DT Branson Deen left practice and returned in street clothes with ice on his left leg. Nothing serious, is the word.
Thursday’s practice is in the books. Let’s do a Deep Dive …
1. Another practice, another player carted off the field. Today, it was DT Damarjhe Lewis. The redshirt sophomore was hurt while working on the turf field, with the top defense squaring off vs. the scout team offense.
Lewis hurt an ankle. An ambulance was summoned. No further information on the severity of the injury or how long he’ll be out is available as I write this. Stay tuned for updates.
Earlier in the day, he made a goal line stop of RB Dylan Downing in a red-zone session.
Lewis, who transferred to Purdue in 2021 from Indiana, is slated to be a key part of the interior of the line, able to play nose tackle or three-technique behind starters Branson Deen and Lawrence Johnson.
The Boilermaker d-line is deep, with line coach Mark Hagen also having Prince Boyd, Cole Brevard, Mo Omonode, D.J. Washington, Greg Hudgins, J.P. Deeter and Sulaiman Kpaka on the interior.
On Monday, Purdue lost redshirt junior tight end Garrett Miller to a season-ending knee injury. He's supposed to have surgery soon once swelling subsides.
On Tuesday, top linebacker Jalen Graham suffered a slight strain of a hamstring and left practice.
UPDATE: Lewis is probably going to miss the season; surgery expected next week.
My guess at depth chart at DT and NT:
DT: Branson Deen; Prince Boyd, Sulaiman Kpaka; Greg Hudgins; J.P. Deeter; Tristan Cox
NT: Lawrence Johnson; Cole Brevard; Mo Omonode; DJ Washington
2. Speaking of Jalen Graham, he was seen early on in practice in street clothes. No shock. The staff figures to ease the team’s best defender back into action after the hamstring scare on Tuesday. I’d be shocked if he took part in the scrimmage on Saturday.
3. WR Broc Thompson was much more active than usual today. But, he looks a bit rusty. At one point in 11-on-11 work, he dropped a pass. Thompson then dropped and did 20 push-ups.
Fellow wideouts Preston Terrell and Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen were wearing red pennies late in practice.
4. DT Branson Deen left the field and returned in street clothes with ice on his left leg. Deen has a slight strain in the leg. Nothing serious. But Deen likely will be out a few days.
5. How long has 24-year-old LB Semisi Fakasiieiki been around?
• Barack Obama was president when Fakasiieiki enrolled in 2016
• The Kozuch Football Complex was under construction
• Jeff Brohm was coaching Western Kentucky
• Ross-Ade Stadium didn’t have lights
• Darrell Hazell was Purdue head coach
Marcus Freeman, who recruited Fakasiieiki to Purdue and was his position coach in 2016, is now head coach at Notre Dame. Fakasiieiki’s other LB coaches at Purdue: Nick Holt, Bob Diaco, Brad Lambert and now David Elson.
Just nuts!
6. Good to see WR Mershawn Rice score on a long TD pass in a two-minute drill. Rice hasn’t been a regular participant in camp thus far as he comes back from a foot injury that ended his 2021 season in September.
7. Redshirt freshman tight end Drew Biber and true freshman tight end Charlie Kenrich were in full gear after not participating recently due to injury. Fellow tight end Paul Piferi continues to look good. He’s often deployed in two tight end sets and even lined up on the perimeter one time. Piferi made a nice TD grab from Aidan O’Connell in one two-minute drill, breaking through DB Bryce Hampton on the way to pay dirt.
8. CB Cory Trice saw some action in team activities, as he did on Tuesday. The fifth-year senior seems to be easing ever-so-slightly back to live action. Same for fellow CB Jamari Brown. CB Tee Denson is still a ways off. In fact, he may not be ready until mid-September as he returns from double sports hernia surgery. Meanwhile, fellow CB Reese Taylor continues to shine. He had a nice breakup on a pass to Broc Thompson in 11-on-11. How can Taylor not start the opener?
9. C Gus Hartwig is Purdue’s best offensive lineman. He’s quietly having a good camp. The 6-5, 310-pound true junior looks primed for a nice season as the anchors what looks like an improved Boilermaker line. Today, Hartwig won his one-on-one pass block/pass rush drills. The Rimington Award nominee is rarely beat. Get on the Gus Bus.
10. WR Collin Sullivan continues to stand out. The redshirt sophomore has seized his chance in camp with other key wideouts in and out of practice dealing with injury recovery. It will be interesting to see what type of a role Sullivan carves in 2022.
11. Who is Jalen Graham’s backup at S/SLB? It depends. If it’s a passing down/or passing team, Purdue will use S Chris Jefferson. If it’s a run down/or running team, Purdue will use LB Ben Kruel.
12. If there is a tougher guy on Purdue's roster than LB Kieren Douglas, I want to meet him.
Thanks for reading!
Purdue has its last open practice on Friday. And, it will be a quick workout—likely in shells—as the team will take it easy in advance of the first scrimmage of camp on Saturday in Ross-Ade Stadium. It’s a closed scrimmage.
Last edited:
