Bucket Game notebook: LB Cornel Jones will play Saturday

In order to play Saturday in the Bucket Game at Indiana, Cornel Jones has a choice.

The sophomore linebacker must decide by game-time whether he'll wear a temporary club cast on his hand or a band brace on his right wrist. Jones injured his right hand in the second half of the loss vs. Wisconsin last weekend and didn't play much of the final quarter or any of the overtime periods.

"I wore the club (Tuesday) in practice and I wore the wrist band today in practice so now I just have to decide what I play better with," Jones said.

The sophomore linebacker said he's leaning toward the brace because he can use the fingers on right hand to tackle and power through potential blockers. Jones currently fifth on the Purdue team with 61 tackles but leads the Boilermakers with 11.5 tackles for loss.

After not playing in the Bucket Game win last season, Jones is looking forward to his first on-field experience in Bloomington this weekend. Jones said he remembered as a true freshman last season hearing the fiery speech from an injured JA'Whaun Bentley before Purdue defeated Indiana 31-24 to earn bowl eligibility. Jones said Wednesday he'll also try to draw from his high school background in rivalry games as his alma mater Miami Central High would get "15,000-25,000" people at the games against Miami Northwestern. Both of those highly coveted Miami high school programs play this Friday night in the state semifinals.

"All of the Miami rappers come out to the Central-Northwestern game and stand on the sidelines," Jones said. "It's the biggest game around and feels like a college game. I don't think I'll be nervous for this game even though after what JA'Whaun Bentley said in our speech to us last year about the Bucket Game."

Purdue defensive coordinator Nick Holt said Wednesday he's "very concerned" about Jones' injury and whether he can be effective Saturday with whatever device he decides to wear. Holt said the Purdue staff will not be hesitant to use freshman Jaylen Alexander for more snaps Saturday if Jones proves to be ineffective against early-down runs.

After playing in nine games this season, Alexander has 13 tackles and got a start at Michigan State on Oct. 27 in place of Derrick Barnes.

"(Jones') effectiveness was very limited in the fourth quarter and that's a concern," Holt said. "That's why we have a true freshman right on his heels for playing time. Jaylen Alexander is going to need to step up this week. We expect Jaylen to play just fine and we're not worried about that one quite honestly."

- Purdue players and officials confirmed Rondale Moore received a letter from the Heisman committee this week designating him as "legitimate contender for The Heisman Memorial Trophy" according to the organization. Moore is second in the nation in receptions (91), second in the Big Ten Conference in receiving yards (1,023) and is only the second player in school history since 2004 to get to the double-digit mark in touchdowns.

- David Blough joked this week that he remembers being introduced to the Bucket Game rivalry after being photographed during his verbal commitment to Purdue with "a red t-shirt on".

"Being a Texas guy, I didn't know anything about the Bucket Game or Indiana," Blough said. "I learned very quickly these folks judge you by how you played against IU. They ask you 'did you beat IU and did you add a 'P' on the Bucket or not?' and you better be able to answer yes."

- Following the regular season finale game, Purdue is guaranteed to have only three freshmen exhaust their eligibility to deny them a redshirt season: Moore, Alexander and Jeff Marks. Every other member of the 2018 recruiting class will have failed to pass the four-game threshold according to the new NCAA rule implemented this season.

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