Brohm 'hopeful' to get DT Keiwan Jones active in two weeks

This the timetable set by Purdue coach Jeff Brohm Friday during his media day conference before the team's third preseason practice. Jones, who suffered a season-ending ACL tear in his knee after just three games last season, is still completing his rehabilitation before team doctors can medically clear him for contact in practice.

"We're still trying to get (Jones' knee) back to where we need it to be at and he's not practicing," Brohm said.

Brohm made an ominous "we would like to have him this year if he gets healthy" comment about the fifth-year senior's injury status Friday. The two-time letterman was expected to contribute for a defensive tackle starting spot alongside junior Lorenzo Neal on what is already an inexperienced and youthful front seven for the Boilermakers.

Jones' injury status isn't the only lingering doubt as Purdue opened preseason camp this week. Junior running back Richie Worship's recovery from ACL surgery last November is going to likely take a significant amount of recovery time and more than Brohm and his staff initially anticipated. Brohm gave hints Friday that he might not be fully healthy before the end of the 2018 campaign.

""We're going to give it a couple more weeks and see where it goes from there. I'm not extremely optimistic," Brohm said. "I think this thing will drag on a little bit longer than we thought."

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Purdue's linebacker room, which is in desperate need of some bodies, will get an upgrade starting Friday as Derrick Barnes returned to West Lafayette for team picture day. The sophomore from Covington, Ky., is expected to suit up for practice after missing the first two days while dealing with a death in his family.

While sophomore linebacker Tobias Larry was back on the practice field Thursday, Brohm was adamant the following day that his status on the Purdue football team was anything but a certainty going forward. Larry was held out of the opening day of preseason workouts for what Brohm called 'a discipline issue' and used the 'time will tell' line regarding how long Larry's absence would last. The Purdue second-year coach hasn't gone into further details on the matter that led to Larry's absence on Day 1.

""He has a lot to prove to me, us that he wants to be a player on this football team," Brohm said. "I like his athleticism. I think he can help us. We'll see where that goes but I think it's a day-to-day process. Yes, we want him to play football, be a productive player and do everything right but we're going to make sure he does those things."

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