Wanted to write one of these blogs about things that might keep me up at night right now if I were Purdue's coaching staff, but I don't want to be accused of being too negative, so I'll balance it out with a list of things I'd be excited about as well.
Fascinating, I know. But I am trying to go beyond the obvious.
Anyway, the things I'd be anxious about heading into the season if I were Purdue …
I'm not saying it's going to be completely neutralized. Purdue will return balls kicked into the end zone if the situation dictates it. And how many kickers can put the ball into the consistently? Not very many, barring Mother Nature's meddling.
But there is no question it will take opportunities away from Raheem Mostert, whose return ability last season might have been the strength of Purdue's offense at the end of last season. It won't take all his opportunities, but definitely some of them.
And, look, I'm no special teams coach, but it would seem to stand to reason to suggest that when you're fielding a ball deeper than you're accustomed to in such a role, it is going to add more of a decision-making component to the return game, injecting more of a threat of paralysis by analysis. Return men are going to have to pick their spots wisely when returning out of the end zone, and you see it weekly in college football where they have those moments of uncertainty about what to do. My favorite is when a teammate has to tell them to take a knee right before they trip over the goal line.
Athletes talk all the time about the value of not having to think, but rather just react. Kickoff return is the ultimate reactionary position.
Now it would seem a bit more complicated.
On defense, end Ryan Russell is going to be a tremendous player at Purdue, but he's still young and not the monster physically that he's going to be in time. The other defensive end spot is an unknown. This was part of the reason Purdue played Kawann Short at D-end some last year against more physical teams.
At the outside linebacker spots, Will Lucas is productive, but certainly not a physically imposing player; Robert Maci, if he's playing linebacker … who knows? He's been an end his whole Purdue career.
On offense, tackle is a question. Kevin Pamphile looks the part physically, but he's unproven and terribly under-experienced for the role he's apparently stepping into. He was a defensive tackle eight months ago.
Purdue's tight ends are solid, but they're not going to dominate anybody physically.
Purdue should be strong up the middle on both sides of the ball, but there might be some vulnerabilities on the flanks.
At least on paper.
Max Charlot is experienced, but not even a clear-cut starter at this point. Taylor Richards and Landon Feichter could go on to be the next Stu Schweigert and Bernard Pollard for all we know, but as of now they're unproven and small.
I know this is earth-shattering analysis here, but Purdue has to be able to make field goals. The fact no one's apparently locked down that job yet would seem disconcerting.
When Purdue has had kicker issues in years past, it has cost the Boilermakers not just points but games.
Duh.
The last thing Purdue needs is to have to re-shuffle its whole offensive line because one guy got hurt. That might be what happens if somebody does.
But now the things I'd encouraged about.
This is the first time Hope has had the luxury of legitimate experience at quarterback, a position that has unbelievably sustained major personnel losses four years running now.
Whether rotating guys in and out maximizes the value of that experience is in the eye of the beholder, but it's an advantage nonetheless.
Experience is most important at quarterback, but in the secondary as well, and Purdue has a load of it at corner. Not so much at safety, but at least it has guys who've set foot on the field.
Purdue's never had the depth or talent that it has at defensive tackle right now, where Kawann Short is a first-team All-Big Ten player and one of the best linemen in America. Bruce Gaston's poised to be as good a No. 2 as there is and Brandon Taylor and Ryan Isaac are experienced and solid. Isaac still hasn't had a chance to really show what he can do, having played only two half-seasons now.
Dwayne Beckford is Purdue's best linebacker. He's no All-American, but he's productive, physical and the best the Boilermakers have.
On offense, center Rick Schmeig should be on NFL radar when all is said and done.
Shavers was good as a junior in his debut season and is trending very well, coming off an MVP showing in the bowl game, his first full game as Purdue's top dog in the backfield.
I don't know if Shavers can get enough touches to approach a thousand yards, but I do think he'll be one of the Big Ten's top eight or 10 rushers and maybe even put himself on some NFL radar by the end of the year.
On offense, Purdue is going to have a lot of moving parts, enough to do much the same on that side of the ball. Rob Henry, as we've documented over and over, should be a key figure there, but also, Purdue has versatility with its slot receivers and tight ends and a pretty creative offensive coordinator. They just have to pull it off and make sure the penalties are kept to a minimum.
Big ifs all around, but there is definite potential there for Purdue to be a more difficult team to prepare for than it's been in recent years.
And it should make Purdue a little more interesting to watch, which is never a bad thing.
I don't know if Holmes is as good as they say or not, but the thought he might be is something to be excited about.
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This post was edited on 8/24 12:46 PM by Brian_GoldandBlack.com
