Beckford's Void

I've been reading message boards and Twitter alike asking the question if Beckford's suspension will make a difference to the team.  I believe it will...but as I said when I heard of the suspension, I'm glad it happened now.

Beckford is an instinctual football player who seems to just react and attack.  I think Lucas plays in a similar manner, but Lucas isn't as good of a tackler as was Beckford.  That might be the biggest problem with losing Beckford.

Who knows if he had grasped the new defense before his most recent arrest...Hope said he had.  And what we've seen the past couple seasons leads me to believe he probably got most of it.  But his athleticism often made up for mental mistakes and put him in the position to make plays.  He was second on the team in tackles last year, and would have been the leading returning tackler. His loss will matter...but it could have been worse.

In the last two seasons, Purdue lost its starting QB, Henry at the time, just weeks before the first kickoff. And two years ago, Hope saw the back-up QB, TerBush, go down to academic issues just before the commencement of the season.  A back-up QB shouldn't be a huge loss, but it turned out to be.  Heck, go back a few years- many of you remember the loss of Stubblefield prior to the season to a fall while climbing a fence to get into a pool. So as Purdue fans, we should be taking the most recent pre-season loss of a starter in stride...and if you're like me, you expected this one to end this way anyway; it was really just a question of when.

Depth is better program-wide than it has been...but in the LB unit, experienced depth is a big problem.  Joe Gilliam was a pretty highly-touted recruit out of this state.  One that the Indianapolis Star must love, but, hadn't done enough in limited snaps in games or during practice to propel him to the top of the depth chart.  It seems that in a matter of weeks, he'll take Beckford's place as Higgs doesn't seem to be the apple of the coach's eyes (this is based on reading interviews in the last day or so).  As of now, it'll be a committee of Gilliam, Higgs, Robinson and Ibarra that will be auditioning while on the job.

I hope Gilliam shines and we begin to see results instead of just potential.  If not, I can assure you that well-coached teams will use TE drag routes and swing the ball to RBs in the flat until Purdue shows that they have LBs that can stop such plays...we've seen this issue before, both from Tiller and Hope defenses. So, once again, we shouldn't be too pissed when it happens.

Regardless of whom fills Beckford's role, there will be a period of growing in to the position...and until it becomes second nature for the new guy, he'll be thinking too much and a bit mechanical...and a mechanical linebacker in the new defense won't be a good thing.  They'll need to adapt quickly and react well in space...two things that are tough to do when a player is over-thinking. The good news is, there are a few guys on the defense who seem to be completely-comfortable in their position; hopefully they can gloss over the discrepancies until the linebacking corps can get up to speed.

Beckford's Last Chance Squandered

3 strikes for no. 3

When Dwayne Beckford was arrested just days prior to Purdue's bowl game in December, many of us thought that he had used his last chance from Coach Hope.  We were wrong.  In the last weeks, Hope has talked about how Beckford's dedication to staying in shape, learning the new defense and getting himself out of the doghouse was inspiring and a good example of how to make a lousy situation somewhat-good.

Well, earlier this afternoon (Monday), Beckford was arrested again.  I haven't yet heard why, but if Hope allows him to come back from this, the coach is nothing more than an enabler...he really already is.

I'm going to ignore the types of arrests for a second and just look at what type of message this stuff sends to the Purdue football team.  First, from Beckford, it shows them that he doesn't really give a damn about the team.  There's no doubt that he's a good football player and a tremendous athlete...and he should know his importance to the guys around him in the defense, and his place on the team.  But, by repetitively having run-ins with the law during the season, he sends a pretty clear message that his dedication to the team is nil.

But really, football is of little importance to Beckford at this point.  While I don't know the details of his last plea, I'd bet that getting arrested within a calendar year would put him in a position in which he'll need to lawyer up, so to speak.  I just learned, this arrest marks the third different court in Tippecanoe County in which he's been charged in the last 14 mos.  From early reports, it looks like the charge is drug related, once again.

Waaaaaaay back in July, another former Purdue football player was arrested...like Beckford, he was also on a team-imposed probation.  Unlike Beckford, he struck a woman...and on his second strike, the walk-on, Collins, was off the team.

I've talked to people that coached Collins- they said he was a good kid...hard to believe, but they knew him.  And while I've never talked to any of Beckford's old coaches, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that he isn't a bad guy either.  But neither guy deserves the privilege of playing football at Purdue.  That seems crystal clear to me.

