Appleby: Its a long way from being over; Day 7 notes

AustinApplebygottodosomecelebratingFriday.

Afterapairofniceplayfakes,firsttotherunningbackandthentoareceiverinmotion,ApplebyletsailadeepballthatdroppedperfectlyintothehandsofShaneMikeskyforabouta60-yardtouchdowninteamworkonDay7ofPurduetrainingcamp.

Appleby'shandszippedupintheair,astherestoftheoffensewasscreaming.

That'sabouttheonlyshowofpositiveemotionApplebyhasallowedhimselfthiscamp,atleastpublicly,whilehe'sinthemidstofaquarterbackcompetition.

It'sbeenoneinwhichApplebyenteredcampasthirdbehindRobHenryandDannyEtling.

It'sbeenoneinwhichCoachDarrellHazellandcoordinatorJohnShoopseeminglyalwaysmentionApplebyasan"and…"

Butastronghandfulofrecentpractices-andEtling'sstrugglesoverthesameperiod-hadApplebygettinghisfirstsnapswiththeNo.1offenseonThursdayafternoonandkepthimwiththeNo.2offenseonFriday.

"IfeellikethelastcoupledaysI'vebeenabletoputacouplegoodpracticestogether,"ApplebysaidFriday."(I'm)justfocusingonallthethingsIsaidatthebeginningofcamp,focusingonplayingfaster,focusingontakingcareoftheball,focusingongettingitoutofmyhandandgoingthroughthereadsasfastaspossibleandbeenfortunatetoputacouplegooddaystogether."

Applebyalwayshasbeenonetospendasmuchtimeaspossiblewatchingfilm,hasevenjokedhe'sclosedupwiththejanitorinMollenkopfsincehe'sbeenatPurdue.

Butknowingtheoffensehasn'talwaystranslatedtoproducinginit.ThatshowedupsomeinthespringwhenhehadtoomanyturnoversforHazell'sliking,whichhelpedpushhimtothirdonthedepthchart.Thiscamp,gettingmorerepsagainstblitzesandmorecoverageshashelpedhimapplywhathe'slearnedpractically,andhe'sstartingtofeelmorecomfortable.

Thechallengewiththat,though,isnottakingtoomanychances.Forcingplayshurthiminthespring,buthe'srarelyhadturnoversthroughthefirstweekofcamp.That'snothappenstance.

"Themorerepsyouget,thebetteryougetatit.I'vejustbeenbeingconsciousabouttryingtogetthroughitasfastasIcanandifit'snotthere,don'tforceit,"hesaid."There'snothingwrongwithcheckingitdowntoabackwhocangogetfiveyardsforyouorbreakit.We'vegotalotofgreatathletes,andwhenyouthrowtheballtoAkeemHuntoutintheflatandhemakesaguymiss,wemighthavean80-yarder.

"I'vejustreallybeentryingtohavethementalendurance.Itrustmyarmalot.IbelieveIcanmakeanythrowonthefield.Withthat,sometimesyougreedythatIcanstickitinthere,maybe.Forme,it'sjustbeenthementalendurancetochecktheballdownandlivetofightanotherdown.It'sworkingout."

Henrycontinuestobethefirstquarterbacktogetasnapwiththefirstteam,andhehastakenthebulkofthosesnaps,too,thelasttwodays.

ButAppleby,everthefighter,knowstherestillareeightmoredaysofcamp.

"It'salongwayfrombeingover,"hesaid.

FightingthroughThoughtheteamhadonlyonepracticeFriday,comingoffitsfirsttwo-a-dayofcamp,Hazellsaidhenoticedsomesore,tiredplayers.

"Buttheypushedthroughitandthat'swhatcampisallaboutisbuildingthatmentaltoughnessandbeingabletopushthroughsomesituationswhereyoudon'tfeelascomfortableasyou'dliketofeel,"Hazellsaid."Butwe'llkeepgrindingandwe'llprobablypeakonthe13thandthenwe'llstarttotaperofffromthere.Butwe'redoingagoodjobofworking."

