Purdue
Boilermakers
Preview 2009
By
Pete Fiutak
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us know
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2009 CFN Purdue Preview |
2009
Purdue Offense
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2009 Purdue Defense |
2009
Purdue Depth Chart
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2008 Purdue Preview |
2007 Purdue Preview |
2006
Purdue Preview
Head coach: Danny Hope
1st year
6th year
overall: 35-22
Returning Lettermen:
Off. 24, Def. 23, ST 3
Lettermen Lost: 18 |
Ten
Best Purdue Players
1. DE Ryan Kerrigan, Sr.
2. FS Torri
Williams, Sr.
3. CB David Pender, Sr.
4. DT Mike Neal,
Sr.
5. LB Joe Holland, Soph.
6. LB Chris Carlino, Soph.
7. DT Kawann Short, RFr.
8. RB Jaycen Taylor, Sr.
9. WR
Keith Smith, Jr.
10. DE Gerald Gooden, Soph. |
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2009 Schedule
CFN Prediction:
3-9
2009 Record:
0-0
9/5 Toledo
9/12 at Oregon
9/19 Northern Illinois
9/26 Notre Dame
10/3 Northwestern
10/10 at Minnesota
10/17 Ohio State
10/24 Illinois
10/31 at Wisconsin
11/7 at Michigan
11/14 Michigan State
11/21 at Indiana
11/28 OPEN DATE |
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2008 Schedule
CFN Prediction:
6-6
2008 Record:
4-8
Aug. 30 OPEN DATE
Sept. 6 No. Colorado W
42-10
Sept. 13 Oregon L 32-26 2OT
Sept. 20 Central Mich W
32-25
Sept. 27 at Notre Dame L 38-21
Oct. 4 Penn State L 20-6
Oct. 11 at Ohio State L 16-3
Oct. 18 at Northwestern L
46-28
Oct. 25 Minnesota L 17-6
Nov. 1 Michigan W 48-42
Nov. 8 at Michigan State L 21-7
Nov. 15 at Iowa L 22-17
Nov. 22 Indiana
W 62-10 |
The last Purdue win to come against a team from
a BCS conference that finished a season with a winning record? November
of 2004 with a victory over Ohio State. Purdue football had become the
working definition of a mediocre program, and last year things went from
rocky to stale in Joe Tiller's final season. However, there's hope on
the horizon, no pun intended, really.
New head man Danny Hope,
who has been part of the show for the last few years as the appointed
successor to the throne, isn't going to change too much considering he
was partly responsible for how the team has been built, but he has
something that Tiller didn't over the last few seasons: a ton of young
talent.
Tiller always bemoaned having to recruit a different kind
of player because Purdue couldn't necessarily compete with the Big Ten
big boys for the top talent. That's fine, it's not like Wisconsin and
Iowa have led the recruiting rankings over the years, but Purdue has
been even more creative.
Instead of getting the star linebacker
prospect, it might get a great high school quarterback and use his
athleticism on defense. Every school does that to a point, but Purdue
lives and dies off of finding athletes who might have been spurned by
other places because they didn't fit a specific type. The NFL Combine
hasn't had a problem with this over the last few seasons. Tiller and his
staff got it right over the last few years with a slew of great athletes
brought in, and if everyone can be patient and can accept a year of
major growing pains, the payoff could be enormous.
The biggest
issue early on will be to find steady playmakers on offense, but the
situation isn't as dire as many might make it out to be with a nice
blend of promising backups to go along with seniors who should be good
enough to produce with more responsibility on their shoulders. The best
quarterback on the team, Caleb TerBush, is a redshirt freshman, but he
might need a little time (more on this in a moment). Ralph Bolden was
the team's best running back in spring ball, and he's just a sophomore,
and the team's top recruit this year was running back Al-Terek McBurse.
The defense is even more loaded with young prospects and has the
potential to be fantastic if it can stop the run for the first time in
several years. 6-4, 310-pound defensive tackle Kawann Short has NFL
potential written all over him, while six of the nine top linebacker
prospects, including two projected starters, are underclassmen. The
secondary might be the team's strength, with all four starters going
into the senior years, but the backups are all fast, they're all
promising, and they're all coming back next year.
The question
becomes if Hope can take the program over the hump and become a real,
live player in Big Ten play again. Purdue might take a step back this
year to take a giant leap forward, but the coaching staff isn't going to
go to a total youth movement right away. Can Hope and the coaches find
the right mix and the right blend to try to win now while getting
everyone adequately prepared for a potentially big 2010? It'll be worth
watching.
