MORE: Spring Football Central
The first scrimmage of spring practice is in the books. So, who won?
“I'd probably said the defense won slightly,” said Jeff Brohm. “We were able to make some plays, without question. But, I liked how the defense swarmed to the ball. I liked that we were able to tackle people when we were supposed to and we didn't miss a lot of tackles. We were able to get some sacks, put some pressure on the quarterback.”
The sixth-year Boilermaker coach estimates he ran between 30-40 plays of live tackle work. The team also executed another 30-40 plays of simulated thud practice.
“I thought it was good,” said Brohm. “We are down quite a few guys right now even a few more numbers, (we) are thin in the secondary and thin at running back and getting a little thin at even offensive line, receivers.
“So, we got to be careful taking care of our guys. But, still, it's a lot of young guys practicing.”
Today’s scrimmage capped the third week of spring drills, when teams are allowed to run 15 practices over a 34-day window. Purdue has two weeks of spring practice left, culminating with a spring game on April 9.
“We got a lot of good repetitions today,” said Brohm. “Two more weeks of spring. And we've got to take advantage of it and challenge ourselves to play more aggressive on defense, challenge things, try to make plays. On offense, be able to run the football and be consistent in what we do.”
Brohm has been operating this spring with a compromised roster. Myriad key players have been out, including linebackers Jalen Graham and Semisi Fakasiieiki, safety Marvin Grant, cornerbacks Cory Trice and Jamari Brown, LEO Kydran Jenkins, defensive tackle Lawrence Johnson, offensive tackle Eric Miller and receivers Broc Thompson and T.J. Sheffield, among others. Those players figure to be starters in 2022.
On top of that, Purdue has been without No. 1 wideout Milton Wright, who is focusing on academics as he looks to regain his eligibility.
“I think the three weeks we've made progress,” said Brohm. “We've asked our guys to do a lot of things.”
What will be the focus for the team the last two weeks?
“Schematically, we're going to look at a couple of new wrinkles, especially on defense, just to see if we can have a package or two that is slightly different that we've learned by studying or by what we played against that we thought was different and challenging,” said Brohm. “We are going to challenge our guys to learn a couple new wrinkles along the way.”
Practice resumes on Monday. Pro Day will be on Tuesday.
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