Purdue head coach Ryan Walters met with the media for his weekly Monday press conference, ahead of the Boilermakers' regular season finale against Indiana in Bloomington this weekend.

The leader of the Boilermakers spoke about the Michigan State loss, slow starts this season, Indiana as an opponent, injury troubles and more.

Despite Purdue's 1-10 record and all of the controversy that has come along with it, Walters believes that he's grown a lot as a coach through those struggles. Particularly due to the face that he's taken over the offensive coordinator role.

"I've grown a lot as a coach. You know, obviously, being on the offensive side, it opens your eyes up to a different lens and a different perspective. You kind of see the game in its totality," Walters said. "I've grown a lot because of that. I think that'll be really advantageous moving forward. Obviously, just get two years as a head coach, you know you're sitting in the chair for the first time, you learn a lot."

With all of the distractions surrounding the program potentially seeping into the locker room, Walters has been surprised by his group's ability to keep distractions to a minimum and stay disciplined throughout a rough season.

"What I've been surprised with, in terms of our entire program, you know, our players, coaches alike, is just the ability to put blinders on, block out the noise, and focus on the task at hand and work at it. You know, go play, put forth your best, best effort. And then whatever the results are, they are, and then sort of reset and do it again. That is that can be tough in today's, today's world with with social media and sort of everybody having a voice," Walters said.

Walters briefly discussed the drops by Jahmal Edrine and Jaron Tibbs late in Purdue's loss to Michigan State, that could have changed the fortunes immensely.

"Some of them were routine plays. You know what I mean? Like, you've seen guys make. I know Jamal Edrine, he's still sick right now. On the double move, we've seen him make that play in the Illinois game. You know, Tibbs has pretty steady hands and routine pitch and catch," Walters said.

"I don't know if it's the moment that was too big, or lack of focus or whatever the case may be, those are all things that we can learn from. I know those guys were hurting in the moment, and they're looking forward to getting back out on the grass and practicing and having another opportunity on Saturday."

Walters was very complimentary of the Hoosiers' transformation between last year to this year, which has resulted in a 10-1 record and a College Football Playoff berth waiting in the wings for Curt Cignetti and company.

"Obviously a completely different roster, right? Very experienced team that has played a lot of football. You know, they've got good schemes offensively and defensively, and those guys, they run it to a tee. It's a well oiled machine. They don't make a ton of mistakes. They make the plays they're supposed to make. And those guys, like they force you to try to beat them in all three phases," Walters said.

The heavy transfer portal approach by Cignetti and company, bringing many of their James Madison standouts with them to Bloomington, is also an intriguing model that could become more and more likely across the country. Walters also pointed to Colorado and Ohio State as programs that have hit the portal hard and are reaping the benefits.

"There's been a lot of programs that have sort of used that model. You look at Colorado and what Coach Prime has been able to do there. I mean, Ohio State had a lot of transfers this past season. So, you know, you definitely gotta get the right guys to fit your needs. But it is, it is possible to flip the program pretty rapidly, because of the landscape and the rules and recruiting and transfer windows," Walters said.

As the season comes to a close for Walters and company, the work is just beginning, as National Signing Day is just over a week away and the transfer portal window opens in under two weeks.

Walters spoke about the upcoming revenue sharing deal and how that will impact the Boilermakers in the transfer portal market.

"We have a pretty good idea what the model is going to look like. We're not like offering out deals to high school kids yet. You know, I think those conversations are more within your your own current roster right now and obviously, when the portal opens, like those will be big talking points we're trying to fill the needs mentioned," Walters said.

An increased budget for the football program could lead to more advantageous endeavors into the open market for Walters and company, with dollar signs being the top priority for many portal goers.

"There's a lot of different hats and a lot of different ways to get guys into the building. You know, it's not all relationships and laying out the red carpet on a recruiting visit," Walters said.

Purdue has found itself in sizable holes early in games throughout the season, all of which has proved to be too steep to dig out of for the 1-10 Boilermakers. That's a trend that they will need to end on Saturday to have a shot against the Hoosiers.

Indiana is 13th in the nation in first half scoring per game, averaging 19.4 points, while the Boilermakers have surrendered 20.8 points across the first half of games, good for 126th in the nation.

Walters spoke to Indiana's fast starts.

"They get off to really fast starts, offensive, defense. You know, teams sort of hang around, and then sort of midway through the third quarter, it seems like they tend to pull away, and then the game ends up looking a lot more lopsided than it was through the meat of the game," Walters said.

Stringing together stops in the first half could help Purdue build momentum, something it'll need to take down a top ten squad in Bloomington.

"We have to execute for four quarters. You know, we've done it in spirts, you know, we got to put two full halves together on offensive, defense. Obviously can't do things to put ourselves behind the eight ball and sort of give them opportunities. When we have opportunities, we gotta take advantage of them. Momentum is a real thing for 18 and 22 year olds, and it builds confidence," Walters said.

Walters provided a brief injury update on a trio of Boilermakers that were held out of Friday's game against Michigan State. Starting nose tackle Cole Brevard is "trending in the right direction" to be able to suit up against Indiana, as well is reserve nose tackle Jamarrion Harkless.

Wide receiver CJ Smith's status is uncertain, as he missed Friday's game and has played in only three games during his first season in West Lafayette.