Hedelin a different player; Day 3 camp notebook

PurduewantedDavidHedelintocomeplayimmediatelyforareason-theBoilermakersthoughthecouldbeaphysical,heady,athleticfittofillinavacatedlefttacklespot.

Eventhoughit'sonlybeenthreedaysofpractice-andonlyoneofthosewithshoulderpads-thecoachingstaffhasseenplentytoknowtheywereright:He'sexactlywhattheyneeded.

"He'sreallygood.He'sreallygood,"CoachDarrellHazellsaid."He'severythingwethoughthewouldbeandthenalittlebitmore.He'snasty.He'squick.Heunderstandsbalanceontheblock.He'sgoingtobeareally,reallygoodplayerforus.

"He'sdifferent."

PurduehasbeenworkingHedelininsomewiththefirst-teamoffenseoverthefirstcoupleofpracticeseventhoughhewon'tbeeligibletoplayinagameuntilWeek4.Inteamportionsofpractice,currentNo.1lefttackleJackDeBoeftypicallygetsthefirsttwoorthreesnapsandthenHedelinreplaceshimforthenextoneortwoandthengetsacouplemorewhenthesecond-teamoffenserotatesin.

It'sbeenamixthat'sworkedOKsofar,Hedelinsaid.

"ObviouslyIhavealottolearn,soIthinkit'sagoodthing.Ilikeit,"hesaid.

Hedelinsaidhe'sstilladjustingtoJimBridge'snewtechniquesandsometerminology,andhe'sstilltryingtogetinthebestconditiontobereadyforfullgames.

Hehadn'tplayedfootballforeightmonths,hesaid,thoughhestillwastryingtorunandliftweightswhilehewasathomeinSweden.InJuneafterarrivingtoPurdue,Hedelinsaidhewasabout275pounds.Now,he'scloserto300.

"Igainedalotofmuscleandalittlebitoffat,"hesaidwithasmile."Idofeelalittlebitheavier,sothat'salsosomethingIhavetogetusedto.Idon'tfeelasquickasIusedtobe,soIhavetogetusetomymassnow."

Bridgeoftenishesitanttopraise-orcriticize-aplayertoomuchpublicly,andhesaidHedelinhas"alongwaytogo."But…

"AtDay3,itlookslikewewereright"abouthim,Bridgesaid."There'salotofqualitiesabouthimthatmakehimaniceprospect."

ThoughHedelinratedhisfirstthreedaysofpracticeaswide-ranging,consideringDay1OK,Day2hisbestandWednesdayashisworst,hestillhashopetobeabletohelptheteam.

"I'mexpectingtodogreatthingshere,"hesaid.

InjuryscareThroughthefirstthreedaysofcamp,Hazellthinksthedefensivelinehaslooked"salty."

Canitstill,though,ifsophomorenosetackleRa'ZahnHowardisoutforanextendedperiodoftime?

TheBoilermakersmayhavetofindout.

HowardwascartedoffthepracticefieldWednesdayaftersufferinganinjuryduringadrillmidwaythroughpractice.Thedrill-theoffensecouldonlyruntheball-wasthefirstreallyphysicaloneofcampastheteamwasinshoulderpadsforthefirsttime.

Duringthefinalplayofthedrill,Howard'slowerhalfappearedtobendawkwardly.HewasflatonhisstomachforatimebeforeeventuallybeingrolledtohisbackwhilePurdue'sdirectorofsportsmedicineDougBoersmaexaminedHowardonthefield.Howard'sleftkneeappearedtohaveasignificantscrape-perhapsitwasaFieldTurf-typeburn-andatonepoint,Boersmadidappeartodosometestswiththatknee.

Butimmediatelyfollowingpractice,Hazellsaidheknew"nothing"aboutHoward'sstatus.

"I'llfindoutwhenwegoinsideandseewhathisprognosisis.Hopefullyit'snottoosevereandwecangethimbackprettyquickly,"Hazellsaid.

WithoutHoward,PurdueusedRyanWatsonwithitsfirst-teamdefenseatnosetackleduringteamdrills,andJohnnyDanielsalsogotsomesnapswiththesecondandthirdteams.

"RyanWatson,Ithought,hadagreatspring.Hehasalotofcapabilitiesinside,"Hazellsaid."HopefullyyougetRa'Zahnback,butyoualwayslikethedepth."

WhileHowardmayhavebeenthemostsignificantinjuryWednesday,anotheronewasrevealedthatoccurredTuesday.

ReceiverDanMonterosoheadedtothesidelinesearlyinTuesday'spracticeafteranapparentleftkneeinjury.OnWednesday,hewasoncrutcheswithanair-typebraceontheknee.Hazellsaidthesophomore'sinjuryisabruiseandcouldkeepMonterosoouta"coupledays."

