First Purdue spring practice notable for who isn't practicing
Spring practice No. 1 is in the books. And it was notable for who didn't practice.
Purdue was without the following players--for injuries or academic reasons--who are likely to start in 2022:
• CB Jamari Brown
• G Sione Finau
• LB Jalen Graham
• S Marvin Grant
• LEO Kydran Jenkins
• DT Lawrence Johnson
• OT Eric Miller
• WR T.J. Sheffield
• DE Jack Sullivan
• WR Broc Thompson
• CB Cory Trice
• WR Milton Wright
That's 12 key players. Their absence allowed many younger players or unproven veterans a chance to impress.
"Well, that's part of football, and anyone who goes through a full college season is going to have some nicks and bruises and things happen," said Jeff Brohm. "We want to get them fully healthy, ready for the summer and ready for the fall.
"So, whatever we have to do with that, we want to get that done. But there's a lot of guys that haven't got a lot of work and need practice, so it's their chance to really showcase what they're all about and take these repetitions seriously."
Dynamic transfer
Purdue is folding in seven players from the portal. And one stood out today: Tyrone Tracy, who wears David Bell's No. 3.
The Indianapolis native transferred from Iowa, where he was a starting wideout. In addition to lining up at receiver on Monday, Tracy also took reps in the backfield. The 6-0, 205-pound junior could add a big-play element that has been lacking in the backfield.
"He's a strong young man," said Brohm, who noted Tracy also will help on special teams. "He's played a lot of football ... I do think he can make a difference for us. And if we can keep him healthy, he can make a lot of plays."
Ron English will call the D
Jeff Brohm confirmed today what had been speculated: Secondary coach Ron English will call the defense.
He'll take over duties from Brad Lambert, who left to be defensive coordinator at Wake Forest. English has called defenses before at Michigan, Louisville and San Jose State in addition to being head coach at Eastern Michigan. He was Purdue's co-DC/secondary coach last year.
Don't expect the defense to change schematically, and Brohm will continue to be involved with installs and be part of terminology.
"I think right now, Ron and (co-DC/line coach) Mark (Hagen) have been here this past year," said Brohm. "They understand what we're looking to try to get done. They understand the general approach of attacking more, guarding things tighter, challenging things, trying to get after the quarterback, being aggressive in our approach.
"And then any new wrinkles that we want to look at or that any of our guys want to come up with, we'll definitely take a look at it. But I feel very confident that we have good understanding of what we want to do and it's just about trying to get our guys to fully grasp it so we can go out there and play fast."
No special teams coach, no problem
Purdue got a sudden staff opening when late last week special teams coach Marty Biagi left for the same post at Ole Miss. Brohm feels confident the rest of the staff can pick up the special teams slack this spring.
"We have all the special teams mapped out and planned out fully for the spring," said Brohm. "We're gonna stick with our exact plan. I think we've got a big list of coaches that are heavily involved in each segment. Today was a good first practice, special teams just going over some drills and fundamentals of what we want to teach.
"So, we feel confident in the direction we're going there and I think having everyone a full part of it will be very beneficial."
Look for Purdue to hire a special teams coach in April after spring drills conclude.
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