Hey everyone. A longtime subscriber to the once printed G&B, and new digital subscriber.
So it's no secret that the D-line has collectively been one of the weakest units on the team for several seasons now. Youth, lack of depth, and injuries all attribute to this. However, this year we largely have had everyone back, and while we have had a hard time keeping everyone healthy at once, we largely have our best players on the field. While Neal appeared to not be in top shape coming back to camp, he has still been effective in spurts and at critical moments. Nevertheless, this unit struggles to be competitive, much less get a push or consistent pressure. I think Diaco has done his best to mask this weakness in the short time that he's had, but at the end of the day, it would appear this unit has a long way to go.
After this season we lose Watts and Neal, our two best interior linemen. While I'm excited to have GK and DeMarcus Mitchell back next season, I'm worried about how we will be able to backfill Neal's role in this defense. I'm surprised to not have seen more of Steven Faucheux, as he would appear to have the kind of size that by itself should get him on the field (6'5" 300 lbs. Outside of him, we have one true DT recruit in Bryce Austin in the last two recruiting classes. Please correct me if I'm wrong on that. It's not clear to me if they've failed to be competitive getting interior linemen or if this is by design. To me, it looks like they're focused on getting guys that are more "interchangeable" between LB and DE, but at the end of the day, Purdue has lacked depth at the tackle position, and I don't see our defense making meaningful progress in 2021 unless this unit is a lot better. Will Purdue have to hit the transfer market hard to pick up multiple DT's in the offseason? Would love to hear the editors' thoughts on this.
So it's no secret that the D-line has collectively been one of the weakest units on the team for several seasons now. Youth, lack of depth, and injuries all attribute to this. However, this year we largely have had everyone back, and while we have had a hard time keeping everyone healthy at once, we largely have our best players on the field. While Neal appeared to not be in top shape coming back to camp, he has still been effective in spurts and at critical moments. Nevertheless, this unit struggles to be competitive, much less get a push or consistent pressure. I think Diaco has done his best to mask this weakness in the short time that he's had, but at the end of the day, it would appear this unit has a long way to go.
After this season we lose Watts and Neal, our two best interior linemen. While I'm excited to have GK and DeMarcus Mitchell back next season, I'm worried about how we will be able to backfill Neal's role in this defense. I'm surprised to not have seen more of Steven Faucheux, as he would appear to have the kind of size that by itself should get him on the field (6'5" 300 lbs. Outside of him, we have one true DT recruit in Bryce Austin in the last two recruiting classes. Please correct me if I'm wrong on that. It's not clear to me if they've failed to be competitive getting interior linemen or if this is by design. To me, it looks like they're focused on getting guys that are more "interchangeable" between LB and DE, but at the end of the day, Purdue has lacked depth at the tackle position, and I don't see our defense making meaningful progress in 2021 unless this unit is a lot better. Will Purdue have to hit the transfer market hard to pick up multiple DT's in the offseason? Would love to hear the editors' thoughts on this.
