Hey @LifeAtPurdue.. buy a VIP card by 6/10 and get a photo of yourself on the @BoilerFootball helmet next season! pic.twitter.com/LFjz0y5gCt
— Purdue Athletics (@PurdueSports) June 4, 2014
Previewing the 2014 season for the Purdue Boilermakers.
2013 overall record: 1-11 (0-8 Big Ten)
Key returnees: Danny Etling, QB; Justin Sinz, TE; Ryan Russell, DE; Frankie Williams, DB; Raheem Mostert RB/KR.
Key losses: Ricardo Allen, CB; Bruce Gaston, DT; Greg Latta, DE; RT Justin Kitchens, RT; Kevin Pamphile, LT.
Instant impact newcomer:
Projected starters
Offense: QB: Danny Etling, So., 6-2, 221; RB: Raheem Mostert, Sr., 5-11, 190; WR: DeAngelo Yancey, So., 6-2, 218; WR: Cameron Posey, So., 6-1, 182; TE: Justin Sinz, Sr., 6-4, 235; WR: Danny Anthrop, Jr., 6-0, 191; LT: Jack De Boef, Sr., 6-7, 290; LG: Jason King, So., 6-4, 309; C: Robert Kugler, Jr., 6-3, 298; RG: Jordan Roos, So., 6-4, 312; RT: J.J. Prince, So., 6-6, 302.
Defense: DE: Ryan Russell, Sr., 6-5, 273; DT: Jake Replogle, So., 6-5, 269; NT: Ra'Zahn Howard, So., 6-3, 323; LB: Jimmy Herman, So., 6-4, 230; LB: Jalani Phillips, Sr., 6-4, 265; LB: Sean Robinson, 6-3, 239; LB: Joe Gilliam, Sr., 6-1, 230; CB: Antoine Lewis, Sr., 5-10, 186; S: Frankie Williams, 5-9, 189; S: Landon Feichter, Sr., 6-0, 192; CB: Anthony Brown, Jr., 5-11, 195.
Specialists: P: Thomas Meadows, Jr., 6-0, 183; K: Paul Griggs, Jr., 6-1, 197.
Biggest question mark: Picking just one for a team coming off a train-wreck season like Purdue did a year ago is a challenge, because there is so much improvement to be made across the board. But if the Boilermakers are going to start threatening anybody in the Big Ten, they're going to have to find a consistent way to move the ball. Whether that means getting Mostert and his dangerous speed more involved for a rushing attack that gained just 805 yards collectively or trusting Etling's arm to air it out without turning the ball over so much doesn't make much difference. One way or the other, Purdue is going to need to score more than 15 points per game if it's going to climb out of the cellar.
Most important game: Oct. 4 at Illinois. Purdue is still a long way from even thinking about contending in the Big Ten as Darrell Hazell reshapes the program, but it can certainly show progress by climbing the ladder against the presumptive bottom half of the league. With a mostly manageable slate outside of the league, Purdue has a chance to post three wins in September to build some momentum and put a potential bowl bid in reach, but beating a team like the Illini on the road would likely be a necessity to keep that possibility alive.
Upset special: Nov. 22 against Northwestern. By late November, a team that already has plenty of experience elsewhere on the roster should have a quarterback with enough game reps to be considered a veteran. And if Etling is able to stretch defenses enough to open rushing lanes for a game-breaking weapon like Mostert, Purdue could make a late run to bowl eligibility by exposing a Northwestern defense that has question marks of its own to give Hazell another sign that his program is heading in the right direction.
Key stat: Purdue opened Big Ten play last season by getting outscored 158-17 during the first half of league play. That incredibly lopsided margin could have been worse if not for a surprisingly low-scoring loss to eventual conference champion Michigan State, which won only 14-0 at home against the Boilermakers.
What they're wearing: The Boilermakers will truly be representing the student body when they take the field on Sept. 27 against Iowa, debuting a helmet that will have pictures of students and season-ticket holders wearing team gear on the sticker. After the game, Purdue is planning to send out a digital copy of the "Motion P" logo with the approximately 1,000 photos the program is hoping to receive on it.
Team's top Twitter follows: Sophomore offensive lineman Jason King (@Jason72King) provides his view from the trenches and has been updating fans on training camp. Tight end Justin Sinz (@JSinz84) isn't afraid to weigh in on other sports, and recently informed his followers about his graduation. Defensive end Ryan Russell (@RKRelentless) is always good for some inspiration, and the official team account (@BoilerFootball) provides no shortage of behind-the-scenes footage.
They said it: "Obviously we didn't finish as well as we'd like to last year. There's a lot of things for improvement. But I think this is the time where you rip off the rearview mirror and you take a look at what's in front of you and all the things we need to do to be successful in this 2014 season." -- Purdue coach Darrell Hazell.
Stats & Information projection: 3.56 wins.
Wise guys over/under: 3.5 wins.
Big Ten blog projection: 4 wins. The rebuilding job is going to take time, and Purdue hasn't made up much ground on the rest of the conference quite yet. The Boilermakers should be able to put themselves in position to top that over/under from the wise guys thanks to a modest, manageable nonconference schedule -- excluding the matchup with Notre Dame in Indianapolis. It will come down to knocking off another program trying to find the way up in the Big Ten, a team like Illinois or in-state rival Indiana, if Purdue is going to get over the mark. If the program is truly taking a step forward this season, it should win one of those league games.