Da'Wan Hunte didn't just return to the football field last week against Nevada after missing the first two games with an ankle injury, he came out with fire. Hunte had a team-high eight tackles, including one for loss and a pair of crucial ones in the red zone.

But Purdue's junior cornerback wasn't only pumped to be back — he was bursting with joy, too.

"It was exciting. I couldn't keep the smile off my face. It was crazy," Hunte said after Tuesday's practice. "I enjoyed it. It was a blessing just to be out there."

Being jacked up burns energy, though.

And Hunte hadn't been able to do too much work while recovering from the ankle injury — it kept him out of full-time practice participation for almost a month. But when he got into the game, he found that he got an extra boost and didn't need a breather.

"I had the mindset we were going to be rotating, me, Myles (Norwood) and Tim (Cason), but coach just kept me in, and I was fine with that," Hunte said.

More about Hunte's return the field, his big day in run support and what's next against Maryland in our GoldandBlack.com video.

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