Let’s take a Deep Dive …
1. Spoke with Jack Plummer’s high school coach and personal quarterbacks coach this week for a story I will post on Friday. Each offered some nice insights into the redshirt freshman signal-caller. According to his prep coach at Gilbert (Arizona) High, Plummer’s college choice came down to Purdue and South Carolina.
Plummer’s QB guru back in the Phoenix area is Mike Giovando, who runs Elev8 Quarterback Academy. He told me he currently has 23 quarterbacks at Division I schools. Among some of his current students are Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler and Michigan State’s Brian Lewerke. One area Plummer can improve: Zip on his passes.
Giovando: “We have talked about that. Just cutting it loose, Snap that wrist and have that confidence. I think sometimes when Jack wants to cut it loose, he doesn’t feel like he has as much control over it sometimes, like he’ll throw a wobbler or something.”
Plummer with his QB guru Mike Giovando (bucket hat) and other QB pupils in Arizona.
2. Before Jeff Brohm said on his radio show on Wednesday that Rondale Moore won’t be out for the season after hurting his left leg last Saturday, some wondered if the sensational sophomore would redshirt. Don’t think that ever would have happened, even though Moore would have been eligible for one since would have played in just four games in 2019. The bottom line is this: Moore figured to be a three-year player at Purdue the moment he stepped on campus. I wouldn’t be shocked if you see him back on the field by November. Heck, maybe even sooner than that. The guy is a physical freak.
3. Bruce Feldman of FOX sent out a tweet this week that looked at FBS schools with the most true freshmen starters this season.
1. Alabama and UMass (7)
3. Stanford (6)
4. Arkansas (5)
5. Arizona State/Fresno State/Tennessee/TCU/Texas-San Antonio (4)
Feldman should have looked closer—he missed Purdue. This week, the Boilermakers’ depth chart shows four freshman starters: WR David Bell, RB King Doerue, DE George Karlaftis; SS Jalen Graham. Throw in punter Brooks Cormier, and that’s five.
Overall, the most recent Purdue depth chart reveals the offensive two-deep includes 12 true or redshirt freshmen. The defensive two-deep includes five.
4. With Elijah Sindelar out for who-knows-how-long, everyone has moved up a seat in the quarterbacks room. Redshirt freshman Jack Plummer is the No. 1 man. And sophomore Aidan O’Connell is the No. 2 signal-caller. He arrived on campus as a walk-on but has become a trusted player.
“We have a lot of confidence in Aiden,” said co-OC/QBs coach Brian Brohm. “He works his tail off. He has some of the cleanest mechanics throwing the football that I ever have been around. Very accurate with the football. He has developed a good knowledge of the offense. We have gotten him a lot of reps. Reps in practice, reps in the spring. So we feel comfortable if he has to go in, he can execute the offense at a high level.”
Aidan O'Connell
5. Who is Aidan O'Connell?
O’Connell was looked at by Minnesota and IU coming out of Stevenson High. No scholarship offers.
"I was a little surprised," O'Connell told GoldandBlack.com in August. "I know there's kids all over the country who think they're good enough, but I thought I was different and I thought I was good enough. I was undersized and pretty slow, so I understand why schools didn't come knocking on my door, but I just trusted the man upstairs and knew He was going to have a plan for me and I'd end up where I belonged.”
So, O’Connell looked headed to D-3 Wheaton College. But he changed his mind and opted to walk-on at Purdue, which had commitments from Nick Sipe and Griffin Alstott, son of Mike. Sipe is behind O’Connell and Alstott left for Western Michigan. O’Connell remains. And he now is riding shotgun to Plummer.
More on O'Connell from Brian's story in August:
https://purdue.rivals.com/news/purd...all-aidan-o-connell-impressing-in-backup-role
6. How leaky has the pass defense been? Only one Big Ten team has yielded more passes of 10 yards or longer than Purdue: Nebraska. And the Huskers have played one more game than the Boilermakers.
