Here are 10 deep-dive items culled from conversations and my own two eyes while watching the action along the sidelines of the Mollenkopf Center for today’s spring practice.
1. Expect Purdue to receive verbal commitment No. 2 this Wednesday. Can’t say who it will be. But, the commitment is coming, I have learned. Purdue’s first 2020 commitment watched practice today with his mom and dad: LB Ben Kreul of Waukesha, Wisc. The 6-3, 218-pound Kreul is a good-looking athlete.
LB Ben Kreul
2. The players and staff had left the field. Practice ended at 6 p.m. But who was still toiling away at 6:30? Rondale Moore. The sensational freshman had his shirt off, catching passes from the Jugs machine being run by strength coach Domenic Reno. At one point, Moore was catching passes while seated on the Mollenkopf turf. He wasn’t missing any.
3. Before practice, the staff had many players executing snaps: Will Bramel, Alex Criddle and Spencer Holstege all took turns along with regular centers Sam Garvin and Bryce Brown. Viktor Beach worked out on the side of the field with a trainer, going through some conditioning drills in T-shirt and shorts. Jeff Brohm would like the sophomore to win the starting job, but he has been out for over two weeks. Right offensive tackle Matt McCann also was out of commission, just doing some conditioning work alongside Beach. McCann appeared to hurt a hand last Friday.
4. Spoke to defensive ends coach Kevin Wolthausen. He mentioned redshirt freshman Branson Deen as a guy who has stood out. Wolthausen compared the physique of the 6-2, 265-pound Deen to former Louisville star Elvis Dumervil. Wolthausen likes Deen’s burst. Keep him on your radar.
5. Big George Karlaftis was on the field in pads, but the defensive end wore a red pullover jersey over this No. 5. The true freshman early enrollee went through some individual drills but had no contact. Karlaftis got "dinged" in practice last Wednesday.
6. Speaking of West Lafayette High, its QB Kyle Adams was on hand with his father. Adams has yet to draw an offer, but he was invited by Purdue to make the walk across Northwestern Ave. from WLHS to the Mollenkopf Center. He told me he’s looking at Ivy League schools as well as FCS programs like Liberty, Illinois State, Southern Illinois and James Madison. Adams also has been to Miami (Ohio). The knock on Adams is he’s just 6-1. Still, he’s an ultra productive QB who is accurate, smart and a winner. And "shorter" QBs seem to be more embraced these days, so ... He’ll be a great catch for some school. Will a bigger school take a chance on him?
Kyle Adams
7. QBs Elijah Sindelar and Jack Plummer both looked good running two-minutes drills late in practice. Sindelar threw a nice TD pass to Ahmad Anderson, Jr., while Plummer answered with a sweet toss to Jackson Anthrop, who made some nice catches on this day. All No. 33 does is make plays. Speaking of QBs … Nick Sipe was out again today.
8. Some 2020 recruits were on hand to watch practice. S Ryan Brandt of Angola, Ind. He is a 6-1, 205-pound three-star who has an offer from Purdue as well as Air Force, Army and Eastern Michigan. It was hard to miss big Jereiah Banks-Wall. He is a 6-6, 245-pound offensive tackle/defensive end from Montini High in Lombard, Ill. Syracuse and Southern Illinois have offered him. A nice young man who is very soft-spoken.
Ryan Brandt
9. Brothers Marion and and Devin Lukes from Charlestown, Ind., watched practice. Marion is a 5-8, 162-pound AP back who is being looked at by the likes of Kentucky, Cincinnati and Duke, among others. Brother Devin is a safety who is just a freshman.
10. Zander Horvath added another victim to his list of "big hits," crushing a defender who dared try to tackle the 6-3, 230-pound sophomore. That defender will remain nameless.
That's all for now! The team will practice on Tuesday, then have a brief workout on Friday before scrimmaging on Saturday.
Stay tuned!
1. Expect Purdue to receive verbal commitment No. 2 this Wednesday. Can’t say who it will be. But, the commitment is coming, I have learned. Purdue’s first 2020 commitment watched practice today with his mom and dad: LB Ben Kreul of Waukesha, Wisc. The 6-3, 218-pound Kreul is a good-looking athlete.
LB Ben Kreul
2. The players and staff had left the field. Practice ended at 6 p.m. But who was still toiling away at 6:30? Rondale Moore. The sensational freshman had his shirt off, catching passes from the Jugs machine being run by strength coach Domenic Reno. At one point, Moore was catching passes while seated on the Mollenkopf turf. He wasn’t missing any.
3. Before practice, the staff had many players executing snaps: Will Bramel, Alex Criddle and Spencer Holstege all took turns along with regular centers Sam Garvin and Bryce Brown. Viktor Beach worked out on the side of the field with a trainer, going through some conditioning drills in T-shirt and shorts. Jeff Brohm would like the sophomore to win the starting job, but he has been out for over two weeks. Right offensive tackle Matt McCann also was out of commission, just doing some conditioning work alongside Beach. McCann appeared to hurt a hand last Friday.
4. Spoke to defensive ends coach Kevin Wolthausen. He mentioned redshirt freshman Branson Deen as a guy who has stood out. Wolthausen compared the physique of the 6-2, 265-pound Deen to former Louisville star Elvis Dumervil. Wolthausen likes Deen’s burst. Keep him on your radar.
5. Big George Karlaftis was on the field in pads, but the defensive end wore a red pullover jersey over this No. 5. The true freshman early enrollee went through some individual drills but had no contact. Karlaftis got "dinged" in practice last Wednesday.
6. Speaking of West Lafayette High, its QB Kyle Adams was on hand with his father. Adams has yet to draw an offer, but he was invited by Purdue to make the walk across Northwestern Ave. from WLHS to the Mollenkopf Center. He told me he’s looking at Ivy League schools as well as FCS programs like Liberty, Illinois State, Southern Illinois and James Madison. Adams also has been to Miami (Ohio). The knock on Adams is he’s just 6-1. Still, he’s an ultra productive QB who is accurate, smart and a winner. And "shorter" QBs seem to be more embraced these days, so ... He’ll be a great catch for some school. Will a bigger school take a chance on him?
Kyle Adams
7. QBs Elijah Sindelar and Jack Plummer both looked good running two-minutes drills late in practice. Sindelar threw a nice TD pass to Ahmad Anderson, Jr., while Plummer answered with a sweet toss to Jackson Anthrop, who made some nice catches on this day. All No. 33 does is make plays. Speaking of QBs … Nick Sipe was out again today.
8. Some 2020 recruits were on hand to watch practice. S Ryan Brandt of Angola, Ind. He is a 6-1, 205-pound three-star who has an offer from Purdue as well as Air Force, Army and Eastern Michigan. It was hard to miss big Jereiah Banks-Wall. He is a 6-6, 245-pound offensive tackle/defensive end from Montini High in Lombard, Ill. Syracuse and Southern Illinois have offered him. A nice young man who is very soft-spoken.
Ryan Brandt
9. Brothers Marion and and Devin Lukes from Charlestown, Ind., watched practice. Marion is a 5-8, 162-pound AP back who is being looked at by the likes of Kentucky, Cincinnati and Duke, among others. Brother Devin is a safety who is just a freshman.
10. Zander Horvath added another victim to his list of "big hits," crushing a defender who dared try to tackle the 6-3, 230-pound sophomore. That defender will remain nameless.
That's all for now! The team will practice on Tuesday, then have a brief workout on Friday before scrimmaging on Saturday.
Stay tuned!
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