismay- there's plenty of interview time left this Spring for it to happen.  Now, when you hear a guy's name over and over, that's one of two things- either the guy is really, really good (i.e. Carson Wiggs) OR, and this is more likely, Hope really is trying to boost that guy's confidence because the team really needs that guy to be good.

I'm sure there will be more info coming out of camp in the coming days/weeks. Regardless, enjoy the nice weather, the co-eds coming out of hibernation (if applicable to you) and this action-packed time of year.

A Look at the First Three Days (& basketball recruiting notes)

It's kinda tough to glean a whole bunch from the practice reports- that's part of the reason we don't post each day after practice. But, based on what we're reading and hearing here are a few stories that are sticking out to us right now:

-Ralph Bolden hasn't given any reason for the coaches, nor his teammates to be concerned in the first few days. Players and coaches alike are impressed with his quickness and ability to change direction quickly. There hasn't been a ton of contact yet, so while this is very good news, they're not quite playing football yet.

-Marve looks leaner to me...but is actually a few pounds heavier than he was listed last year at this time. The knee that they took the pateller tendon from (in his first ACL repair) is still a bit sore after practice, but the repaired ACL is holding up well. Everytime I hear Marve talk, I feel for the guy. Like most people that injure, or re-injure their knee seriously, he was really shaken by what happened last fall. All that said, he's stayed pretty positive.

GBI is reporting that He'll seek a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA. We all remember how well that went last time it was attempted at Purdue.

-The pace of the practices is better than it was at this time last year, but through the coach speak, you can hear Hope saying he wishes they were a little further along since all three of top QBs on the depth chart have practiced in this offense.

-Ricardo Allen is good.

-Josh Johnson looks a bit more filled out than this time last year...and both he and Allen pride themselves in being able to tackle as well as cover. The extra weight/muscle will come in handy later.

-Normando Harris is back on the defensive side of the ball.

-Charles Torwudzu is either a gigantic receiver or a small tight end or a slot HBack type of guy...he's now up to 6'4" & 230.

-Rashad Frazier left the team. While Frazier would barely be on the two-deeps at DE, the position is already more thin than we've seen it in 15 years at Purdue. As a result some of the tackles are being looked at on the outside in certain packages. Sadly, I've yet to hear anything about Higgs being moved forward to an end...clearly he's not as good of a fit as he seems to be on paper.

-Hope is always upbeat, so it's not out of the ordinary to hear him overly-positive after any practice, let-alone early camp. His early interviews have been on par with the precedent we've all come to expect. He sees the team as being very fast and very physical and is really impressed with the bench press of the defensive linemen- I think he's talked about it, in some form, each day after practice.

-From what it sounds like, Purdue doesn't have a well-rounded TE in the group, but a few guys who can catch, and some others that can block. Specifically, Gabe Holmes has been mentioned multiple days as a guy who is going to make plays with the ball in his hands...that's not surprising if you've kept an eye on him since he was a recruit.

That said, it'll be harder for the offense to fool anybody when the non-hands TEs come in the game until Holmes blocking technique can catch up with his abilities as a receiver.

-Chris Carlino looks like Captain Morgan.

Nothing to be Excited about

When Derek Willis verballed to Painter a few months ago, I had never heard of the kid. When I started looking and finding video of him playing this summer, I thought Painter had found a real diamond and a guy who would be an instant-impact player when he arrived on campus.

But, as we usually do here at BS, we didn't say a whole bunch about it.

And, when he started flaking, we didn't say too much about that either. As Willis started lilting away from Purdue, the message boards and Twitter were ablaze with fans all but begging him to stay and other still cursing him. I don't really care to do either. There's plenty of time to find another good sized kid...and hopefully Painter can find one of similar quality. Regardless, I don't really want a kid on campus that doesn't want to be there...and Willis and his entourage clearly don't want him in West Lafayette. Let's all move on.

There's still a ton of speculation & trepidation about where Gary Harris and AJ Hammonds will end up...and no one really knows at this point...and that frustrates some of those who spend too much time watching the recruiting ticker.

But, neither of these guys jumped too early and were forced to go back on their word. Hopefully one or both decide to play for Matty. Outside of that, I don't have too much to say about them.

Flightless Bird No More?

Hummel was cleared a bit ago to go all-out on the basketball court, but from all counts, it sounds like he's not pushing too hard and is taking his comeback slowly. His Dad said it best- Just as he was given the all-clear, most of his teammates left campus as summer school was over...so even if he wanted to run full court, he couldn't do it with his teammates.

I bet he's been kicking the arse of profs, TAs and townies that find their way into the Co-Rec. Who's got next?

A Final Look at Camp

Early this morning I couldn't resist it...the Purdue v. aOSU game being replayed on the BTN...I had to watch it.