Purdue has allowed 41 passes of 10 yards or longer. Purdue has permitted a Big Ten-high 20 passes of 20 or more yards, eight passes of 30 or more yards and seven passes of 40 or more yards. The Boilers also are the lone Big Ten team to allow two passes of 60 or more yards and two passes of 70 or more yards.
Purdue will face a hot Penn State QB in Sean Clifford, who torched Maryland for 398 yards passing by hitting 26-of-31 passes with three TDs in a 59-0 win last Friday. He is No. 2 in the Big Ten in passing, averaging 294.8 yards. He has nine TD tosses and just one pick, hitting 66 percent of his passes in his first season as a starter.
7. How many depth chart changes were there from the Minnesota game to the Penn State game? Including new players on the two-deeps, players on last week’s depth chart but at a new position and players who moved up from second- to first-team (or vice versa), I counted 19 changes.
Offense
David Bell No.1 WR
Jordan Bonner No. 2 WR
Jackson Anthrop No. 1 WR
TJ Sheffield No. 2 WR
Jack Plummer No. 1 QB
Aidan O’Connell No. 2 QB
Cam Craig No. 2 RT
Mark Stickford No. 2 RG
Defense
Kai Higgins No. 1 DT
Derrick Barnes No. 2 LB
Cory Trice No. 1 CB
Kenneth Major No. 2 CB
Jordan Rucker No. 1 CB
Dedrick Mackey No. 2 CB
Simeon Smiley No. 2 SS
Special Teams
Jackson Anthrop No. 1 kickoff return man
Zander Horvath No. 2 kickoff return man
Jackson Anthrop No. 1 punt return man
TJ Sheffield No. 2 punt return man
8. According to VegasInsider.com, Purdue is a whopping 28-point underdog at Penn State. That got me thinking … When was the last time the Boilermakers were a double-digit road dog at each Big Ten school? This data base only goes back to 1995.
Illinois: 2010, +16.5, L 44-10
Indiana: 2016, +21.5, L 26-24
Iowa: 2015, +24.0, L 40-20
Maryland: 2016, +10.5, L 50-7
Michigan: 2011, +14.0, L 36-14
Michigan State: 2013, +27.5, L14-0
Minnesota: 2016, +18.0, L 44-31
Nebraska: 2016, +24.5, L 27-14
Northwestern: 2015, +14.0, L 21-14
Ohio State: 2010, +23.5, L 49-0
Penn State: 2013, +21.5, L 45-21
Rutgers: none
Wisconsin: 2011, +27.0, L 62-17
Lo Neal.
9. Back at Big Ten media days in July, Jeff Brohm said he thought Lorenzo Neal would be ready sometime in training camp after having knee surgery in the offseason. Said Brohm in Chicago: “Lorenzo Neal is someone we are trying to get ready for camp and may linger a little bit into that.”
That never happened.
Brohm then thought Neal would be a “game time decision” for the season opener at Nevada. Said Brohm in late August:
“It’s still a work in progress. For me to gage exactly when what’s gonna happen, I’m not for sure. We are hopeful he can get back as soon as he can. We aren’t at that point yet.”
That never happened.
Brohm then said during Purdue’s off week in September he thought Neal could be targeted to return for the Penn State game. Said Brohm:
“According to Lorenzo, we are hopeful that possibly the Penn State game … “
That isn’t happening.
This week, Brohm ruled Neal out for the Penn State game. Said Brohm: “He's just going to be out this week is all I'm at liberty to say.”
The timeline for Neal’s return keeps getting kicked down the road. With the season almost halfway over, you wonder if the senior captain ever will suit up.
10. In case you didn't know: Gerad Parker is Penn State's passing game coordinator/receivers coach. He spent four seasons at Purdue working with tight ends (2013-14) and receivers (2015-16) coach, as well as recruiting coordinator. He also spent the final six weeks of the 2016 season as the interim head coach.
"He is the one who was my main recruiter here," said Purdue guard Matt McCann. "I for sure will say 'What's up?' to him after the game. He was a good guy and I wish nothing but the best for him moving on."