Now, to the less-important element of the story- the fact that the LBs were already the thinnest, least-experienced unit of the defense.  They'll lose the best tackler from last year and a Senior on-the-field leader. Waiting in the wings is Senior LB turned DE turned LB, Antwon Higgs and RS Sophomore QB turned LB, Sean Robinson.  If the depth chart is right, Higgs will get the start on Saturday.  Higgs is a bigger LB and doesn't have the speed of Beckford...and Robinson has never played a down at LB; at Purdue or in HS, I believe.

We'll see how this affects the team in the immediate future...for the long run, I guess it's better it happened now than on the eve of a much larger game.

Brother Boilers and Pizza Prep

Woody and Chad Austin, Greg and Gary McQuay all have done what Terone and Ronnie Johnson chose to do- play basketball at Purdue. But the Johnsons are the only pair of Boiler brothers in the last 20 years that have the ability to be on the court at the same time. And with Ryne Smith and LewJack both graduating at the end of this year, they will probably both be starting very early next season.

We received an e-mail from Indiana Recruiting Guide telling us they were about to post a look at the younger Johnson, so we wanted to pass it on to you.

Johnson's court vision, quickness, ability to find the open man and keep the defense honest with his three-point shot all make him a player that will be tough to keep off the court next season.  The void LewJack will leave will be sizable and tough to fill...but Johnson like Jackson seems to have the tools that will allow his game to translate to the next level in spite of being shorter than many high recruits at the PG position.

Click HERE for videos and info about Ronnie Johnson.

All News is Bad News
As Purdue gets ready for the bowl game on the 27th more bad news than good seems to be coming out of West La La.  First we heard about OJ Ross being suspended for academic concerns...two days ago, we heard what we thought we'd be hearing- Ross will not be playing in the bowl due to missing too much practice.

Gary Bush will be picking up the slack that Ross' suspension leaves.  I've been a fan of Bush all season as he's been very consistent, runs crisp routes and doesn't take plays off.  There's no doubt that Ross is a gifted guy, but talent alone only takes you so far...and Bush's ability to do the little things made the offense better when he played this season.

Atop of Ross' academic woes, starting linebacker and leading tackler Dwayne Beckford was arrested for DWI this weekend.  Purdue had kept it pretty quiet, but Beckford had been arrested back in July for possession of drug paraphernalia...and in June was arrested for leaving the scene in which he had hit a parked car.

The most-recent charge is made more serious because Beckford was already on probation due to the previous arrests.

One of the aspects of Hope's time at Purdue has been this type of stuff has been less prevalent than it was in the latter seasons of Tiller's tenure at Purdue. I didn't have any time for repeat offenders then, and really don't now.  Making one mistake isn't the same as getting arrested three times in a six month period...And while I really like Hope's focus on academics, there is no comparison to the severity of not going to class or doing poorly on tests and drinking while driving.

Seems to me that Beckford should be suspended right away- not because he's automatically guilty, but because he's already had a history of poor behavior...so I'd think he'd not only be on probation with the police, but also with the coaches.

Prior to Beckford's arrest, the coaches had already announced they'd be playing more nickel defense to counter Western Michigan's pass-happy offense...so Beckford not playing shouldn't be the end of the world.  Harris was going to see the field more and on running downs, I'd think Carlino will play. Carlino of course has been a starter and plays with a ton of intensity, which is never bad for a defense.

Losing a RB like Ralph Bolden with only weeks to prepare a back-up would have been catastrophic in previous seasons...but as we've talked about ad nauseaum, this year's Purdue backfield is just different. Shavers was Bolden's 1A when healthy, and the guys behind him proved themselves to be talented time and again.

The other Akeem that'll be getting more carries, Hunt, gives up about 25 pounds in the stead of Bolden/Shavers...but is a shiftier runner and has better break-away speed.

All this said, the way Nord called the offense this season, the loss of an RB really doesn't affect Purdue's game plan at all. Edison, Pegram, Crank and even Mostert will probably all get chances to carry the ball in Detroit.

Hope says there are a few guys that are still not out of the woods academically and there might be more that can't play in Detroit. The coaches will know in the next week.

Regardless of academic attrition, injuries or problems with the law, I don't think these issues should matter.  Heck, even if Purdue were to lose a QB, would we really see a quantitative difference in offensive output?

Purdue would be hurt with the loss of Allen and/or Johnson...or if Short and/or Gaston couldn't play v. WMU.  And if Kelly couldn't play, that'd be costly...and obviously, there's a tipping point when you lose 3, 4, 5...starters, but I've heard nothing to make me think any of these guys are in danger.

So let's just enjoy the 10th-best B1G bowl for 2011/12, regardless of which Boilers can suit up, shall we?