Hedelin a different player; Day 3 camp notebook
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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.
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."
HazellsaidCameronCerminwillentertherotationatlefttackle.Cermininitiallyplayedthepositionbeforebeingmovedinside.HisrepsthefirstthreedayswereasaNo.2leftguard.ButhealsowastakingsomesnapsatcenterwithQBs.
Therewerenochangestothefirst-teamdefenseWednesday.It'sbeenthesamegroupsinceDay1.TheNo.2unitalsowasthesameasTuesday'sgroup.
Bridgehasbeenpushinghisgrouptogetnastier.Isitfinallysinkingin?Havethelinemenbeenplayingmorechippy?"Unequivocally,yes.Withoutadoubt."
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