Thanks for reading!!
1. Spoke with Jack Plummer’s high school coach and personal quarterbacks coach this week for a story I will post on Friday. Each offered some nice insights into the redshirt freshman signal-caller. According to his prep coach at Gilbert (Arizona) High, Plummer’s college choice came down to Purdue and South Carolina.
Plummer’s QB guru back in the Phoenix area is Mike Giovando, who runs Elev8 Quarterback Academy. He told me he currently has 23 quarterbacks at Division I schools. Among some of his current students are Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler and Michigan State’s Brian Lewerke. One area Plummer can improve: Zip on his passes.
Giovando: “We have talked about that. Just cutting it loose, Snap that wrist and have that confidence. I think sometimes when Jack wants to cut it loose, he doesn’t feel like he has as much control over it sometimes, like he’ll throw a wobbler or something.”
Plummer with his QB guru Mike Giovando (bucket hat) and other QB pupils in Arizona.
2. Before Jeff Brohm said on his radio show on Wednesday that Rondale Moore won’t be out for the season after hurting his left leg last Saturday, some wondered if the sensational sophomore would redshirt. Don’t think that ever would have happened, even though Moore would have been eligible for one since would have played in just four games in 2019. The bottom line is this: Moore figured to be a three-year player at Purdue the moment he stepped on campus. I wouldn’t be shocked if you see him back on the field by November. Heck, maybe even sooner than that. The guy is a physical freak.
3. Bruce Feldman of FOX sent out a tweet this week that looked at FBS schools with the most true freshmen starters this season.
1. Alabama and UMass (7)
3. Stanford (6)
4. Arkansas (5)
5. Arizona State/Fresno State/Tennessee/TCU/Texas-San Antonio (4)
Feldman should have looked closer—he missed Purdue. This week, the Boilermakers’ depth chart shows four freshman starters: WR David Bell, RB King Doerue, DE George Karlaftis; SS Jalen Graham. Throw in punter Brooks Cormier, and that’s five.
Overall, the most recent Purdue depth chart reveals the offensive two-deep includes 12 true or redshirt freshmen. The defensive two-deep includes five.
4. With Elijah Sindelar out for who-knows-how-long, everyone has moved up a seat in the quarterbacks room. Redshirt freshman Jack Plummer is the No. 1 man. And sophomore Aidan O’Connell is the No. 2 signal-caller. He arrived on campus as a walk-on but has become a trusted player.
“We have a lot of confidence in Aiden,” said co-OC/QBs coach Brian Brohm. “He works his tail off. He has some of the cleanest mechanics throwing the football that I ever have been around. Very accurate with the football. He has developed a good knowledge of the offense. We have gotten him a lot of reps. Reps in practice, reps in the spring. So we feel comfortable if he has to go in, he can execute the offense at a high level.”
Aidan O'Connell
5. Who is Aidan O'Connell?
O’Connell was looked at by Minnesota and IU coming out of Stevenson High. No scholarship offers.
"I was a little surprised," O'Connell told GoldandBlack.com in August. "I know there's kids all over the country who think they're good enough, but I thought I was different and I thought I was good enough. I was undersized and pretty slow, so I understand why schools didn't come knocking on my door, but I just trusted the man upstairs and knew He was going to have a plan for me and I'd end up where I belonged.”
So, O’Connell looked headed to D-3 Wheaton College. But he changed his mind and opted to walk-on at Purdue, which had commitments from Nick Sipe and Griffin Alstott, son of Mike. Sipe is behind O’Connell and Alstott left for Western Michigan. O’Connell remains. And he now is riding shotgun to Plummer.
More on O'Connell from Brian's story in August:
https://purdue.rivals.com/news/purd...all-aidan-o-connell-impressing-in-backup-role
6. How leaky has the pass defense been? Only one Big Ten team has yielded more passes of 10 yards or longer than Purdue: Nebraska. And the Huskers have played one more game than the Boilermakers.
