Spring games are games in name only.
I mean, they're games - there's 22 people on the field and score is kept - just without the game conditions.
Take Purdue's, for example, held Saturday afternoon with the "Gold" team beating the "Black" 14-3.
There was no tackling of quarterbacks, which is certainly nothing new to spring games. There was no tackling on special teams either, for fear of injury. On defense, Purdue did not blitz; on offensive, it used no audibles.
Take into account, too, that teams in the spring are short-handed to begin with, with an incoming freshman class yet to arrive to take the place of a departed senior class.
Factor in injuries - of which there are usually many, many holdouts precautionary - and such and you're simply not dealing with full decks this time of year.
Now, divide it in two, to make the split-squad game work.
I'm not telling you anything here you don't know here; just illustrating the factors that make spring games barely credible barometers of a team's worth.
So obviously, Purdue's spring game this weekend was only going to reveal so much, if anything.
Consider:
The best defensive play of the day, an interception, was made by cornerback Jarrett Dieudonne, a walk-on from Florida who may or may not still be around in the fall, as friendlier depth charts and out-of-state tuition bills can be found elsewhere.
The most active defensive player of the day may have been Antwon Higgs, a linebacker who barely played last season, is no better than third on the depth chart at middle linebacker and quite frankly should be playing defensive end, where Purdue badly needs help.
The most carries on the day went to Gavin Roberts, who used to be a safety and didn't play last season; the second-most carries went to Sean Matti, a walk-on.
Purdue was down half its scholarship quarterbacks, meaning the Gold team had spring starter Rob Henry and both teams shared backup Caleb TerBush. The rest of the snaps went to walk-ons who'd rank, in practical terms, no better than fifth on the depth chart, if that.
You saw players Saturday you won't be seeing in the fall, barring catastrophe. But with the way last season went at certain positions, the possibility of catastrophe can never be dismissed.
You can't make any judgments at this stage for a team that didn't have its possible starting quarterback (Marve), its best running back (Ralph Bolden), its center (Peters Drey), its best offensive lineman (Dennis Kelly), its best defensive end (Gerald Gooden) and a handful of potentially important reserves.
That said, some young players looked the part.
Redshirt freshman wide receiver Charles Torwudzo, I thought, impressed, not because he caught two passes, but that both were fairly contested balls he came away with, always what you want to see from a big receiver.
Classmate Mike Lee has taken nicely, it seems, to middle linebacker after moving there from the outside toward the end of last season. Lee, playing for both teams, made 10 tackles, five for each side.
Defensive end Ryan Russell was a presence in the backfield.
We saw some things Saturday we already knew.
Such as, Carson Wiggs is pretty good at kicking footballs.
No, the kicks weren't live, but his circuit of five made kicks in six tries from six different distances, including a make from 67, was impressive, but not surprising in the least. He's a known commodity if there ever was one.
Henry looked improved as a passer in completing 8-of-12 passes. Having 10 fingers probably helps. The kid is a winner and a leader and from what I saw this spring, he's put himself in a great position to be Purdue's No. 1 quarterback in the fall, though his likely main competition (Marve) was idled this spring.
We have all week to dissect spring and we'll do so. Danny Hope was kind enough to allow us to see some substantive scrimmage work this spring, which is appreciated, largely because it makes us more credible than we may have been in the past. Knowing what you're writing is true is always a positive thing.
What we've seen, I think, is a team with potential, but little margin for error.
Its secondary could be outstanding, but see its improvement from last year to this one marginalized by the loss of Ryan Kerrigan. Generating a pass rush has to be considered a major question mark heading into 2011.
I wonder about Purdue's big-play potential on offense for a variety of reasons and its sheer physicality on the edges.
The quarterback position won't be decided 'til the fall and Ralph Bolden's status remains to be seen.
The spring game - and spring ball in general - gave few apparent answers to these questions, at least as far I could tell.
But fall is a long way off, so we'll see.
At any rate, we'll go into more detail throughout the week, looking back on spring and ahead to 2011.
