Academics will keep Purdue defensive tackle Wilson from bowl
SAN FRANCISCO — Eddy Wilson is academically ineligible and won't be available to play in the Foster Farms Bowl. He didn't make the trip with Purdue to California, where Purdue will play Arizona in Santa Clara on Wednesday.
Wilson, a junior, wasn't a full-time starter for the Boilermakers this season — he got one — but he started eight games last season and is a starter-type talent. He has shown flashes over the last two seasons of being one of the team's more disruptive interior linemen.
He played in all 12 regular-season games this season and had 27 tackles, including 2.5 for loss (one sack).
Wilson was off Purdue's roster for about two weeks last winter because of academics but returned to good standing for the season. In March, he said he "just had to get some things in order. I’m really thankful to Coach (Jeff) Brohm and his staff, all the coaches who reached out to me in that time. I wasn’t looking to go anywhere (else), was just looking to get some things in order."
Purdue likely will start Gelen Robinson and Lorenzo Neal against Arizona on Dec. 27, but there aren't many options now for backups. The Boilermakers didn't rotate much, especially late in the season, on the interior of the line. Anthony Watts and Ray Ellis played limited snaps as backups. Co-defensive coordinator Nick Holt said Tuesday Purdue will slide some ends inside, too, like Austin Larkin on third-down nickel snaps. But few of the team's current ends are bigger players and there's also not much experienced depth at that spot.
"What’s really good is these guys got a ton of reps the last two weeks and they’ve gotten better," said Holt, who also mentioned Kai Higgins and Antoine Miles as guys whose snaps could increase. "We’re just going to have to throw them in because we can’t play the other two guys all these snaps. They’re going to have to be fresh. Gelen is going to play a little more inside, some nose guard, a couple snaps, too.
"I think it’s good. The guys who hadn’t gotten the opportunities that now have them, the guys I mentioned, I’m hoping whatever snaps they are, whether it’s eight, 10, 15 snaps, they go in there and show what they can do. I’m kind of looking forward to it."
Wilson's long-term future is in doubt, too. He'd mentioned in the offseason about potentially leaving after his junior year to try the NFL, so that still could be a possibility.
"We’ll see where we’re at," Brohm said Tuesday. "We need to sit down and talk and see the best direction to go."
Wilson has been off-limits for interviews since the season started.
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