Hazell 'very impressed' with new Purdue AD hire Bobinski

More from Day 5: No clarity yet in backup running back race | Purdue cautious with Jones for good reason ($) | "The Point After" audio analysis ($) | Practice analysis ($)

Darrell Hazell and Purdue's football coaching staff couldn't attend a meeting new athletic director Mike Bobinski held with the rest of the school's coaches Tuesday because of training camp.

But Hazell was able to get acquainted with his new boss Monday night, before Bobinski was officially announced as Morgan Burke's replacement.

Bobinski, who is leaving Georgia Tech for Purdue, spent about an hour with the fourth-year coach.

"I’m very impressed with him. I think he’s got a lot of energy," Hazell said after Practice No. 5. "We haven’t talked anything business-wise. We were just getting to know each other a little bit.

"It was a good meeting, a really good meeting."

Though Bobinski addressed concerns about the state of the football program during his introductory press conference — he's adamant about the need to get it "right" again — he didn't venture into that territory with Hazell.

"We just got to know each other on a personal level," Hazell said. "At some point in time when he gets back here in a few weeks, we’ll sit down and discuss all the things we need to do from a leadership perspective."

Later Tuesday, Bobinski met with the team, at Hazell's request, and Bobinski said on Indianapolis radio it was the "highlight of my day."

This summer, Hazell was asked if he thought he had to audition for a new boss.

"His job is to come in here, be the boss and analyze everything. All we can control is what we can control as a football program. Do I feel like I have to audition? No. No," Hazell said. "I just feel like myself and our staff have to coach our guys are hard as we can and things will turn out well. I really believe that."

Martesse Patterson's weight ballooned to 357 pounds in the spring, but he worked to get back to a more-ideal 322 by the time camp started.

It was imperative for the sophomore to get better conditioned, considering he projects as Purdue's starting left tackle. He's gotten every rep with the 1s so far in camp.

"He’s going to be able to sustain a high level of effort for longer," O-line coach Darrell Funk said Sunday. "The funny thing about Martesse, even when he was a lot heavier, he could go as fast as anybody for a couple reps, but it’d be the third and the fourth and the fifth. But now I see him not tailing off in terms of production as he gets three, four, five plays spun together. So he’s bought into what we’ve asked.

"He’s got a lot of things to work on, as we all do, but he’s done a good job and put himself in position to have a real nice year for us."

First-year receiver Benaiah Franklin will be out a "few weeks," Hazell said, after breaking a finger in multiple places. Franklin needed surgery to insert a pin to repair the break.

With Purdue's depth at receiver, Franklin hadn't been getting significant reps, even with the third-team offense, which oftentimes includes Jarrett Burgess, Terrance Landers and Jackson Anthrop.

Cornerback Tim Cason has a cast on his left hand, but Hazell called that a "previous injury." Cason wasn't limited because of it Tuesday.

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