On fluid Purdue receiver depth chart, veterans still hanging on

Quick Count: Day 6

More: Zico 'pushing hard' to make impact | Freshman Focus: KeyRon Catlett ($)

Today, Anthony Mahoungou is on the first team.

The senior has held that status since the spring, when he moved up with the 1s following the graduations of the Boilermakers’ top options the previous fall.

But tomorrow, he knows, it could all change, especially if any of the newcomers Purdue brought in during the offseason start to emerge.

“It depends on how you perform,” Mahoungou said of the wide receiver depth chart, still fluid even as Purdue nears the start of its second week of training camp. “That’s why they (brought in other guys). If you’re not able to do your job, (you’ll be replaced). The goal is to win.

“We don’t need someone who cannot separate or doesn’t catch the football. No, we need you to perform. If that was your team, you’d put in players who could win the game for you, right?”

The Boilermakers are still trying to determine who those are, although on Wednesday’s sixth day of camp, Jeff Brohm indicated that Purdue started to make plays down the field, a must for his offense. But consistency? That’s not yet been achieved.

Brohm’s been open about his search for playmakers, with honest — almost daily — assessments that finding them has been a work-in-progress. Perhaps that search has been slowed by minor injuries in the position group. In the first six days of camp, J.C. transfers Isaac Zico and Terry Wright have missed time due to muscle pulls, while grad transfer Corey Holmes has also been out due to a hamstring. And veterans Jarrett Burgess and Malcolm Dotson have been sidelined for the same reasons.

And the injuries have kept the newcomers from learning the playbook as quickly as hoped.

“Learn exact depths, learn exactly what we’re expecting,” position coach JaMarcus Shephard said. “They’ve got to understand how all the concepts mesh with one another in order for them to have the success they want to have. I’ve seen flashes in one-on-ones and the man coverage stuff that they have some ability. We’ve just got to make sure that ability fits within what we want to do, and obviously we’ll try to put them in those situations when we can, so that they can be one-on-one.”

Meanwhile, those who have been healthy and practicing are hearing Brohm’s overall message, that the group must get better.

“When he says we have a long way to go, I just work,” senior Gregory Phillips said. “All he’s doing is just challenging us to be better than what we were yesterday. So that’s all that is. That’s how I take it and that’s how I lead the guys, just work. Don’t worry about what he’s saying. Let our work do the talking.”

And so far, it’s the veterans who have been able to hang on to their starting positions, it seems. And that might be one of the biggest surprises of training camp.

In the offseason, Purdue worked to bolster its receiver group, a position that had very little experience returning, bringing in Zico, Wright and Holmes in addition to three freshmen, two of whom were on campus for the spring.

It’s not abnormal for a new coaching staff, like Brohm and Co., to bring in their own players, and not only bring them in, but want to play them right away.

Mahoungou is aware.

“They bring guys in to replace you,” he said. “But I’m a senior, I’ve got one more year. Obviously, all the freshmen and transfers they get, that’s to replace me. I just embrace the competition.”

When asked about the receivers on Wednesday, Brohm pointed to Mahoungou as having a consistent camp, maybe the best among receivers. And he said Phillips had made plays, including as a deep threat during Wednesday’s practice.

In the spring, Shephard told those two veterans, and others, that the situation was similar to the NFL.

“They draft new guys every year,” he said. “New wide receivers get picked up off the waiver wire and guess what? There’s no guaranteed spots. Nobody is guaranteed anything. These guys are coming in here to battle with you and the competition is going to be elevated.

“I’ve been talking about (the new guys) since they signed, so it’s been good for those (veterans) to hear it and it pushed them to work harder. They’ve gotten better. They’ve showed some signs, but they still have a ways to go before we get to that first game.”

Holmes had hoped he’d be able to be in as good of condition as possible before getting to Purdue, even as he wrapped up classes — and graduation — at Notre Dame.

But he admits now that it’s hard to simulate a football practice. And on the first day of camp, that came to light when the receiver pulled a hamstring, largely sidelining since.

“That was the issue I was dealing with, just trying to get my legs back underneath me,” Holmes said. “It’s going to take a little while to acclimate. I won’t even say a little while, I think once I get back healthy, which should be a couple days, I’ll be ready to go.”

But Holmes has tried to be as productive as possible while he sits, getting into the playbook more and learning assignments. He wasn’t able to do those things as much during the summer, when he was delayed in getting to Purdue until only days before the start of camp.

But even hurt, he feels he’s been able to show Purdue coaches something, even if he’s not made a great impact yet.

“I showed them I can catch the ball and run routes really well, and hopefully they’re thinking the same thing,” he said.

“I want to show them (when I’m healthy) that I’m what they thought they were going to get, so I’m eager to get on the field.”

Membership Info: Sign up for GoldandBlack.com now | Why join? | Questions?

Follow GoldandBlack.com: Twitter | Facebook

More: Gold and Black Illustrated/Gold and Black Express | Subscribe to our podcast

Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2017. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited.