Purdue offensive coordinator Graham Harrell was finally able to unveil his Air Raid offense in West Lafayette on Saturday afternoon. The results of the debut had mixed reviews, with Harrell admitting while the Boilermakers found success, there are still areas for growth moving forward.
"There was some good things, lots of things to clean up. I think that the most important thing is we got to be better at the details and understanding our job and doing our job and not trying to do too much," Harrell said of the Boilermakers' week one performance.
Prior to last weekend's season opener, Harrell harped on the need for his players to play within themselves, do their jobs and refrain from trying to do too much. Some of those issues presented themselves during Purdue's 39-35 defeat against Fresno State in Harrell's mind.
"That's when we got in trouble more than anything was where we either got sloppy in the details, or tried to do too much. I think sometimes in the first game, that's the case, but they just got to trust it, trust it and do their job," Harrell said.
It was the first opportunity for the Boilermakers to test the offense in a game scenario and while they learned a lot about themselves from training camp, Harrell has a much clearer idea of what the attack can do when the whistle blows. The Purdue offensive coordinator believes they can make the necessary adjustments after seeing the game unfold against an actual opponent.
"A lot of times you just kind of do some things you haven't done in the past and because it's the first time in front of a crowd, you got adrenaline running, you just kind of lose your train of thought sometimes," Harrell said. "You can't replace game experience and obviously getting the game under our belts, it's huge for us. The more experience you get the better you get."
The biggest cause for concern from Saturday's loss was the Boilermakers' inability to keep drives alive, particularly in the second half. Purdue was just 3-12 on third downs on the day and 0-6 in the second half. Conversely, Fresno State was 11-17 in that category for the game and 5-7 in the second half.
Purdue also had trouble in short yardage situations, many of which came on third down. In the first half, it took the Boilermakers' offense six plays to get into the end zone from less than five yards out. Early in the fourth quarter, Purdue's drive stalled out at the goal line after an incompletion by Hudson Card and Devin Mockobee getting stuffed at the line of scrimmage, resulting in a turnover on downs.
Harrell believes the struggles between third downs and short yardage scenarios led to the Boilermakers' first defeat of the season.
"The biggest gap where we got beat, that probably was the difference in the game, was with third downs. We didn't stay on the field and they did a decent job staying on the field," Harrell said. "That third down margin was so big, it ended up costing us. So, we gotta be better in short yard situations. It's gotta be something we emphasize and improve in practice."
Having posted 28 points (along with a Tyrone Tracy touchdown on special teams) in the game, Harrell had some positive takeaways from the season opener, particularly his star quarterback Hudson Card.
In his Boilermaker debut, Card threw for 254 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but completed less than 60% of his passes in the loss. Despite not having his best stuff, Harrell still sees the potential for Card to be one of the Big Ten's best at the position.
"I thought he did a pretty good job. You know, I think he did a lot of good things. Like I've said since I've been here, Hudson has a chance to be really special. I mean, I think that the key for him is just, he's gonna be one of the best players on the field every single Saturday, and he's got to just believe that and know it and go do it," Harrell said.
"It was a first for obviously everyone and his first start here. Like I said, he did a lot of good things. He gave us a chance, moved the ball a lot, several times he had some guys open and kind of got hit or I think he hits a couple more big plays," Harrell said.
Harrell and head coach Ryan Walters had raved about Card's dual-threat ability throughout the off-season and fall camp. The Boilermakers' signal caller showed glimpses of what he's capable of doing with his legs, but wasn't as lethal as previously advertised. Harrell shared that the ability is there, but it will be about Card finding his spots to show off a well-rounded arsenal.
"He's a great athlete, and I think his legs will be an asset for us throughout the year. He made some good runs for us the other day and that's something he could to do throughout the season," Harrell said.
With Card at the helm, the Purdue offense showed how explosive it could be against the Bulldogs, with Deion Burks being the top playmaker for the unit on Saturday. The speedy receiver Ryan Walters calls a "freak" proved that declaration true just three plays into the game, taking a short slant 84 yards to the house after bouncing off of five Fresno State defenders.
Burks was also on the receiving end of a 17 yard touchdown pass from Card in the second quarter and added a 44 yard reception to set up a go-ahead score late in the fourth quarter. Coming out of fall camp, Burks was perhaps the top breakout candidate for the Boilermakers' offense and lived up to the hype in his coming out party.
"Deion made some really big plays, so that was great to see. We've seen that all camp," Harrell said. "But it's good to see it happen in the game for him. I think that it builds confidence in him and and the whole group. That just confirms what we'd seen all camp. He's an explosive athlete, and the crazy thing is... He had an opportunity for other ones that we just had missed opportunities on."
Running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. also showed off his playmaking ability in week one. The former wide receiver opened up the second half with a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, which was the first since Raheem Mostert in 2013. Tracy was limited offensively, having just three carries for three yards and one catch for -4 yards, but did score one of Purdue's four offensive touchdowns.
Despite the slow day from his post out of the backfield, Tracy joined Burks as Purdue's explosive playmakers during Saturday's shootout.
While Burks and Tracy took most of the shine, Harrell feels that the Boilermakers have several other capable weapons to lean on throughout the season. Redshirt junior Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen was Purdue's second-leading receiver with four catches for 46 yards in the loss.
Redshirt senior receiver TJ Sheffield, who is the most experienced pass catcher on the roster, had a quiet outing on Saturday. He recorded three receptions for 22 yards, but did make some noise on special teams with a 29 yard punt return. The veteran team captain is expected to be a vital part of Purdue's offense in 2023.
In the absence of veteran tight ends Garrett Miller and Paul Piferi, redshirt freshman Max Klare got the first start of his career and hauled in two passes for 22 yards as well.
"We got plenty of others too, those two kind of shined the other day, but we're confident in our other guys as well because they can make plays," Harrell said. "Explosive plays are really important in any offense. I think, for us, we want to be explosive. That's something that we talk about a lot, that we emphasize. When you hit explosive plays, it makes it a heck of a lot easier. So we're gonna continue to do that."
Aside from the pass catchers, Purdue also has 2022 breakout star Devin Mockobee out of the backfield for his encore campaign in West Lafayette. The former walk-on running back got off to a slow start as Purdue struggled for much of the first three quarters running the football, but looked like the Mock Train that stole Purdue fan's hearts last season down the stretch.
After not picking up a single yard in the first half on five carries, Mockobee gained 60 yards on the ground in the second half, including an 11 yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Harrell said it was just a matter of time before Purdue's top running back found success on the ground.
"I think some of it was we settled in a little bit and opened up some creases there. He had some opportunities and made some guys miss. I think that running back, like any other position, as you kind of get into a game you kind of get a hot hand at times," Harrell said. "I think it might have been the first play of the second half we handed to him and he only got seven yards but he kind of made a guy missing in the hole, got seven or eight yards and then from there, it felt like every time you handed it to him he's doing good things."
Purdue now looks to build off of its success and clean up some of the issues that plagued the offense in the season opener as it travels to Virginia Tech on Saturday afternoon. The Hokies held Old Dominion to under 300 total yards and forced three turnovers in their win last week.
