WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Returning from a day away from the practice field, Purdue Football wrapped up the seventh day of fall camp on Thursday (Aug. 8) with just over three weeks to go until the season opener against Indiana State in Ross-Ade Stadium.
Rush ends coach Joe Dineen spoke to the media after practice to offer a glimpse of the team's pass rushers, a unit with high expectations after helping the defense record the third-most sacks in program history last season (35). Sophomore rush end Will Heldt and new Boilermaker senior Shitta Sillah also gave their thoughts after a full seven days of camp.
"I'm really excited about the guys," Dineen said about his position group. "Will [Heldt] has kind of turned into a monster. He's rushing at a high level, he's got speed, he's kind of taken a leadership role in the room. And then we've added Jireh [Ojata], CJ [Madden] and Shitta [Sillah]. I think what's fun is they all provide something different. So, when the tackles get going, it'll all be something different that they have to stop, and they've done a good job so far in camp."
A native of Carmel, Heldt appeared in all 12 games as a true freshman in 2023 and recorded at least one tackle in nine games. As the only returning rush end on the team, he looks to embrace his new role as a leader in his second season under head coach Ryan Walters.
"Just being in my second year in the scheme, I feel like I have a much better feel for what's going on," Heldt said. "Being able to use that and acting fast, just using my abilities, my length, my speed, to win. As the only guy returning in my room from last year, I feel a little bit of a responsibility to lead, bring that pass rush that we had from the previous year and keep the standard the standard."
After spending the past five seasons at Boston College, Sillah transferred to Purdue over the offseason. The sixth-year senior from Somerset, New Jersey racked up 80 tackles (50 solos) and 6.5 sacks in his time with the Eagles.
"Coming out of the transfer portal, I was looking for a place that had a great scheme that I felt like worked to my strengths," Sillah said. "This defense is perfect. We're very aggressive, we get to the quarterback, and that was something that really stood out. Just watching film and seeing how they utilize [the rush ends] and how they got to the quarterback, all the different pressures and stunts that they use… that was really appealing to me."
The team will be back on the practice field on Friday (Aug. 9). Tickets are still available for the home opener against Indiana State on Aug. 31 in Ross-Ade Stadium.
Rush ends coach Joe Dineen spoke to the media after practice to offer a glimpse of the team's pass rushers, a unit with high expectations after helping the defense record the third-most sacks in program history last season (35). Sophomore rush end Will Heldt and new Boilermaker senior Shitta Sillah also gave their thoughts after a full seven days of camp.
"I'm really excited about the guys," Dineen said about his position group. "Will [Heldt] has kind of turned into a monster. He's rushing at a high level, he's got speed, he's kind of taken a leadership role in the room. And then we've added Jireh [Ojata], CJ [Madden] and Shitta [Sillah]. I think what's fun is they all provide something different. So, when the tackles get going, it'll all be something different that they have to stop, and they've done a good job so far in camp."
A native of Carmel, Heldt appeared in all 12 games as a true freshman in 2023 and recorded at least one tackle in nine games. As the only returning rush end on the team, he looks to embrace his new role as a leader in his second season under head coach Ryan Walters.
"Just being in my second year in the scheme, I feel like I have a much better feel for what's going on," Heldt said. "Being able to use that and acting fast, just using my abilities, my length, my speed, to win. As the only guy returning in my room from last year, I feel a little bit of a responsibility to lead, bring that pass rush that we had from the previous year and keep the standard the standard."
After spending the past five seasons at Boston College, Sillah transferred to Purdue over the offseason. The sixth-year senior from Somerset, New Jersey racked up 80 tackles (50 solos) and 6.5 sacks in his time with the Eagles.
"Coming out of the transfer portal, I was looking for a place that had a great scheme that I felt like worked to my strengths," Sillah said. "This defense is perfect. We're very aggressive, we get to the quarterback, and that was something that really stood out. Just watching film and seeing how they utilize [the rush ends] and how they got to the quarterback, all the different pressures and stunts that they use… that was really appealing to me."
The team will be back on the practice field on Friday (Aug. 9). Tickets are still available for the home opener against Indiana State on Aug. 31 in Ross-Ade Stadium.