Stupidly-Early Look at Spring Football (and Beyond)

We'll talk in more depth about the recruiting class and their potential impact to the team after signing day.  As of right now, I love that Hope now has five verbals from offensive lineman...the shortest guy is 6'5"...the smallest guy is 270 lbs...the biggest, closest to ready Oline recruit is 6'7" and 315 pounds and is a JuCo transfer.  The lack of DE commits is still bothersome...But there are a few LBs who seem to be growing into the DE position before our very eyes.  Plus, no player should be considered a Boiler until they've signed their letter; we've been through this before.

Don't fall in love with a dream and love the one you're with.

Needs that must be addressed now

QB
Sure, TerBush and Marve both played OK at times...but Hope needs to have a QB that does more than merely trying to not make a big mistake.  And the two-QB system needs to go the way of the New Purdue Pete.

If Rob Henry's knee allows it, give him the damned ball and let him play.  In my opinion, the guy that was the #1 on the depth chart coming into camp last season should be given the chance to be the outright #1 again.

TE
One of the best ways to make a passing attack respectable in a hurry is to get the tight end involved.  Crosby Wright and Gabe Holmes both showed the ability to make plays in '11...With Holmes size, athleticism and his work toward becoming a better blocker will make it tough to ignore him in '12.

Safety
Albert Evans was the only safety this season that seemed to be a threat to pick the ball off or blow up a play with a hard hit...he's now graduated.

It's time to see what Ismael Aristide, EJ Johnson, Taylor Richards and even Raheem Mostert can do...Safety was really the only position on the field this season in which I didn't see any evidence of Hope's "speed first" philosophy.

If it seems like I'm pushing Mostert onto the field in anyway possible, it's because I am.

DE
I'm kind of excited to see what Ryan Russell becomes...he showed some flashes of greatness in the second half of the season.  I don't want to see him even flirt with moving inside- I love his athleticism and size and hope the coaches strive to make him leaner and faster in the off-season.

With the mass in the middle of Short, Gaston, Taylor and Isaac, I think speed on the edge is important now. We saw this season how important pass rush, or lack thereof, from the ends really is to the defense.

Brandon Cottom, Jelani Phillips and Robert Kugler might all be good at the position.

PR
Waynelle Gravesande was sure-handed at punt returner, but wasn't a threat to take it to the house.  Gibboney's ST units took big strides forward this season, the next thing they need to do to keep the momentum is find a guy who can not only catch it, but do something with it to help field position.

Antavian Edison has shown he can do about anything he's asked to do...and can take a hit. Ismael Aristide and Josh Johnson have both been mentioned as options back there...and Ricardo Allent was given a look earlier this year.  One of these guys might be the key to success in one of the most-difficult positions on the football field.

Who's taking over?
RB
Akeem Shavers showed that he'll be the clear #1 as Bolden works his way through rehab.  Behind him Hunt, Pegram and Mostert should all push Shavers.  I have no concerns at RB.

LB
With Holland graduating and the status of Beckford in question at this point, Purdue will need one or two of the guys who we've been waiting to see make an impact.

Armstead Williams, Joe Gilliam and Mike Lee should all vie for playing time in '12.

K
Purdue has two incoming kickers...one seems to be the clear starter.  We'll talk about who that is on signing day.

P
Obviously, this is Webster's job...with Wiggs now graduated, Webster will need to work on his short punting accuracy.

Already excited about next November.

CBS couldn't figure out that Kramer's on the left and Chris Reid's on the right

No excuses, Xavier earned the victory this evening. Purdue took the lead with around 5:00 left, but the experienced Musketeers struck right back and didn't look back. While I'm positive Matt(y) Painter simply hates losing to end the season, I'm also sure that in a few weeks, he'll be ready to look forward to the extremely bright future for the program he's building. Many, myself included, always point to experience as an important element that helps teams find success in the NCAA tourney...Many of these Boilers got to get their first valuable experience this season, next season should be another step forward.

Tarrance Crump truly left the best for last and acted as if he might never play basketball again. I've been critical of Crump's poor finishing ability all season, but in his final two games, he finished strong and used his quickness to help the offense. He also played pretty solid defense.

Calasan showed some pretty good moves in the low post and never stopped looking for the three during the tourney...he even hit a few. It is imperative that he becomes more of a force with his back to the basket next season. Also, his defensive effort needs to become more consistent as the Big Ten won't get smaller in '09.

Marcus Green hit a few big shots and seemed to play well during the two games in DC. Green has a knack of coming up with rebounds even when matched up with larger players. He seems to know his role and seemed comfortable within it this season. He's they type of guy that might hit a big shot or two and come up with a key rebound next year down the stretch...The role player that all great teams have.

Keaton Grant's tendonitis clearly bothered him in the Big Ten tournament and NCAA tourney. But, his defense was still amazing and really helped the offense go. Plus, if he can improve this off-season half as much as he did last off-season, he will be all Big Ten in '09. His shooting range as well as his ability to finish a drive was awesome to watch this season.

Chris Kramer's injuries also nagged him and might have held him back a bit during the last 7-10 games of the season. That said, he won't ever admit injury as an excuse, nor did he let the injury stop him from his Kamikaze style of play. Outside of Hummel I didn't find anyone more important to Purdue this season. I hope that he can either have a surgery that can remedy his woes or simply rest his body to the point that he doesn't have to play in pain in '09. Regardless, if he never scores another offensive point at Purdue, he will be a team MVP candidate the next two seasons.

Most of the season, Robbie Hummel hit key buckets when they were most-needed...During the NCAA tourney, the Ostrich simply was too patient and didn't try to exert his will on offense nearly enough. I hope that is something he learns to do as his career moves forward. His defense and rebounding ability both give Purdue fans reasons to believe he might be one of the greats by the time he leaves West Lafayette.

Moore is the scorer that I thought he'd be, but especially during the NCAA tourney, he made Freshman mistakes. I'm excited because he looks for his shot unlike most of this Purdue team...Plus, he has the talent to go along with that mentality. I think Moore's defensive effort is a bit inconsistent. That said, he's still a solid defender that has been able to create offensive opportunity from defensive stops. The addition of Lewis Jackson will aid Moore more than anybody else on the team.

Scott Martin seemed to get his confidence back late in the season and began willing himself into the offense down the stretch. While his defense isn't where it might be in a season, I'm pretty sure a year in the weight room will help him play and look like a Big Ten forward next season on both defense and offense.

JJ's potential probably intrigues and excites me as much as anybody's on the team. He's simply gotten better as the season went along. He began showing he has potential to compete in the blocks as the season came to a close. With another 10-15 pounds, he will be the guy that many Purdue fans think this team is missing. There might not be a need to look to a potential recruit for a dominant big man; he could be wearing the black and gold #25 jersey right now.

As a fan, I want to express how enjoyable this team has been to watch during the last five plus months. Even during loses, effort was never the problem and unlike some of the teams from a few years ago, they didn't seem to make repetitive, stupid mistakes. They exceeded everybody's expectations during the regular season. And while the Big Ten tourney performance was disappointing, they made at least a bit of noise as well as played to their seed in the NCAA tournament. As the season hit the midway point, I felt like I did back in college about my Boilers...I simply couldn't wait to see what they'd do next. Now, with the season over, I'm in the same position, but wait is much too long, especially for a guy who has little patience. This season was fun...thoughts of next season make me giddy.