9/19/2018 football Edit

First Jeff Brohm, now it's Nick Holt promising a more aggressive plan

Matt Stevens • BoilerUpload

Staff

Nick Holt is taking a cue from what he saw from his boss last weekend.

After watching himself call what he believed later to be a tentative offensive game in a loss to Eastern Michigan, Jeff Brohm promised a more aggressive look against Missouri the following week. After a 37-point, 572-passing-yard offensive performance against a Southeastern Conference defense, Brohm looks to have made good on that promise.

Now Purdue's defensive boss wants to make a change of his own.

"I think that may be flipping to us now," Holt, Purdue's defensive coordinator, said after Wednesday's practice session. "We played a little vanilla last Saturday and when guys weren't doing what they're supposed to do and letting (receivers) behind them ... you're going, 'What the heck?' and it's hard to call your stuff sometimes. You're tentative. We've addressed that and it shouldn't have happened but it did."

Holt said he saw some tentative play-calling against Missouri and its projected first-round-pick quarterback, Drew Lock. Holt felt he had to help up a secondary trying to mentally and emotionally recover from the 347 passing yards it had surrendered against Eastern Michigan and the result was Missouri hitting running plays of 18, 13 and 32 yards in the first half.

"Really what happened last week was they hit some passes, got behind our guys a couple of times and then you go, 'Oh, my golly,' and you get tentative to stack the box and do what you're known for doing," Holt said.

At the point of an 0-3 start where Purdue's defense ranks 114th of 130 Football Bowl Subdivision school in yards allowed and 94th in points per game, Holt is promising to find an identity that the Boilermakers can rely on quickly. Fans might be able to expect a more aggressive, blitzing style that takes some chances from Purdue's second-year defensive coordinator when it hosts No. 23 Boston College for a noon kickoff Saturday.

"We need to get back to being ourselves," Holt said. "We need to be a little a bit more aggressive in our play-calling. We have to do our techniques at corner and safety but we've got to do what we usually do."

Following a Wednesday afternoon practice session, Holt sounded like a defensive coordinator more irritated with the 168 yards given up to Missouri tailback Larry Rountree than the 375 yards sacrificed to Lock in the 40-37 loss.

A significant frustration of Purdue's coaches and players is the lack of turnovers created through three games as the Boilermakers have forced just two interceptions and are one of the worst FBS programs in turnover margin at negative-four.

"Obviously coming into the season, (the secondary) was looked at as the experienced group and the dynamic group that can make plays on the ball," safety Navon Mosley said.

Purdue shifts focus this week from the pass-happy Missouri scheme to a physical Boston College running attack. The zone-blocking concept in the Eagles' running game reminds Purdue coaches of Wisconsin's system and a more Big Ten-type look that will test this young, inexperienced and at times undersized Boilermaker defensive front.

"We have to set the tone early in this game because if they feel like they can just run over us, then it'll be a long day," linebacker Markus Bailey said. "We have got to start playing more aggressive up front and then it can be a fun style to play against as a linebacker."

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