More from Day 6: Quick Count/Brohm video | On fluid WR depth chart, veterans hanging on

Complete camp coverage: 2017 football primer

Isaac Zico portends elite-level speed.

He hasn’t been clocked in a while, he said after Wednesday’s sixth training camp practice, but he estimated he’s in the 4.36, 4.37 range now.

That’d be an element Purdue’s offense desperately needs, a speedy receiver who can get down the field on the outside to open up a vertical passing game.

Whether Zico really is that fast certainly is up for debate — the junior college transfer exudes a high level of confidence, nothing new for a player at his position — but perhaps more important is whether he can consistently get open using that potential speed and actually make plays.

The Boilermakers are searching for anyone to emerge as a weapon on offense, and some of the stiffest competition this camp has been at receiver where there isn’t a player returning with significant starting experience. Getting the most first-team snaps so far are returning players Greg Phillips, Anthony Mahoungou and Jackson Anthrop, though they’re getting pushed by newcomers at each spot, whether it’s JUCO transfers Zico (outside) and Terry Wright (slot) or freshmen Tyler Hamilton (slot), KeyRon Catlett (slot) and D’J Edwards (outside).

Zico, clearly, wants to be — and thinks he ultimately can be — that guy.

“I just plan on making a huge impact,” he said.

To do that, though, Zico needs to maximize every rep he gets in camp.

Early results are mixed.

Zico says receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard recently shared “statistics” with all of the receivers, mainly after charting catches and drops, and “my numbers are pretty high.”

Shephard, though, said Zico has to “do better with some eye-hand coordination stuff,” which would seem to indicate a need for stronger hands.

Shephard has been rotating players in with the 1s, though, so Zico has gotten some chances there. But Zico mostly is running with the 2s at this point, he said. Phillips is standing in his way at the Z (outside) spot.

Both said they’ve enjoyed the competition, Phillips saying he’ll make a play and then Zico will answer it with one of his own, and it’s pushed both to be better.

“Him being a captain, it’s going to be hard,” Zico said of the competition. “I’m coming in and I’m giving it all I’ve got every day. I’m trying to be a starter. He’s trying to be starter. So it’s actually who wants it more? Who wants to grind more? We’re both looking forward to playing this year."

Zico certainly will have a chance the better grasp he gains on the playbook, reading defenses and executing when given opportunity.

He said the biggest adjustment so far has been how physical Purdue’s defensive backs have been. He didn’t get that kind of response in junior college or, at least, was able to counter it to excel. As a sophomore at Georgia Military College, Zico racked up about 940 yards receiving and 14 touchdowns. Despite a considerable per-catch average (20.4), Zico didn’t necessarily run a bunch of deep routes in JUCO: He just was able to use his physicality to make guys miss on the outside, he said.

That’s not happening as frequently at Purdue, at least not yet.

“Isaac Zico has improved every day. He, at the same time, needs to get better catching contested balls, catching the ball in traffic, understanding that you’ve got to be tough to play the game, especially if we’re going to throw you a lot of balls,” Jeff Brohm said Wednesday. “But he’s gotten better. I like the progress, but we still have a ways to go.”

Zico has heard Brohm’s critiques.

He said he’s about 194 pounds right now and will work to get to 200 before the season, a “firm” 200 that allows him to keep the same speed.

But he figures it’s not just a literal physicality that needs to develop as much as an attitude of one, too. So he’s working on that as well. (Though attitude probably never will be an issue with the flashy Zico, who quickly followed up a statement about how he needs to get stronger with “but I’m always going to be better” than the cornerbacks.)

And Zico’s been working hard to get the playbook down, too — and that’s a significant obstacle because it’s so extensive, both in actual plays and in concepts. But he said coaches have been happy with how quickly he’s picking it up.

“I just need to learn the offense a lot more, that way I can be efficient on the field and make plays all the time,” he said.

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