Sure, I've seen the game a dozen times, but every time I watch it, I either get chills or get choked up. Like many of you, I was in Ross-Ade that night over a decade ago as 15 gave away, then stole a victory from John Cooper, Joe Cooper and Co. It's by far my favorite Purdue game I attended. Here's to that changing in the next few seasons.

But, the BTN also had their camp report from West Lafayette on tonight. And since Coach Hope guards info (during camp) like one of Stalin's right-hand men, we haven't gotten a chance to see much of our Boilers with our own two eyes. So this tiny look-in was appreciated by me.

Here's what I observed:

Offense

-Marve throws darts, looks poised, has sure feet in his drops and displays a ton of confidence. During his quick interview with the BTN, he asked for Peters Drey to sit in with him. This isn't the first time he's invited an o-lineman to come along for an interview- he did it back in the spring. Marve seems to really say the right things and have the correct outlook on the coming season.

-Justin Siller looks like a receiver. Unlike when he was moved to RB a few seasons ago, this position switch seems to make sense right away.

-Ken Plue's footwork is impressive.

-I really liked Dan Dierking's pace and effort in the brief time he was in frame. Pegram's combo of size and footwork was impressive to me. Conversely, ATM looked like his quickness wasn't quite there yet (due to injury) and he looks pretty slight, especially in his lower body, for a guy who might be called upon to run the ball 20 times in a game.

-Gabe Holmes looks big and clearly has a frame that will allow him to become a monster over the next few seasons. That's good- he'll need to do a lot as Adams and the other vet TEs head out of town.

-Glad to see McKey coaching and staying involved in practices.

Defense

-Ryan Kerrigan looks like an NFL D-End right now. He was physically imposing/impressive coming into '09...he's moreso in '10.

-Gooden looks odd in #2 to me.

-Short seems to have leaned down significantly from the end of last season and looks stronger.

-Ricardo Allen seems to glide, almost-effortlessly, while running and changing direction.

There were two #7s on the field- one on offense (WR), one on defense (CB)...and there's no 7 on the roster...don't know who either was (lil' help?!?).

Final Thoughts from Camp

-Bolden's loss compounded by Carlos' temporary loss, compounded even further by ATM's injuries during camp put our Boilers' running game in a tough spot. But, I think we'll see some reverses from the slot, Marve improvising and passes in the flat (read as bubble screens) to compensate for the lack of RB depth...I'm not worried about Dierking taking a significant amount of snaps as he'll do what he's asked to do, but if ATM's not healthy, I don't think Purdue has a home run hitter in the O backfield.

-Upon further review, I don't know if I'm too worried about the defensive backfield. Williams, Quinn, Evans and Johnson have all seen the field and a few of them have seen it versus good teams at key times. Atop that, there's some scary speed back there that might be able to make up for technique mistakes and the lack of experience. Sure, they'll get beaten from time-to-time...but so did the veteran-laden unit from 2009.

-I love this receiving unit...that, coupled with Marve's arm has me quietly-giddy.

-There are lots of variables for the upcoming season as new moving parts take their place in the starting lineup, but our Boilers have depth and talent and seem to be on the same page as a team...that's a pretty good place to start.

Friday Morning 1-Minute Practice Report

-Hope continues to like the speed of the practices.

-Really likes the development of the team...and thinks the team is getting better each practice and progressing well.

-Wiggs kicked a 62-yard field goal in live action with a full rush.

-The quarterbacks are doing a good job of getting rid of the ball before the sack.

-Ken Plue is dominating regularly.

-Will Lucas is "ready now" according to Hope and, regardless of class, is one of the better defensive players on the team.

-Antavian Edison & Keith Smith were called the fastest and most-consistent players on the offense among the skilled players.

Not a whole lot to report...but in the middle of camp, that might be OK.

Thursday Morning's 1 Minute Practice Report

-Final 2-a-day practice of the pre-season

-Hope liked the energy and speed of the team

-McBurse participated in most drills...but was not taking full-contact. Johnson, Evans, Quinn and Harris also returned in similar fashion.

Hope said Dierking would start at RB if the UND game was today.

-Trevor Foy continues to breathe down Nick Mondek's neck for a starting job. Hope said Foy is actually better at tackle right now because his technique's so good...but Hope loves Mondek's strength, athleticism and experience.

-Edison, K. Smith, Short, Werner, Kerrigan and Eargle were all mentioned by name as guys who had good days.

-Gabe Holmes is now just off of the two-deeps, according to Hope at TE behind Adams & Panfil...Lindsay is still out due to injury.

-Hope looks to name the starters next week...but thinks the defensive backfield has a ton of guys who will be ready to play.

-Siller is getting more precise and is catching the ball better with contact than last week.

-Hope said he won't be moving any of the LBs to DE any time soon...but might regularly move LBs toward the line to put pressure on opposing QBs.

