GoldandBlack.com - Tuesday Purdue notebook

November 3, 2009

Brian Neubert

Danny Hope Audio

Coach Danny Hope and players Joey Elliott and Chris Carlino spoke at Purdue's weekly press conference Tuesday afternoon as the Boilermakers prepare to visit Michigan after a disappointing loss to Wisconsin.

Hanging on to the ball
After dropping an estimated nine passes in Saturday's 37-0 drubbing at Wisconsin, Purdue emphasized catching the ball on Sunday during its light practice.

"(We did) a lot of pitching and catching," Elliott said of the 11-on-11 work Sunday. "We completed all but one, and it wasn't a drop. It was just good coverage by the defense.

"We went out there and threw about 15 passes and completed 14. That was a great sign for our offense."

Hope said many factors contributed to the drops in Madison, beyond the obvious of simply not catching the ball.

"We ran some sloppy routes, and that affected the passing game in some ways," Hope said. "And then as the game progressed and we got behind and we had to throw it, then when you only have one plan how you have to throw it, then things can change out there on you. It wasn't anything really that they did. We got open. We had a good plan, and we worked hard and got open. We didn't complete the routes."

Headed to Michigan, to a stadium where for whatever it's worth, the Boilermakers have a history of dropping passes, it will be a point of emphasis in practice this week.

"We will go into practice really trying to focus a lot more on the throwing and catching part of it with the quarterback in the pocket," Hope said. "We weren't in sync with routes. We had a couple routes we can run better. We spent a lot of time on that in practice Sunday, more time with the quarterback in the pocket this week. I think that's really important for us."

Humbled
The loss to the Badgers snapped Purdue's two-game winning streak and was the most one-sided setback the Boilermakers have eaten since 2006.

"Some humility, I guess," Carlino said, when asked what Purdue could take from the game. "You have to come ready to play every game. We had a great week of practice, then when game time came, we didn't show up."

Youngsters getting looks
On Sundays, Purdue often conducts practice-field scrimmages for its backups and young players to get in a more competitive setting and for the coaches to see what they can do.

When asked Tuesday if any youngsters have stood out in the practices, Hope mentioned freshman running back Al-Terek McBurse, who's now playing in games, as well as rookie scout-team QB Najee Tyler, as among those who've caught his eye.

The coaching staff as a whole has repeatedly spoken highly of the freshman defensive linemen, of which there are now six after Trevor Foy moved to offensive tackle during camp.

It's no secret others will follow in the move to the offensive line, but Hope's in no hurry to make those moves.

"We'll wait and see how it goes," Hope said. "We don't have to put a bulls-eye on the calendar. We'll wait and see how it goes and let them scrimmage some and let them eat and lift and see how they grow. We don't have to pick them yet."

Royce Adams getting closer
Senior wide receiver Royce Adams, out since the Northwestern game with a knee injury, has been cleared to return to practice.

"He's coming off a knee injury and wants to see how he feels with it and what it's able to do," Hope said. "He's got to test the waters some first and we'll know going into Saturday whether or not he'll be a first-line player in some specific roles or we should just keep him as a backup and hold him 'til next week.

"We're optimistic, but we're not counting on it. We'll see where it goes."

Hope said he believes Adams can contribute on offense but that he's most eager to get the senior back on special teams, where he's been a standout.

"We don't have enough starter-type guys on special teams right now," Hope said.

Pleased with recruiting
Barred by the NCAA from talking about unsigned recruits, Hope could not go into specifics, but said he's been pleased with how his 2010 recruiting class is shaping up.

He's forbidden from discussing it publicly, but it's known that Purdue picked three major commitments Monday as Daytona Beach (Fla.) Mainland stars O.J. Ross, Ricardo Allen and Chevin Davis indicated intentions to become Boilermakers.

Here's what Hope had to say when asked about recruiting in general:

"It's going great. We have about 21 guys that feel really good about Purdue and have indicated that they'd like to be part of what's happening here, to be a Boilermaker, and that's exciting. We still have several spots to fill, but we're filling up fast. We like their caliber. There's a lot of guys in the recruiting process when we get on the recruiting board ... when we rank them, they're (ranked as No.) 1s. If they want to come, you'd take them right now; they're a first pick for you. You could have several guys at a position. You might have several ones at running back to get a top running back, and there's a 1.1 and a 1.2 and a 1.3 and a 1.4, but any one of those six or seven guys are guys you think could really make a difference in the program, and we've landed a lot of guys in this recruiting class before that were 1.0 or 1.1s, very, very top guys that were on our board for us when this started out several months ago after we've sifted through and come out of the spring evaluation period. So it's gone very, very well.

"There's some key positions that we still have to lock up, and those will be the focal point of the recruiting process here for the next couple of months, and obviously spending a lot of time with the guys that are the most interested in Purdue and the guys that have decided to come to Purdue to continue to learn more about each other and establishing that relationship and then obviously getting into a futuristic recruiting plan, which is something that's really important to our program right now. We've embarked on it, it's in process, but getting more involved in that.

"So there's a lot going on recruiting-wise, but this time of year a lot of it is the result of great groundwork laid early in the recruiting process, so it's going very well for us right now, very, very well. We have commitments from top players in each one of the areas that we chose to go in and recruit, local and far away and in the Southeast, local and South, and then all the way out to the Southwest, as well. It's going very well. I wish we could sign twice as many if we could do it."

Hope later said he anticipates signing a class of 25-26 recruits, but added that he prefers to hold back at least one scholarship every year.

"We've got to continue shopping (after signing day)," Hope said. "Once you give them all away, you're kind of like a guy who calls
'last call'; they have to turn the lights off and go home. As long as you've got one scholarship you can continue recruiting, so I don't know if we'll fill them all in February or not."

Last year alone, Purdue signed two junior college wide receivers after signing day; the year before, it inked two other J.C. transfers well after the signing date.

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