Old Oaken Bucket Game Tickets
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - As a child, he was never too far away from the sport he loved – morning, day or night.
Purdue fifth-year linebacker Ben Holt moved to a new city once more in order to prove one thing this season: He wanted to show he could not just play for a power conference program, but hold his own and excel.
Holt is doing just that as one of the leading tacklers in the Big Ten Conference. With two games remaining in the regular season, Holt has more than twice as many tackles as anyone else on Purdue's defense.
An due to injuries, he's one of the few seniors left on a young defensive unit led by his father and co-defensive coordinator, Nick Holt.
It's an opportunity Ben has lived and worked his entire life to have. At a young age, he would want to be on the practice field with his older brother (also named Nick). He also wanted to wear his brother's football pants and cleats around the house; never mind that they didn't fit well.
And then there was that University of Southern California football jersey.
"He would wear his USC jersey morning, noon and night," recalls Nick, who had two stints coaching with the Trojans. "I forgot how little he was back then, but when he was 3 or 4 he always had a football uniform on, even when he slept."
Football has always been a part of Ben's life. And with being the son of a coach, so does moving to new locales.
Ben can rattle off all of the places he has lived, even though it's a long list. He was born in Idaho. Then the family moved to Louisville. Then off to Los Angeles. And back to Idaho. Then back to Los Angeles. From there they went to Seattle and then Montana. They moved to Kentucky where the family became entrenched in the Western Kentucky program.
That's where Ben made a name for himself on the field. And that led to one last move and one last challenge in his career: joining Purdue and proving he can play at any level.
"There's no doubt he wanted to prove he could fit in and play at a Power 5 conference and not lose a beat," Nick says. "I think he's done that and has enjoyed the process."
One benefit of all those moves? Ben has learned throughout his life how to adjust to new areas and new groups of people. Holt led Western Kentucky with 116 tackles and 11.5 tackles for a loss last year, earning honorable mention All-Conference USA recognition.
But he wasn't about to come into a new program at Purdue and expect everyone to be impressed. He came in looking to earn the respect of his teammates.
"I've moved around my whole life, and in my experience, you can't really come in and automatically demand respect that you haven't earned," Ben says. "I'm still relatively new and still trying to earn that respect. But I hope by being here every day, I can earn trust by showing them I'm really trying to help us win, and it's not fake energy."
Injuries have taken a toll on Purdue this season. On the defensive side, linebacker Markus Bailey had his season cut short, while defensive tackle Lorenzo Neal has yet to play as he recovers and rehabilitates.
Both of those players are legitimate NFL prospects, and their loss not only is felt on the field, but off the field as senior leaders. Holt is now just one of three seniors on the defensive depth chart.
In recent weeks, Ben has clearly emerged as a vocal leader of the defense. Taking on such a role takes time and couldn't be done the moment he stepped on campus.
"There's no doubt he has taken more of a leadership role now that some of our older guys are out," Nick says. "He was feeling his way when he first got here in the summer. He was getting to know the kids, and they were getting to know him. But I think he's earned their respect, and now he's become a leader and it's like he's been here the whole time. He likes the guys and the guys like him, and he has taken over that role of being a leader."
Ben has shown the ability to make plays that go down in the box score, such as his 17 tackles against TCU, the most by a Boilermaker since Willie Fells had 20 against Iowa in 1997.
And there also have been the plays that don't show up in a box score. In Purdue's win over Maryland, Ben walked up to the line of scrimmage and faked a blitz.
"I knew they were hard counting, and the offensive guard was looking really antsy," Ben says. "I started getting on him and saying, 'Hey, hey, hey.' Kind of getting in his ear and faked jumping, and finally he went off."
That was a 5-yard penalty that pushed Maryland deeper into its own territory. Ben could just tell that player at that moment was ripe for the picking.
"Just his body language - how he was sitting," Ben says. "He was ready to get the play going, but they were doing a hard count and I tried to get him to jump offside, and it worked."
Nick just smiles when asked about that play by his son.
"He knows football," Nick says. "He has been around it his whole life, so that kind of stuff comes natural for him."
