WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue football team entered its third week of preseason camp with its eyes fixed on the Sept. 2 kickoff in Ross-Ade against Fresno State.
Head coach Ryan Walters caught up with the media for the first time in a week to discuss the progress his squad has made. As the Boilermakers continue to move through camp, the team will take part in a closed scrimmage on Thursday, its second of the fall.
Walters on the team's progression through camp…
I'm very pleased with where we're at. We've gotten in a lot of scenarios and situational football that came up. What I like about our structure of practice is we put the ball down and go play. There's a lot of scenarios that come up that you have to work through offensively, defensively and special teams. We're getting an idea of the depth chart where guys are at and who we can count on.
Walters on what he wants to see in the scrimmage…
We just want to play ball. The more we can play with each other the better. We don't want to ease into the season. We need to be ready to roll with a quality opponent in Fresno State coming in our place.
Walters on position groups that have improved the most during camp…
Offensive line has improved tremendously. Coach Johnson has done an awesome job with those guys. We obviously added a couple of faces this summer, and the guys that were here during the offseason did a great job with Coach Ro in changing their bodies and getting stronger and bigger. They are gelling. What we do defensively puts pressure on that group with our one-on-one blocks and different twist looks. Those guys are getting inundated fast with communication and playing with each other.
Day 1 – Head Coach Ryan Walters, Safety Cam Allen, Offensive Lineman Marcus Mbow
Day 2 – Offensive Coordinator Graham Harrell, Quarterback Hudson Card, Quarterback Bennett Meredith
Day 3 – Defensive Coordinator Kevin Kane, Linebackers OC Brothers and Clyde Washington
Day 4 – Running Backs Coach Lamar Conard, Running Backs Devin Mockobee, Tyrone Tracy and Dylan Downing
Day 5 – Head coach Ryan Walters, Punter Jack Ansell, Kicker Ben Freehill
Day 6 – Defensive Line Coach Brick Haley, Defensive Linemen Joe Anderson, Damarjhe Lewis and Isaiah Nichols
Day 7 – Outside Linebackers Coach Joe Dineen, Linebackers Kydran Jenkins and Nic Scourton
Day 8 – Tight Ends Coach Seth Doege, Tight Ends Paul Piferi and Garrett Miller