Saturdayalsoqualifiesasatwo-a-day,eveniftheafternoonsessionisstrictlyakickscrimmage.Theteamwillpracticeat10:30,getabreakandhavesomemeetingsandthenheadouttoRoss-AdeStadiumforthefirsttimethiscampforsomeheavyspecialteamwork.

NotonlyisHazellhopingforonekickertoemerge-PaulGriggsandSamMcCartneyaretheoptions-buthe'llalsogettoseehisteamgetsomeworkonkickoffs,whichhasn'thappenedmuchyetthiscamp.

DuringalatefieldgoaldrillonFriday,GriggsmissedbadlyandthenHazellcalleda"timeout"totrytoiceMcCartney.

MarcusFreemanandJafarWilliamswillcoacheachteam,whichalreadyhasbeendivided,Hazellsaid.

AcloserlookHazellwasmic'edupforpracticeandextracamerashavebeenoutthelastcoupleofdays.

Hazellsaidit'sforaseriescalled"OneBrickHigher"thatwillprovideabehind-the-sceneslookattheprogram.Hazellsaiditwillstartnextweek.

Theserieswilldebutonschool'swebsite,accordingtoPurdue.

GilliamupdateJoeGilliamwasbackwithhisteammatesonFridaymorning,buthewasn'tparticipatinginpractice.

Gilliamhadasplint-typewraponhisleftpinkiefingerafterhavingaproceduredoneThursdayafternoon,whichkepthimawayfrompractice.TheinjurycouldkeepGilliamoutuptothreeweeks,Hazellsaid.

"It'sgoingtoberightclosetothefirstgame,"Hazellsaid."HopefullybyCincinnati,wecangethimback."

JimmyHermanstayedwiththefirst-teamdefenseinGilliam'splaceandmadethreeconsecutive"tackles"duringteamworklateinpractice,butWillLucasalsogotacouplesnapsinthemiddlewiththe1s,too.LucashasstartedatweaksidelinebackerbutwasswitchedtostrongsidethisyearandwasbackingupAndyJamesGarcia.

PurduehadmorefumbledsnapsonFriday,acommonoccurrencethiscamp,especiallywithbackupcenterCodyDavisClickEtc.HeretoviewthisLink..

NormondoHarrisClick"Ithinkit'sjustthatwehavesomenewquarterbacksworkingwithcenters,"Davissaid."It'sdefinitelysomethingwe'vegottogetfixedfast.It'sinexcusablereally.Butit'ssomethingwe'vegottoworkon,focusonthecenter-to-quarterbackexchangeearlyinpractice,recognizethatyoudon'thaveajobifyoucan'tsnaptheball."HeretoviewthisLink.didn'thesitatewhenaskedwhichyoungreceiverhasmostimpressedhimincamp.

"DanMonterosoisputtingonashow,"hesaid."He'sclimbing.Ilikewhathe'sdoing.Everyoneiscominginandpickingthingsupfast,but,tome,he'sstandingout.Hegetsopenprettymuchoneveryplay.Hejustknowshowtogetopenandwhentheballcomeshisway,hecatchesitandheusuallydoesn'tgodownrightaway,hegetsacouplemoreyardsafterthecatch,whichisgood."

MuchisbeingmadeofthestrengthofPurdue'sstartingsecondary,butthere'ssomedepth,too,especiallyatcornerback.

HarrisandAntoineLewishaveshownupincamp,makingaggressiveandbigplays.

"Everyoneislookingatitlikewehavestartersandthenwehavethebackups.Thewayweallseeitisintheend,everyonewhoknowstheirstuffandisgoodenoughtoplayisgoingtoplay,"Harrissaid."Nooneisgoingtoridethebenchifyou'regoodenoughtoplay.Someoneisgoingtoneedabreak,andwetrusteachothertocomeinandmakethesameplaytheywouldhaveplayediftheywerein.Sowemightaswellhavefourstartingcorners."

ClickHeretoviewthisLink.

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