This post was edited on 4/9 9:07 PM by Brian_GoldandBlack.com
I mean, they're games - there's 22 people on the field and score is kept - just without the game conditions.
Take Purdue's, for example, held Saturday afternoon with the "Gold" team beating the "Black" 14-3.
There was no tackling of quarterbacks, which is certainly nothing new to spring games. There was no tackling on special teams either, for fear of injury. On defense, Purdue did not blitz; on offensive, it used no audibles.
Take into account, too, that teams in the spring are short-handed to begin with, with an incoming freshman class yet to arrive to take the place of a departed senior class.
Factor in injuries - of which there are usually many, many holdouts precautionary - and such and you're simply not dealing with full decks this time of year.
Now, divide it in two, to make the split-squad game work.
I'm not telling you anything here you don't know here; just illustrating the factors that make spring games barely credible barometers of a team's worth.
So obviously, Purdue's spring game this weekend was only going to reveal so much, if anything.
Consider:
The best defensive play of the day, an interception, was made by cornerback Jarrett Dieudonne, a walk-on from Florida who may or may not still be around in the fall, as friendlier depth charts and out-of-state tuition bills can be found elsewhere.
The most active defensive player of the day may have been Antwon Higgs, a linebacker who barely played last season, is no better than third on the depth chart at middle linebacker and quite frankly should be playing defensive end, where Purdue badly needs help.
The most carries on the day went to Gavin Roberts, who used to be a safety and didn't play last season; the second-most carries went to Sean Matti, a walk-on.
Purdue was down half its scholarship quarterbacks, meaning the Gold team had spring starter Rob Henry and both teams shared backup Caleb TerBush. The rest of the snaps went to walk-ons who'd rank, in practical terms, no better than fifth on the depth chart, if that.
You saw players Saturday you won't be seeing in the fall, barring catastrophe. But with the way last season went at certain positions, the possibility of catastrophe can never be dismissed.
You can't make any judgments at this stage for a team that didn't have its possible starting quarterback (Marve), its best running back (Ralph Bolden), its center (Peters Drey), its best offensive lineman (Dennis Kelly), its best defensive end (Gerald Gooden) and a handful of potentially important reserves.
That said, some young players looked the part.
Redshirt freshman wide receiver Charles Torwudzo, I thought, impressed, not because he caught two passes, but that both were fairly contested balls he came away with, always what you want to see from a big receiver.
Classmate Mike Lee has taken nicely, it seems, to middle linebacker after moving there from the outside toward the end of last season. Lee, playing for both teams, made 10 tackles, five for each side.
Defensive end Ryan Russell was a presence in the backfield.
We saw some things Saturday we already knew.
Such as, Carson Wiggs is pretty good at kicking footballs.
No, the kicks weren't live, but his circuit of five made kicks in six tries from six different distances, including a make from 67, was impressive, but not surprising in the least. He's a known commodity if there ever was one.
Henry looked improved as a passer in completing 8-of-12 passes. Having 10 fingers probably helps. The kid is a winner and a leader and from what I saw this spring, he's put himself in a great position to be Purdue's No. 1 quarterback in the fall, though his likely main competition (Marve) was idled this spring.
We have all week to dissect spring and we'll do so. Danny Hope was kind enough to allow us to see some substantive scrimmage work this spring, which is appreciated, largely because it makes us more credible than we may have been in the past. Knowing what you're writing is true is always a positive thing.
What we've seen, I think, is a team with potential, but little margin for error.
Its secondary could be outstanding, but see its improvement from last year to this one marginalized by the loss of Ryan Kerrigan. Generating a pass rush has to be considered a major question mark heading into 2011.
I wonder about Purdue's big-play potential on offense for a variety of reasons and its sheer physicality on the edges.
The quarterback position won't be decided 'til the fall and Ralph Bolden's status remains to be seen.
The spring game - and spring ball in general - gave few apparent answers to these questions, at least as far I could tell.
But fall is a long way off, so we'll see.
At any rate, we'll go into more detail throughout the week, looking back on spring and ahead to 2011.
This post was edited on 4/9 9:07 PM by Brian_GoldandBlack.com
