Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen is Mr. Consistent of Purdue's wide receiver room

Since arriving on campus over the off-season, Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen's coaches are hard pressed to recall a time he dropped a pass.

"I don't know if I've seen him drop a ball," Ryan Walters said.

"I can't think of one off the top of my head," Graham Harrell said.

Yaseen has earned praise from his head coach and offensive coordinator for his ability to somehow always come down with the football when it comes his way. That ability is no accident, however. It is a testament to his hard work and dedication.

"That's just a credit to some things I do outside of practice and stuff like that. Keeping my routine and stuff like that," Yaseen said. "That's something [Walters] tells us all the time, is 'live your routine' and catching passes outside of practice is what I do a lot."

The redshirt junior wide receiver shared that he will juggle, among other exercises to help keep up his hand eye coordination. Yaseen did not want to give away his secrets, but gave a glimpse into what he does to stay sharp catching the ball.

"I don't like putting my secrets out there," Yaseen said with a smirk. "But I'll say about 100, 200 maybe between footballs and tennis balls and stuff like that."

While those drills have helped him master his craft, Yaseen believes that working diligently has helped him improve his pass catching skills.

"It's about being consistent in whatever it is you're doing. The best way to catch footballs is to catch more footballs," Yaseen said.

Purdue's offensive coordinator Graham Harrell has taken notice of Yaseen's hard work since the two connected this off-season. As Harrell was conducting his usual Tuesday's meeting with the media, the pass catcher was still out on the practice field putting in the extra work. That sight is nothing new for Harrell.

"Some of that is because, he's just walking off right now he's the last one on the field, because he's out here working on catching the football and really being focused on that," offensive coordinator Graham Harrell said.

Harrell referenced Amon-Ra St. Brown's mindset, who he coached at USC and is now one of the top young pass catchers in the NFL, sharing that St. Brown would catch 202 balls after every practice. Purdue's offensive coordinator believes Yaseen has the same mentality as the Detroit Lions wide receiver in that respect.

"That same like mindset of like you can improve on anything, continue to improve on everything. So, he stays out here, he works. It means something to him. It's important to him," Harrell said.

That hard work and skill has led to Yaseen becoming one of Purdue's top receivers early on in the 2023 campaign. Through two weeks, the 6'2" pass catcher has hauled in eight of his nine targets for 104 yards, both good for second best on the team. Ryan Walters called Yaseen "consistent" when asked about his receiver's play to start the season on Monday.

"He's always in the right spot at the right time. He's been consistent and steady for [Hudson Card] and a guy that we can really count on to make big catches in big moments," Walters said of the redshirt junior.

Purdue's signal caller showed that trust in Yaseen during Purdue's week two victory against Virginia Tech. Facing a third and seven, Hudson Card and the Purdue offense needed to get a first down to help bleed more clock in the fourth quarter. Yaseen got open and made what Graham Harrell called a "big time play" for the Boilermakers, having a 26 yard gain on the conversion.

"You know, just the opportunity to kind of seal the game and help our team. Put ourselves in the position to kind of finish them off and obviously make it a field position battle," Yaseen said.

Yaseen's ascension into the Boilermakers' starting lineup and subsequent success goes back to his discipline, according to Graham Harrell. The Boilermakers' offensive coordinator has witnessed just how dedicated Yaseen is to his craft and carries himself off the field, which makes his production on the field nothing of a surprise.

"I just think in life he's very consistent and in football it shows up," Harrell said. "I don't think you can be one way off the field and different in something else on the field. I think the way that he lives, he's a very disciplined person on and off the field. He's very consistent person on and off the field. And because of that the quarterbacks trust him. He's making plays right now and we're gonna continue to do that."

Heading into 2023, there was questions swirling about who would step up in the wide receiver room following the departure of Charlie Jones and season-ending injury to FAU transfer Jahmal Edrine. It has been a group effort, with Yaseen, Deion Burks, and TJ Sheffield being the top contributors at the position.

Yaseen sees himself as a guy that can step up for Purdue's offense in whatever way possible, as evident by the performances he's produced against Fresno State and Virginia Tech.

"I mean, I'm a playmaker," Yaseen said. "Whatever coach needs me to do, pick up first downs and make explosive plays, that's what I'm capable of doing and that's what I know I can do."

After coming in as a four-star recruit in the 2020 recruiting class, Yaseen's stay in West Lafayette hasn't gone exactly to plan. The former highly touted prospect dealt with injuries for most of the 2021 and 2022 seasons, playing just 11 games over those two years. As he's gotten back to full health, Yaseen is enjoying being back out with his teammates and making an impact with the Boilermakers.

"It's a blessing---a lot of bad memories, a lot of things, a lot of adversity. So it's definitely a blessing and you just got to keep being grateful and keep coming out here with a smile," Yaseen said. "It's kind of one of those things where you never really know when it's your time and you kind of just let God put it out for you."

Yaseen hasn't been the most explosive or flashy receiver for the Boilermakers during his career, but the fourth-year receiver has been one of Hudson Card's most reliable targets to start the season. If the first two weeks are any indications, 2023 could wind up being a career year for Mr. Consistent in West Lafayette.