What to watch for on offense: The quarterback situation. Here's
the biggest early debate of the Hope era. With Justin Siller booted off
the team due to academic problems, Joey Elliott will be the main man
early on. However, he's a limited talent and is gone next year. How
quickly will Hope plug in Caleb TerBush, a big-armed redshirt freshman
who'll be the triggerman when the program becomes bowl-good again?
Playing TerBush might not be a concession for a rebuilding team; he's
been almost as good as Elliott this offseason.
What to watch for on defense: How good can the line be? Shoved
around against the run for the last several years, the line needs to be
much better and far more productive against the better Big Ten O lines.
End Ryan Kerrigan is one of the league's top pass rushers and can hold
his own against the run, but the key to the season could be the play of
tackles Mike Neal and Kawann Short. Neal is the veteran who appears to
be on the verge of stepping up his game into all-star status, while
Short could be special if he can take all his tools and grow into a
consistent brick wall against the better ground attacks. If the line can
get into the backfield more often, everyone in the back seven will be
far better.
The team will be far better if … it can score on a
consistent basis. Purdue has always been considered a team with a
high-octane offense, it's almost always among the league leaders in
passing, but the attack goes in the tank against any defense with a
pulse. Consistency is the biggest issue, hanging 48 points on Michigan
and 62 on Indiana, but only scoring 22 total points against Penn State,
Ohio State, Minnesota and Michigan State combined. Purdue went 4-0 when
it scored 32 points or more, and was 0-8 when it scored 26 or fewer.
The Schedule:
The start of the Danny Hope era shouldn't be too bad if
the team can hold serve at home. The Boilermakers likely won't
have a shot at beating Oregon in Autzen Stadium, but they should
be strong enough to get by Toledo and Northern Illinois and a
statement could be made against Notre Dame. With the Big Ten
opener against Northwestern at home, Purdue gets to play in West
Lafayette four times in the first five games and six times in
eight games before Halloween. However, there are three road
games in the final four. Not playing Iowa or Penn State will be
a huge help in the drive for a decent year.
Best Offensive Player: Senior RB
Jaycen Taylor. He's not going to be Kory Sheets, but the veteran is a
speed back who should be 100% recovered from a knee injury that
sidelined him for all of 2008. He won't have to be a workhorse with good
backs waiting in the wings to be part of a rotation, but he'll be the
go-to back who could be the team's offense early on.
Best Defensive Player: Junior DE Ryan Kerrigan. If he
played for Penn State or Ohio State he'd be on most All-America lists.
The 6-4, 263-pounder not only made seven sacks last season, but he was
fourth on the team with 56 tackles. Want-to was never a problem before,
and now he cranked up the intensity a few levels and he should be even
more of a terror into the backfield.
Key player to a successful season: Senior QB
Joey Elliott. He was fine when he has seen time over the course of his
career, but he hasn't been anything special. Now he has to not only lead
the team and make a green receiving corps better, but he has to stay
healthy after getting knocked out last year with a shoulder injury that
he's just now starting to get over completely.
The season will be a
success if ... Purdue gets to a bowl game. It would be a nice
stepping-stone after last year's clunker to get a 13th game, and with no
Penn State or Iowa to deal with, the Boilermakers have to take
advantage. Getting off to a hot start will be a must, and there will
need to be an upset on the road against either Michigan or Minnesota,
but the team should be just good enough to play in December.
Key game:
Sept. 26 vs. Notre Dame.
Home wins over Toledo and Northern Illinois aren't going to be layups,
but they're must-wins to have any real hope of going bowling. A good
showing at Oregon would be nice, but a win is too much to ask for.
Before Big Ten play kicks in, the Boilermakers could use a win over the
Irish, after losing three of the last four in the series, to be 3-1 with
Northwestern coming to town.
2008 Fun Stats:
- Punt return
average: Opponents 16.7 yards per try - Purdue 7.7 yards per try
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Penalties: Opponents 76 for 603 yards - Purdue 60 for 484 yards
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Purdue recovered three of its four onside kick attempts
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2009 CFN Purdue Preview |
2009
Purdue Offense
-
2009 Purdue Defense |
2009
Purdue Depth Chart
-
2008 Purdue Preview |
2007 Purdue Preview |
2006
Purdue Preview