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - As a child, he was never too far away from the sport he loved – morning, day or night.
Purdue fifth-year linebacker Ben Holt moved to a new city once more in order to prove one thing this season: He wanted to show he could not just play for a power conference program, but hold his own and excel.
Holt is doing just that as one of the leading tacklers in the Big Ten Conference. With two games remaining in the regular season, Holt has more than twice as many tackles as anyone else on Purdue's defense.
An due to injuries, he's one of the few seniors left on a young defensive unit led by his father and co-defensive coordinator, Nick Holt.
It's an opportunity Ben has lived and worked his entire life to have. At a young age, he would want to be on the practice field with his older brother (also named Nick). He also wanted to wear his brother's football pants and cleats around the house; never mind that they didn't fit well.
And then there was that University of Southern California football jersey.
"He would wear his USC jersey morning, noon and night," recalls Nick, who had two stints coaching with the Trojans. "I forgot how little he was back then, but when he was 3 or 4 he always had a football uniform on, even when he slept."
Football has always been a part of Ben's life. And with being the son of a coach, so does moving to new locales.
Ben can rattle off all of the places he has lived, even though it's a long list. He was born in Idaho. Then the family moved to Louisville. Then off to Los Angeles. And back to Idaho. Then back to Los Angeles. From there they went to Seattle and then Montana. They moved to Kentucky where the family became entrenched in the Western Kentucky program.
That's where Ben made a name for himself on the field. And that led to one last move and one last challenge in his career: joining Purdue and proving he can play at any level.
"There's no doubt he wanted to prove he could fit in and play at a Power 5 conference and not lose a beat," Nick says. "I think he's done that and has enjoyed the process."
One benefit of all those moves? Ben has learned throughout his life how to adjust to new areas and new groups of people. Holt led Western Kentucky with 116 tackles and 11.5 tackles for a loss last year, earning honorable mention All-Conference USA recognition.
But he wasn't about to come into a new program at Purdue and expect everyone to be impressed. He came in looking to earn the respect of his teammates.
"I've moved around my whole life, and in my experience, you can't really come in and automatically demand respect that you haven't earned," Ben says. "I'm still relatively new and still trying to earn that respect. But I hope by being here every day, I can earn trust by showing them I'm really trying to help us win, and it's not fake energy."
Injuries have taken a toll on Purdue this season. On the defensive side, linebacker Markus Bailey had his season cut short, while defensive tackle Lorenzo Neal has yet to play as he recovers and rehabilitates.
Both of those players are legitimate NFL prospects, and their loss not only is felt on the field, but off the field as senior leaders. Holt is now just one of three seniors on the defensive depth chart.
In recent weeks, Ben has clearly emerged as a vocal leader of the defense. Taking on such a role takes time and couldn't be done the moment he stepped on campus.
"There's no doubt he has taken more of a leadership role now that some of our older guys are out," Nick says. "He was feeling his way when he first got here in the summer. He was getting to know the kids, and they were getting to know him. But I think he's earned their respect, and now he's become a leader and it's like he's been here the whole time. He likes the guys and the guys like him, and he has taken over that role of being a leader."
Ben has shown the ability to make plays that go down in the box score, such as his 17 tackles against TCU, the most by a Boilermaker since Willie Fells had 20 against Iowa in 1997.
And there also have been the plays that don't show up in a box score. In Purdue's win over Maryland, Ben walked up to the line of scrimmage and faked a blitz.
"I knew they were hard counting, and the offensive guard was looking really antsy," Ben says. "I started getting on him and saying, 'Hey, hey, hey.' Kind of getting in his ear and faked jumping, and finally he went off."
That was a 5-yard penalty that pushed Maryland deeper into its own territory. Ben could just tell that player at that moment was ripe for the picking.
"Just his body language - how he was sitting," Ben says. "He was ready to get the play going, but they were doing a hard count and I tried to get him to jump offside, and it worked."
Nick just smiles when asked about that play by his son.
"He knows football," Nick says. "He has been around it his whole life, so that kind of stuff comes natural for him."