"Theydidsometestsonit,that'sallitlookslike.Hopefullythat'sallitisrightnow,"Hazellsaidoftheextentoftheinjury.

Monterosohadhisredshirtburnedlastseasondespitebeingoutthefirstfewweekswhilerehabbingfromashoulderinjurysufferedinpracticeandthenplayedonlytwogameswithdouble-digitoffensivesnapsallseason.

Hegotmostofhisrepswiththesecondgroupofreceiversonthefirstdayofcamp,thoughPurduehasrotatedthatpositionandgottenmultipleplayerssnapswiththefirstteam,dependingonpersonnelgroupingandformations.

MonterosowasjoinedinaredjerseybyfellowreceiverB.J.Knauf,whohasnowmissedthreeconsecutivedayswhileapparentlywaitingtobeclearedfromaheadinjury.Knaufdidhaveahelmeton,though,andransomerepswiththefirst-teamoffenseinthenon-contactearlyportionofpractice.Hespenttherestofpracticeinthepit,runningmostofthetime.

JohnnyThompsonalsoappearedtosufferaheadinjuryduringalinebackerdrill,safetyEvanFeichterwasinred(unknown)andrightguardCoreyClementswasgettinglookedattowardthetailendofpracticeafterheappearedtotweaksomethingonhislowerbodyduringasnapof11-on-11.

RoosreadyatrightguardThoughJordanRoosstartedsixofPurdue'sleftsevengamesatrightguardlastseason,theBoilermakersstillshiftedJUCOtransferCoreyClementsfromhispreferredtacklespotinsidetobattlewithRoos.

Roosseemstohaverespondedwellsofar.

Theredshirtsophomorehasgotteneverysnapwiththefirst-teamoffenseoverthefirstthreedaysatrightguard,whileClementshasbeenworkingwiththeNo.2offense.

"Competitionisgreat.Everybodythrivesonit.I'mlookingforwardtocontinuingtoworktostayinthefirsthuddle,andthat'swhatIplantoworktoward,"Roossaid."They'regoingtotrytofindthebestfiveandthey'regoingtocontinuetofindthebestfive,andallIcandoisplaymygameandworktogetinthatgroup.Nobody'spositionissafe.Ihavetokeepplayingandbustingmytail."

Aboostedconfidenceafteraproductiveoffseasonhelps.

Roosaddedlowerbodystrength,anareahesaidheneededtoimproveintheoffseason,andhascontinuedtoimprovehispadlevel.

TheO-linewaspracticallyinseparable,too,workingwithleaderandcenterRobertKuglertobetterlearntheoffenseandunderstandnotjustthebasicsofblockingoncertainplaysbutthewhybehindtheoffense'sconcepts.

"We'rereallyatight-endgroup,soyoucan'thelpbutlearn.Whenyou'rearoundabunchofguyslikethat,it'scontagious,"Roossaid."Youcanaskaquestioninthere,andthecenterwillknowwhatthetackleisdoingandthetacklewillknowwhatthecenterisdoing.It'sreallygood."

PerhapsClementswillmakeapushatsomepoint,but,earlyincamp,thetransferseemstoneedtomakesignificantstridesonhisconditioning.

Clementsislistedat400pounds,butthatmaybeundershootingit.And,bytheendoftwo-plus-hourpractices,thatweightseemstogetheavier.

"Rightnow,he'slearningandworkingtogethimselfinshape,"Bridgesaid."WhenCoreyisfresher,hemovesverylightandhassomepowertohim.Andobviouslythefurtherthepracticegoeson,themorethetankgetsemptyandhegetsalittleslower,buthehasinitialquicknessofftheballandcancoverpeopleup.Andwhenhecoversthemup,they'recoveredup."

DannyEtlingClickHeretoviewthisLink.wasbacktogettingalloftheNo.1snapsatquarterbackWednesdayafterAustinApplebyClickHeretoviewthisLink.gotthemTuesday.Etlingwasthefirst-teamquarterbackthroughouttheopeningpracticeaswell.

HazellsaidCameronCerminwillentertherotationatlefttackle.Cermininitiallyplayedthepositionbeforebeingmovedinside.HisrepsthefirstthreedayswereasaNo.2leftguard.ButhealsowastakingsomesnapsatcenterwithQBs.

Therewerenochangestothefirst-teamdefenseWednesday.It'sbeenthesamegroupsinceDay1.TheNo.2unitalsowasthesameasTuesday'sgroup.

Bridgehasbeenpushinghisgrouptogetnastier.Isitfinallysinkingin?Havethelinemenbeenplayingmorechippy?"Unequivocally,yes.Withoutadoubt."

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