New returner Kimbrough ready to not be 'mystery man' anymore

Malik Kimbrough was intending to continue his football career at a Division II college.

Those were the only offers he’d gotten after his second season for Southwestern Community College in California. Until Darrell Hazell called him in the middle of the summer, asking Kimbrough to come to Purdue to be the team’s primary return man.

“I was almost in tears,” Kimbrough said of the moment. “It was a blessing. I was about to cry. I was losing all hope because everybody was getting scholarships and signing and I was just there, ‘I guess I’m going to go DII.’ Then Coach Hazell called, said that once I finished this class, they have a scholarship for me.

“It was a huge blessing.”

Purdue hopes so, too.

Looking to fill a void at punt return and kick return, Hazell gave director of player personnel Mike Waugh the directive to find a dynamic option. He gave Hazell a handful of names, but once Hazell saw Kimbrough’s tape, he was done. His response: “Oh my goodness.”

So Hazell connected with the 6-foot, 172-pounder, and Kimbrough arrived on campus just in time to get in Purdue’s team photo on Aug. 7. Kimbrough was cleared to practice by Wednesday but still hasn’t been in pads. That’ll come soon, though, and Kimbrough’s eager for the chance to really showcase what he can do.

“Everybody has been saying I’m a mystery man because they haven’t seen what I’ve been able to do,” said Kimbrough, who has two years of eligibility. “I’m glad to be here and once I get full pads and actually catch punts and show what I can do, hopefully they’ll stop calling me mystery man.

“My ability to make people miss (is what I’ll bring). Lot of people can make people miss, but not the way I can.”

Kimbrough can’t describe what that looks like exactly and says he just has to show it.

That may not come until the jersey scrimmage on Aug. 20.

Purdue fields punts each day during practice but rarely does it do so with a full team, including coverage guys and blockers. DeAndre Smith will continue to work with Kimbrough during those periods, though, on making sure to catch the ball cleanly by tucking it, not reaching out and catching it in front his hands, a habit Kimbrough says he has to break.

But there’s high interest to see how Kimbrough fares, considering Hazell brought him in essentially only to return. Kimbrough is with the running backs, but he’s not expected to climb that depth chart soon, if at all. He knows why he’s in West Lafayette.

“It’s not pressure, it’s more excitement. If they’re hyping me up, I’ve got to fulfill the hype,” said Kimbrough, who had four returns for touchdowns at Southwestern. “It makes it more fun because I get to focus on one thing instead of just have to learn the playbook and focus on special teams. So if I can just focus on special teams, it’ll just be better for me.”

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