-Nord thinks Marve looks ready right now...not showing rust at all at this point nor is he having problems with his timing in spite of not playing in a while.

-Keith Smith talked about the possibility of being double-teamed this season, "if they double one of us...the rest of us will eat all night long." He's got a ton of confidence in the rest of the receiving corps.

Tuesday Morning's 1-Minute Practice Report

-Danny Hope talked to the incoming Freshman at a Gold Rush event. Told the students to get in the stands so they could be there for the next big win...and have a chance to rush the field a la the aOSU game. Also said "the annual beat down" of IU for the Oaken Bucket was something to look forward too...I like that.

If you watch that video, you can see that Hope clearly gets nervous in front of crowds...he's not as polished as many coaches...at least at this point in his career. But, he's passionate. His team reflected a similar personality on the field last season, and the team this year, probably will show some of that as well, at times. Like the coach, the team needs to learn poise as it becomes comfortable in its collective skin.

-Kawaan Short and Bruce Gaston are both excited and confident about the front four and the part they play in the unit.

-Ricardo Allen calls himself a "playmaker" and says starting as a Freshman would be a "dream come true".

-Joe Holland (who seems to have been at Purdue for 15 seasons) said the linebackers didn't seem to need to spend time on the basics as they had in previous seasons...as Holland, Werner, Higgs, Beckford, Lucas, Carlino, and even Gilliam form a deep and talented corps, I continue to wonder if Higgs might be destined to be a DE before too long...he surely has the size and quickness. Maybe next year.

-The team had another scrimmage...Hope was pleased with the effort and speed of the practice.

-Team worked more on cut blocking and tackling.

-Hope really likes Marve (no surprise)...but keeps mentioning Ricardo Allen. Put him in the starting line-up with a big, fat sharpie. It'll taken injury to keep him out of the starting defense in South Bend.

-When asked if Hope will have a hard time deciding which Freshman will or won't be playing, he succinctly said, "Not Really. I'll play the best ones...don't care who they are."

sidenote- I asked Hope a question last season about potentially benching "The Duke" and he nipped the question in similar fashion...This is one thing I like about the way Hope handles the press.

-He loves the depth and potential for "fresh bodies" in the back 7 of the defense...and says it will help the team "A TON...A TON!" Guys like Carlino will be used heavily on special teams-as a result of that depth, I think we'll see coverage units that hit very hard and are clearly faster than in '09.

-Antavian Edison seems to be the guy who will be returning punts at this point.

Friday Morning's 1-minute Practice Report

-It was the first two-a-day practice.

-In the morning session it was never cooler than 100 degrees.

-Team had a quick scrimmage and surprised the coach with their level of energy directly following a set of quick-burst conditioning drills. Running and passing game both looked good in the early scrimmage.

-The afternoon session was backed up an hour and moved closer to "supper time" according to Hope...and wasn't as consistent as the morning session. A short scrimmage in the afternoon had the offense looking strong once-again in the beginning, but the defense shut down the offense at the very end of the practice.

-Peters Drey looked good snapping the ball...only one bad snap in both sessions and Mondek looked solid v. Gooden and Kerrigan.

-ATM ran more physically, blocked better and finished his runs well.

-Waynelle Gravesande will be out for most of the remaining summer practices until the first game. Hope said he was the best at fielding the punts, but wasn't the best punt returner at this point...but will definitely be used on windy and wet days because of his sure hands.

Hope likes Edison and Ross at the PR position...so far. It sounds like it might change as camp goes on, but Hope isn't worried about the position.

-Hope was pretty jovial in the post-practice interview...seems pleased with what he's seeing thus far.



(I'm out of town for my wife's Grandma's 90th birthday...so this will be the last camp report for a few days. Have a great weekend.)

Thursday Morning's 1 Minute Practice Report

-The team had a 30-minute, 50-play (or so) scrimmage in full pads, but spent most of the time "teaching" as a ton of guys are still figuring out their roles and where to be.

-Depth looks much better this year than it did at this time, last year. As a result, Hope plans on using starters on special teams more-often to get the most-able players on the field as much as possible. But, Rob Henry isn't playing special teams as much as in the spring and is "doing a great job at quarterback" according to Hope.

Hope sounds like he will be using quite a few linebackers on special teams because of that unit's speed/depth.

Wiggs has been kicking well...this coupled with a more-experienced bunch on special teams should help coverage.

-The drop off from 1-to-2 in the D-backfield is not nearly as drastic as in '09...Hope feels about 8 guys are vying for playing time right now.

-ATM, Pegram and Jackson were all mentioned by Coach Hope as having good days running the ball...and the running game looked better than the passing game for the first time. Hope attributed that to problems with protection and snaps not being where they needed to be.

Wednesday Morning's 1 minute look at practice

I know that not everyone who visits the site likes practice reports...but I also know, you can never start getting to know your Boilers too early. If your job and schedule don't allow it, we'll try to get you educated quickly in these bite-sized, but tasty, morsels of practice each day in West Lafayette.

