GoldandBlack.com Purdue player draft: Nos. 45, 46 overall

This summer, the Boilermakers are being divided.

Reporters Stacy Clardie and Kyle Charters are going head-to-head in GoldandBlack.com's Purdue player draft, a daily selection in which separate rosters of 25 are being assembled. In late July, we'll decide — based on GoldandBlack.com staff and member feedback — which team would win.

We're speeding up the final week of selections, doubling up to offer picks from Clardie and Charters each day before No. 50 on Friday. Next week, GoldandBlack.com staff and members will chime in on the finalized rosters.

Clardie and Charters go back-to-back on Picks No. 45 and 46 today.

Considered a couple guys to fill my defensive end starting spot opposite Austin Larkin, and Shayne Henley’s size and effort are what separated him from the others to be my pick.

Henley didn’t get much of a chance to prove his worth in his first season with Purdue last year after transferring, not with Evan Panfil solidified as the starter at his spot. But Henley’s a worker who always busts it during practices. He’s not necessarily the most athletic end, but he has a solid “lower unit,” as a former coach would say, and he’s listed at 250 pounds this summer. I view him as more of a run-stopping end, which works out for me because that’s what Kyle’s offense ultimately wound up being geared toward.

With one “wild-card,” so to speak, pick left — my last pick will be my other starting O-lineman — I’m thinking about where I want to double-up to fill out the roster. Part of me likes the idea of adding a speed-rushing end to help in pass rush. Purdue doesn’t have many options like that, unfortunately, but there could be a sleeper or an outside-the-box guy. I have a couple guys I’m considering. Or I could nab another ’backer in case I want to put three on the field. Not quite sure which way I’m going to go just yet.

As we wind down, I still want to bolster my secondary as best as possible.

Of course, that's not easy to do.

But if I pick a fifth defensive back, then I can have a nickel option against Stacy's wide-open offense, and that seems like a good thing to do. So I'll go with my second freshman, choosing Indianapolis cornerback Josh Hayes. I figured he and fellow rookie Brandon Shuman, who I took at No. 38, can battle it out for the starting cornerback position on my defense — heck, maybe they could force Tim Cason into a reserve role — with the extra becoming my nickel.

There's a lot to like about Hayes on the eve of his first Purdue training camp. The 5-foot-10, 185-pounder had a good senior season at Pike High School, especially in the opener. Then, he picked off Brownsburg QB Hunter Johnson twice, returning one for a touchdown. And afterward, Hayes says, he didn't see much action, with opponents avoiding his side of the field.

He'll have no such luxury at Purdue, where a rookie will get tested, especially if he gets a chance on the first- or second-teams. Seems likely that he will.

Only two picks to go, and still need a center and wide receiver.

More: Draft ticker 1-40 | 41/42. Hardy, Logan | 43/44. Cooper/Watts

Countdown to Camp: Quarterbacks | Linebackers | Receivers | Secondary | Running backs | Defensive line | Offensive line

More: 2016 football primer

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