Just got a couple comments from Rivals.com's Northeast analyst, Adam Friedman, on Purdue's new NJ Transit backfield.
"He's a really tough, gritty kid, and I like the way he fights. He can get the ball away even with guys hanging on him, and that's (impressive), because he's not such a big guy. He's got some height to him, but he's not really filled out. There's plenty of arm strength there and the accuracy can be there, in camps especially. He looks really good in camps.
"The biggest question with him has been his decision-making in games, forcing the ball into tight windows, throwing the ball where he shouldn't at times or just being a little too risky with things, and that's where the biggest development is going to come at Purdue. Obviously he'll have a great coach to learn from in Jeff Brohm, a quarterback guru and quarterback himself. I'm sure he'll have plenty of suggestions for him in that area.
"I like what he brings to the table coming from a school like St. Joseph's Regional, where he played excellent competition week in and week out. There will be a learning a curve in terms of speed of the game from that level of competition, but he's more familiar with it than most."
"I really like Tirek. He's a big-bodied back who has good vision between the tackles and enough speed to get to the edge. He hasn't been as productive as some four-star running backs at the high school level and that's a product of the competition they play, No. 1, but also the offensive line he's playing behind hasn't been as good as some of the four-star running backs he gets compared to, so the numbers aren't there, but the skills are there. He has the skills to be an important piece of the puzzle for Purdue.
"I really like the idea of bringing in a bigger, between-the-tackles back like Murphy to complement the high-powered speed-type offense Purdue runs. It's a good change of pace to pick to pick up tough yards in those short-yardage or goal-line situations."
"He's a really tough, gritty kid, and I like the way he fights. He can get the ball away even with guys hanging on him, and that's (impressive), because he's not such a big guy. He's got some height to him, but he's not really filled out. There's plenty of arm strength there and the accuracy can be there, in camps especially. He looks really good in camps.
"The biggest question with him has been his decision-making in games, forcing the ball into tight windows, throwing the ball where he shouldn't at times or just being a little too risky with things, and that's where the biggest development is going to come at Purdue. Obviously he'll have a great coach to learn from in Jeff Brohm, a quarterback guru and quarterback himself. I'm sure he'll have plenty of suggestions for him in that area.
"I like what he brings to the table coming from a school like St. Joseph's Regional, where he played excellent competition week in and week out. There will be a learning a curve in terms of speed of the game from that level of competition, but he's more familiar with it than most."
"I really like Tirek. He's a big-bodied back who has good vision between the tackles and enough speed to get to the edge. He hasn't been as productive as some four-star running backs at the high school level and that's a product of the competition they play, No. 1, but also the offensive line he's playing behind hasn't been as good as some of the four-star running backs he gets compared to, so the numbers aren't there, but the skills are there. He has the skills to be an important piece of the puzzle for Purdue.
"I really like the idea of bringing in a bigger, between-the-tackles back like Murphy to complement the high-powered speed-type offense Purdue runs. It's a good change of pace to pick to pick up tough yards in those short-yardage or goal-line situations."