Here goes:
-The heat was oppressive once again...and will be. No one left practice early, but it affected the schedule. One part I liked from Hope was hearing that he had the guys battle at the end of 2+hours of practice in one-on-one blocking drills. Example: RBs v. LBs in pass blocking...he likes that it tests their will when their fatigued...good prep for what's coming late in the games.

Newcomer Watch
-Hope and other coaches like a lot of the Freshman. Bruce Gaston, Ricardo Allen and O.J. Ross all had multiple mentions by coaches as guys that will see the field this fall...if not battle for a starting role right away.

Will Lucas is also getting props. It sounds like he's a guy who covers a lot of ground quickly and is very intense, but is still raw.

Trevor Foy (OL), Kevin Pamphile & Justin Kitchens (DL), all RS Freshman, will all be in the mix in the trenches.

-Ryan Kerrigan comes up over and over from coaches on both sides of the ball and the head coach...sounds like he's motivated to do big things again in '10 and add to the Den of D-Ends...sorry for the unintentional rhyming.

And speaking of rhyming...
Swagga (Chris Quinn) and Mr. Ayer (ATM) were bored during their downtime on campus this summer and made this. Be warned, the lyrics aren't safe for work...nor are they very good, but the song is a lot like some of what's on the radio right now (take that however you'd like)...thanks to the Auto Tune. Maybe it's not my thing because "it's for the ladies."

Football players preparing to play football on the football field (and notes)

Prognostications are a nice divergence as we await football season. Media meetings whet our appetite for the game we love...and practice (not a game) tells us we're getting close, very close to something real and tangible in the college football world being upon us.

Danny Hope's second camp began today with unusually-temperate weather as August camp kicked off with low humidity and temps in the 80s...a nice way to start it off. The media was allowed into practice for a half hour- better than nothing, I guess, and better than just hearing about practice via Hope's reports. Last season, we pretty much heard that everyone was awesome in camp, but no one got to see just how great these guys were except the coaching staff and players. So I'm glad Hope's not completely continuing that tradition that marked Tiller's final years on campus. A bit of transparency ain't so bad.

Here are a few highlights from the first day back:
-Hope thinks the team looks very fast and talented...even in the positions (DB, specifically) where there's not a ton of experience.

-Everybody likes Justin Siller's potential at WR...Here's something to think about:
We could regularly see a group of receivers/TEs like this: Cortez Smith (6'2" 180) Keith Smith (6'2" 226), Justin Siller (6'4" 220) and Kyle Adams (6'5" 251). That's significant size, solid hands, decent speed and really tough match-ups for a small defensive backfield to handle. Then, if DBs start attempting to jump routes, we'll see a little O.J. Ross or Gary Bush sprinkled in...I like this receiving corps quite a bit.

-Ralph Bolden's not doing too much at this point...no surpise.

-Ryan Kerrigan and Gerald Gooden are good.

Even if we only get morsels at this point, this is info that I love to gobble up...Just 27 days until kickoff.

Feeling Old
I had a birthday last week that places me in the dead-center of my 30s...but that didn't make me feel as old as watching Jerry Rice and Emmit Smith get placed in the hall of fame. I'm now to the point where each year, the NFL season is kicked off by having at least a couple of players inducted to the HOF that I remember watching in college or getting drafted.

Touchy
I don't read a ton of other blogs- heck, I don't even get over to H&R often enough. But, I read that the Uof M faithful really didn't like Danny Hope's comments during the media days about Purdue not having a General Studies major while every school in the conference, except two, do offer such a course of study. Problem is, Hope really didn't directly point at Michigan in this case. No matter.

MGoBlog's post smacks of great insecurity here, but worse, their commenters sound bitchy and are making it tougher and tougher for me to continue to respect UM's fanbase. I've had a few co-workers and friends who graduated from Michigan...as a general rule, I used to like Michigan and its fans. I've always dismissed stories I heard of them being a bunch of whiny rich kids...but they sure sound like it in this case.

Sure, they're upset that the Roy Roundtree/Rich Rodriguez era has the Wolverines 0-2 versus Purdue...that's frustrating when your program is one of the most-storied in college sports. You're supposed to be one of the most-talented teams in the America, are paying a coach a boatload, kicked a pretty-damned good (and clean to boot) coach to get to the current head man, yet can't win the games you're supposed to...can't even make it to the post season. Yeah, they're angry about Hope calling DickRod to the carpet, understandable too. But read some of the comments...there's a lot of vitriol in Ann Arbor for Purdue and specifically, Danny Hope.

Hey, I don't get into the business of hating people...even cheating coaches who steal players in the 11th hour, that stuff happens. But, the more I read about Rodriguez and the more I read from Michigan fans, the more I think they deserve eachother.