SAMPSON JAMES PRACTICED FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS SPRING ON WEDNESDAY.
Practice No. 2 in the books. Let’s take a Deep Dive!
1. Yanni Karlaftis spent Wednesday working up front at LEO. Jeff Brohm said Karlaftis will be auditioned at multiple spots this spring, but it sure appears that the redshirt freshman may be ticketed to LEO. Kydran Jenkins started 11 games at LEO last year as a redshirt freshman. He's out this spring with a biceps injury. Purdue has imported Scotty Humpich from Murray State for the LEO spot, too. Jack Sullivan can play there, as well.
2. RB Sampson James was at practice after missing Monday. I’ll be honest: I was expecting him to look bigger. He’s listed at 6-1, 220. But he didn’t look that big. Maybe it was just me.
3. It looks like redshirt freshman Tristan Cox has moved from LEO to linebacker, working at MIKE and WILL.
4. WR Preston Terrell has made me turn my head a few times during the first two spring practices. On Wednesday, the redshirt freshman made a nice diving grab along the sideline that caused a stir. He has deceptive speed and nice hands. And he fights for the ball. Terrell is not a possession receiver. He's more than that.
5. Another WR caught my eye: Elijah Canion, who missed Monday's practice. At 6-4, 220, the Auburn transfer is the biggest wideout on the roster. The sophomore is more potential than proven commodity at this stage of his career. Will be interesting to see how he develops. The other key Purdue WRs 6-0 or taller: Mershawn Rice (6-2), Preston Terrell (6-3), Tyrone Tracy (6-1), Broc Thompson (6-3), Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen (6-2), Milton Wright (6-3), Collin Sullivan (6-2).
6. Purdue has been without offensive tackle Jaelin Alstott-VanDeVanter and guard Sione Finau the last two practices. Not sure why Alstott-VanDeVanter is out, probably injury-related. Finau, a transfer from Florida International, has been dealing with a back issue. The d-line has been without tackle Prince James Boyd, who will be out all spring with a foot issue.
7. Speaking of the o-line, the No. 1 unit looked like this on Wednesday: LT Mahamane Moussa, LG Spencer Holstege, C Gus Hartwig, RG Jared Bycznski and RT Marcus Mbow. The No. 2 unit: LT Nalin Fox, LG Zach Richards, C Josh Kaltenberger, RG Ben Kuhns, RT Aaron Roberts.
8. Where will new defensive play-caller Ron English work on Saturdays? He said today the staff hasn’t discussed that yet. But, his preference is the sideline. And English offered up his biggest coaching influences: Bruce Snyder, Phil Snow and Lloyd Carr.
9. The staff conducted walk-on tryouts after practice today. My fav all-time walk-on: Nick Hardwick. Of course, current No. 1 QB Aidan O'Connell began his career as a walk-on. So did recently departed RB Zander Horvath.
10. Heard this on the sideline: Ricardo Allen, who just retired after a seven-year NFL career, will join the Dolphins as a special teams assistant. His mother-in-law was at practice. Always relatives checking in at these open practices. The Burtons—Steve and Ginni--attended today. Their daughter Veronica is a star basketball player at Northwestern, so they will head to Indy to watch the women’s Big Ten tourney. Steve Burton played football at NU and is a sports anchor and reporter for WBZ-TV in Boston. Ginni was a swimmer at NU.
THANKS for reading!
Last edited:
