Gus Hartwig's return gives Purdue offensive line immediate boost

Gus Hartwig's return to Ross-Ade Stadium had been a long time coming. The starting center for the majority of last year's Big Ten West Championship team went down with a severe knee injury against Northwestern in November, which required surgery in December.

Despite being sidelined and working through the rehab process, Hartwig remained engaged with the team, dating back to the weeks following his season-ending injury.

"It was a tough time--I was still trying to be a part of the team as much as I could. I had my surgery right before the bowl game so I wasn't there, but [before the] Big Ten Championship Game just kind of helping Josh [Kaltenberger] and other guys make sure to kind of give us the best chance even though I couldn't be out there," Hartwig said.

That leadership while on the mend had an impact on his teammates, who voted him as a team captain prior to the start of the season. A captain role is one that Hartwig takes pride in owning and feels that it's an honor to know how much his coaches and teammates think of him.

"It was a great honor. It's really cool just to kind of see like how other people view you and see the trust that people have for you to be voted that. The coaches trust you, the players trust you," Hartwig said.

Questions regarding Hartwig's status swirled all off-season, from spring practice to fall camp, the multi-year starter made appearances during practice, but was never ready to put the pads back on.

The timeline for Hartwig's return had previously been set for the season opener, which even he admitted was a little too optimistic, before being pushed back to the start of Big Ten play.

The Indiana native finally got back onto the field against Wisconsin on Friday night and while he shared he's not quite at 100% yet, the anchor of the Purdue offensive line feels good and made an immediate impact.

Hartwig was Purdue's highest-graded offensive lineman with a grade of 75.6, according to Pro Football Focus. The senior leader also helped the Boilermakers' offense rush for a season-high 194 yards, which is the most since last season's win over Nebraska.

Offensive coordinator Graham Harrell was surprised at just how good Hartwig looked in his first action since last November, given his road to recovery.

"He played at a high level especially considering he's been off, been battling the injury and rehabbing for so long and doesn't have the same number of reps in the last nine months that most people do," Harrell said. "I thought he battled really hard. He competes. He loves the game. He plays it the right way. And obviously he's a really good football player."

Not only did Hartwig have a successful season debut on Friday, but his mere presence on the field has given the Boilermakers' offensive line a jolt of confidence, according to Harrell and head coach Ryan Walters.

"Obviously having Gus back in the lineup really helps. He is a really, really good player. I think it calms everybody else down around him just its way he communicates," Walters said on Monday.

"I think he creates confidence for the guys around him because they know he's gonna put them in a position to be successful. So with a guy like Gus, he makes us a heck of a lot better," Harrell said.

Hartwig felt the love from his teammates as he returned to the field as well, which he believes is a result of them seeing all the hard work he's put in just to be in a position to suit up for the Boilermakers again.

"I think for a lot of guys, they were really excited to see me back just because everyone knows how hard I've been working to get back out there. So I think it kind of boosts everyone else," Hartwig said.

The come back is a much needed boost for Purdue's offensive line, who has struggled at times this season. A seasoned veteran with 27 starts under his belt, Hartwig believes his experience will be the greatest benefit he provides moving forward.

"My experience, number one, is probably the biggest thing, just as much as I've played," Hartwig said. "I've seen pretty much everything we're gonna see so being able to, okay, see this kind of get everyone on the right path be able to communicate because I've already been there."

While on the sidelines over the first three weeks of the season, Hartwig had the opportunity to take a step back and watch what his unit had done. The senior captain knows the Purdue offensive line has the pieces, but the next step toward success will be becoming more consistent and continuing to build the cohesion.

“I think we're a good group. I think we got to figure out a couple things. We got to be more consistent. We got to pick up. We can't have one guy here, one guy there. It's got to be more consistent every day, all throughout practice, all throughout the game,” Hartwig said.

Purdue's struggles in short yardage scenarios have also been well-documented to start the year, which Hartwig believes can be fixed, but Marcus Johnson's offensive line has to have a confident mentality in those situations.

“We have to have the mentality that we're gonna get it every time. And then if we don't, we gotta go get the next one," Hartwig said. "We can't hang on this happened, this happened. It's a big mentality of just going out and doing it.”

Hartwig may be coming back just when the Boilermakers needed it most. Ryan Walters and company fell to 1-3 with the loss to Wisconsin on Friday night, the worst record in the Big Ten. Now, Purdue has a chance to start turning its season around with a victory over Illinois at home.

The Cannon Trophy and Walters' association with the Illini have stolen the headlines throughout the week, but Purdue could save its season and begin to turn things around on Saturday afternoon, according to Hartwig.

“This is a big one just because it's, I mean, obviously it's a rivalry game. So we want to keep the trophy and it's where we are in the season, the difference between 2-3 and 1-4 is a huge difference. I mean, it's one game but like that kind of record right there that can set us up for a good season. I think this is a big game for us. Kind of set the mentality right, how we want to start, how we want to finish, kind of who we're going to be as a team going forward.”