WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue Football finally put on the pads today as the Boilermakers continue their offseason preparations in fall camp. Who better to highlight on the first day of real hitting than the leaders on the defensive side of the ball?
Defensive coordinator Kevin Kane was joined by a duo of veteran linebackers in Kydran Jenkins and Yanni Karlaftis to speak on this group's development in the second year with the new staff. The debut season under Kane was a productive one, as the Boilermakers racked up 35 sacks (third most in program history, most since 2004) and forced 18 turnovers. The Purdue staff will hope for even more from this group in 2024.
"Coming off of year one into year two, I think we've added some great additions to give us a chance to have a lot of success," Kane said of his defense. "[The players are] taking a lot of ownership in this defense, and it's allowing us to coach the finer details and get better which is fun."
Jenkins was one of the stars of the show for the Boilers in 2023. The senior paced the team and was third in the conference with 15.5 tackles-for-loss, making him the first Boilermaker since 2015 to lead the team in that category in back-to-back seasons. He considered going pro but returned to West Lafayette to take on a new challenge, transitioning into a middle linebacker for this upcoming season.
"I knew that this would be the best opportunity for me to get to the next level," Jenkins said of the position change. "When Coach (Walters) told me that he wanted to take me to inside linebacker, I was all for it. I know I can play it, I played there in high school so let's do it... Wherever they want me to be I'll just be there making plays."
His partner in the middle of the defense will be the junior Karlaftis, who broke out as a key contributor in Kane's system. He was fourth on the team last year with 55 tackles and added 2.5 sacks in his eight starts.
"Yanni is getting more explosive," Jenkins said of his running mate. "He's a player who's been grinding just to get to the top, and I feel like he's gotten very explosive this year. He's going to be making a lot of plays for us."
Karlaftis returned the compliment, repeatedly commenting on how dangerous the duo can be for this defense.
"[Kydran] has a great nose for the ball, so playing off of him or playing with him is great," Karlaftis said. "The linebacker group really compliments each other… Having a year under this scheme has been really beneficial."
The team gets a day off on Wednesday with three straight days of practice waiting on the other side. Tickets are still available for the home opener against Indiana State on August 31 in Ross-Ade Stadium.
Defensive coordinator Kevin Kane was joined by a duo of veteran linebackers in Kydran Jenkins and Yanni Karlaftis to speak on this group's development in the second year with the new staff. The debut season under Kane was a productive one, as the Boilermakers racked up 35 sacks (third most in program history, most since 2004) and forced 18 turnovers. The Purdue staff will hope for even more from this group in 2024.
"Coming off of year one into year two, I think we've added some great additions to give us a chance to have a lot of success," Kane said of his defense. "[The players are] taking a lot of ownership in this defense, and it's allowing us to coach the finer details and get better which is fun."
Jenkins was one of the stars of the show for the Boilers in 2023. The senior paced the team and was third in the conference with 15.5 tackles-for-loss, making him the first Boilermaker since 2015 to lead the team in that category in back-to-back seasons. He considered going pro but returned to West Lafayette to take on a new challenge, transitioning into a middle linebacker for this upcoming season.
"I knew that this would be the best opportunity for me to get to the next level," Jenkins said of the position change. "When Coach (Walters) told me that he wanted to take me to inside linebacker, I was all for it. I know I can play it, I played there in high school so let's do it... Wherever they want me to be I'll just be there making plays."
His partner in the middle of the defense will be the junior Karlaftis, who broke out as a key contributor in Kane's system. He was fourth on the team last year with 55 tackles and added 2.5 sacks in his eight starts.
"Yanni is getting more explosive," Jenkins said of his running mate. "He's a player who's been grinding just to get to the top, and I feel like he's gotten very explosive this year. He's going to be making a lot of plays for us."
Karlaftis returned the compliment, repeatedly commenting on how dangerous the duo can be for this defense.
"[Kydran] has a great nose for the ball, so playing off of him or playing with him is great," Karlaftis said. "The linebacker group really compliments each other… Having a year under this scheme has been really beneficial."
The team gets a day off on Wednesday with three straight days of practice waiting on the other side. Tickets are still available for the home opener against Indiana State on August 31 in Ross-Ade Stadium.