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• First things first: Just wanted to make absolutely certain this is clear from our reporting on the Morgan Burke announcement, because there is some wiggle room on how this is going to go down and some of our reporting might not have necessarily been what Purdue actually announced yesterday.
Burke will finish out his contract at Purdue. That contract runs through summer of 2017. That does not necessarily mean he will be A.D. through that time.
As we reported, when the successor is hired and begins work, that person will take on oversight of the football program, including evaluating things this season leading up to any potential decisions that have to be made regarding the coaching staff.
Once the new A.D. is in place, we expect him or her to work in concurrence with Burke for a period of time, but that does not necessarily mean the outgoing A.D. won't move to a different role - whether it be an emeritus role, fund-raising position, whatever the case may be - for the balance of his contract, before moving into presumed retirement afterward.
The news yesterday wasn't that Burke plans to leave Purdue at the end of his contract. That has always been the case. The news, though, is just Purdue's search for his successor. Again, a procedural necessity considering the football situation.
We do want to reiterate too that throughout the past few months, Board of Trustees chairman Michael Berghoff has been a name that's come up very often in relation to possibilities for Purdue's next A.D. Obviously there are some complications there in terms of his existing roles, coupled with the fact that he's now been tabbed to lead the search committee. But Berghoff does have Mitch Daniels' trust/support/ear. You never know how this plays out. The guess right now is that it won't end up that way, but we probably wouldn't dismiss the possibility altogether. (staff)
And now he's playing for new coach Randy Melvin, who was described as "intense" by tackle Jake Replogle. Missing a meeting, for example, could have significantly higher consequences than before.
When asked specifically on Feb. 3 whether Howard was one of the players who had left the team — the known list includes Austin Appleby, Jonathan Curry, John Strauser, Trae Hart, Joey Warburg and Matt Burke — Coach Darrell Hazell said, "He's still on the team." When told we'd heard he was one of the guys who'd left, Hazell said, "No, he's not one of them yet."
The "yet" may have been an indication Howard isn't currently with the team but may still return. (There's been no other official word from Purdue on Howard's status.)
If Howard doesn't come back for his senior season, it'd be a blow for a defense that already struggled against the run and doesn't have much proven depth on the interior line.
Though Howard had yet to work his way into being a consistently solid player for Purdue during his first three seasons, he has shown glimpses of potential with a rare athleticism and speed for his size. A dialed-in Howard alongside rising Replogle would be a considerable help to defense in 2016.
Eddy Wilson likely would compete for a starting spot if Howard doesn't return. Former DL coach Rubin Carter spoke last season of liking Wilson's upside, even comparing Wilson to himself. (Carter ultimately played in the NFL.) Replogle mentioned Fred Brown has attacked the weight room hard this winter, too. Not sure which tackle spot Brown projects, but if Howard is out, he may need to try to slip into nose tackle a bit this spring.
Perhaps this could open up an opportunity — and maybe it's already being discussed — about Purdue showing some 3-4 looks in Ross Els' new defense. One could argue the strength is at linebacker with Ja'Whaun Bentley, Danny Ezechukwu, Jimmy Herman and Markus Bailey back as potential starters, plus Andy Garcia and Garrett Hudson as guys who have logged significant game snaps.
Replogle wouldn't be the ideal nose in a 3-4 scheme, but he is up to 294 pounds now, he said this week, and, truly, wherever he'd line up, he'd be Purdue's best D-lineman. He's played end and could do it again in that front. (SC)
"Optional" doesn't really mean such at this time of year, especially for a program that's struggled to win games over the last three seasons.
But there's a different vibe inside Mollenkopf this spring, players said, and it showed up Wednesday in a new way.
Director of sports performance Duane Carlisle told the group, "This is your workout," and stepped into the weight room, closing the door to the indoor practice field. That meant players had to run the session, focused on agility and speed.
It's the first time — at least that senior defensive tackle Jake Replogle could recall — the players were the ones who led a workout.
"It was kind of different for us to step up and lead the whole team through stretching and divide up in position groups and go through stations and understand what you need to do at each station, making sure you’re doing it right, first of all, but then making sure everyone else is doing it right, making sure everyone else is hustling, putting in the effort," Replogle said. "That’s something we need to keep doing and keep getting better as a team. I think that stuff will add up."
If nothing else, there's been a sense of a new kind of accountability building this winter, and that workout fit right in.
Senior guard Jordan Roos sent a text to teammates saying that's an area he thinks the team has fallen short in the past: Having an emphasis on being player-led. He told the team how proud he was for guys to start taking it in their own hands, for that sense of responsibility being stronger than ever.
Quarterback David Blough, in his fifth semester, said he's never quite experienced this attitude either at Purdue.
It was a realization that came with the upheaval on the coaching staff, partly, as seemingly each position group was left wondering who its next coach would be and what that'd mean on a bigger scale but were still expected to train, to learn and to get better without that specific coaching guidance early this winter.
"Coaches come and go a little bit, and you’re left with your brothers on the field," Blough said. "Early (on in the winter), we were still filling in the staff, and guys like (Ja'Whaun) Bentley, Roos and (Jason) King and (Danny) Ezechukwu, myself, have kind of stepped up and decided we’re going to be the ones out there on the field making the plays and holding each other accountable, so the competitiveness in that and the accountability in the guys, it’s different than I’ve ever experienced since I’ve been here." (SC)
Where does Purdue go for secondary coach if they have to hire one? No idea. Each of its hires this off-season have been guys off released staffs.
But new defensive coordinator Ross Els has already taken over the safety position, leaving Johnson with just the corners prior to his departure.
Purdue could have options, then. Els could conceivably take on the whole secondary, then a hire could be made for a different position. Or Purdue could just go hire a corners coach. (staff)
He is putting up amazing numbers, but the level of competition thing is really a complication when it comes to evaluating him. By every account, he has really, really improved as a player, but we'll see.
Purdue will probably keep watching him, and we're not writing him off entirely, just saying that as of right now, this doesn't look like a deal where Purdue is all in from Day 1.
Purdue will keep looking for wings and bigs alike to potentially sign in the spring.
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