Purdue has allowed 41 passes of 10 yards or longer. Purdue has permitted a Big Ten-high 20 passes of 20 or more yards, eight passes of 30 or more yards and seven passes of 40 or more yards. The Boilers also are the lone Big Ten team to allow two passes of 60 or more yards and two passes of 70 or more yards.
Purdue will face a hot Penn State QB in Sean Clifford, who torched Maryland for 398 yards passing by hitting 26-of-31 passes with three TDs in a 59-0 win last Friday. He is No. 2 in the Big Ten in passing, averaging 294.8 yards. He has nine TD tosses and just one pick, hitting 66 percent of his passes in his first season as a starter.
7. How many depth chart changes were there from the Minnesota game to the Penn State game? Including new players on the two-deeps, players on last week’s depth chart but at a new position and players who moved up from second- to first-team (or vice versa), I counted 19 changes.
Offense
David Bell No.1 WR
Jordan Bonner No. 2 WR
Jackson Anthrop No. 1 WR
TJ Sheffield No. 2 WR
Jack Plummer No. 1 QB
Aidan O’Connell No. 2 QB
Cam Craig No. 2 RT
Mark Stickford No. 2 RG
Defense
Kai Higgins No. 1 DT
Derrick Barnes No. 2 LB
Cory Trice No. 1 CB
Kenneth Major No. 2 CB
Jordan Rucker No. 1 CB
Dedrick Mackey No. 2 CB
Simeon Smiley No. 2 SS
Special Teams
Jackson Anthrop No. 1 kickoff return man
Zander Horvath No. 2 kickoff return man
Jackson Anthrop No. 1 punt return man
TJ Sheffield No. 2 punt return man
8. According to VegasInsider.com, Purdue is a whopping 28-point underdog at Penn State. That got me thinking … When was the last time the Boilermakers were a double-digit road dog at each Big Ten school? This data base only goes back to 1995.
Illinois: 2010, +16.5, L 44-10
Indiana: 2016, +21.5, L 26-24
Iowa: 2015, +24.0, L 40-20
Maryland: 2016, +10.5, L 50-7
Michigan: 2011, +14.0, L 36-14
Michigan State: 2013, +27.5, L14-0
Minnesota: 2016, +18.0, L 44-31
Nebraska: 2016, +24.5, L 27-14
Northwestern: 2015, +14.0, L 21-14
Ohio State: 2010, +23.5, L 49-0
Penn State: 2013, +21.5, L 45-21
Rutgers: none
Wisconsin: 2011, +27.0, L 62-17
Lo Neal.
9. Back at Big Ten media days in July, Jeff Brohm said he thought Lorenzo Neal would be ready sometime in training camp after having knee surgery in the offseason. Said Brohm in Chicago: “Lorenzo Neal is someone we are trying to get ready for camp and may linger a little bit into that.”
That never happened.
Brohm then thought Neal would be a “game time decision” for the season opener at Nevada. Said Brohm in late August:
“It’s still a work in progress. For me to gage exactly when what’s gonna happen, I’m not for sure. We are hopeful he can get back as soon as he can. We aren’t at that point yet.”
That never happened.
Brohm then said during Purdue’s off week in September he thought Neal could be targeted to return for the Penn State game. Said Brohm:
“According to Lorenzo, we are hopeful that possibly the Penn State game … “
That isn’t happening.
This week, Brohm ruled Neal out for the Penn State game. Said Brohm: “He's just going to be out this week is all I'm at liberty to say.”
The timeline for Neal’s return keeps getting kicked down the road. With the season almost halfway over, you wonder if the senior captain ever will suit up.
10. In case you didn't know: Gerad Parker is Penn State's passing game coordinator/receivers coach. He spent four seasons at Purdue working with tight ends (2013-14) and receivers (2015-16) coach, as well as recruiting coordinator. He also spent the final six weeks of the 2016 season as the interim head coach.
"He is the one who was my main recruiter here," said Purdue guard Matt McCann. "I for sure will say 'What's up?' to him after the game. He was a good guy and I wish nothing but the best for him moving on."
Thanks for reading!!
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