Training camp Practice No. 7 Notebook

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When it comes to football, Purdue cornerbacks coach Greg Brown has seen it all.

The 61-year-old Brown—who was hired this past offseason after coaching at Auburn in 2017-18—began his career as a GA at UTEP in 1981. Since then, his career has taken him from high school, to college and to the NFL. Heck, he even coached in the defunct USFL for the Denver Gold in 1984. And one of the stops during his peripatetic career was at Purdue in 1990.

Back then, the Boilermaker coach was Fred Akers, who was in what would be the last of his four-year run in West Lafayette. The Akers era didn’t go well (12-31-1 overall and 9-23 Big Ten), but Brown enjoyed his previous stint at Purdue from 29 years ago.

“Fred had a great staff,” said Brown, whose father, Irv, was an iconic Denver radio host who passed away last February. “He was an outstanding motivational speaker. After he got out of coaching, he went around the country as a motivational speaker. Fred did an outstanding job with our players. He recruited very well. He got some top-notch players.

"I still talk to (1987-90 Purdue cornerback) Steve Jackson on a regular basis. He is the secondary coach of the New York Jets. I also coached him with the Titans, too. Smart, tough, just a competitor.”

It was during the 1990 season that Purdue opened the Mollenkopf Athletic Center, a facility Akers was instrumental in getting constructed. Indoor facilities were becoming the rage in that era.

“I don’t think we ever actually went in it,” said Brown. “But I do remember when they built it and looking in it and saying it looked nice. But we actually practiced outside.”

Purdue had a brisk workout on Friday in advance of a scrimmage on Saturday in Ross-Ade Stadium. It’s the first of two scrimmages--both closed to the media and public--this month, the second coming on August 17. And cornerbacks coach Greg Brown is still auditioning for jobs.

"We are a work in progress,” said Brown. “Every day, we are trying to add on, get the chemistry, scheme, technique. Can we put these building blocks together and eventually build this pyramid?”

Do sophomores Kenneth Major and Dedrick Mackey have the top two corner jobs sewn down? They typically have lined up with first-team defense during camp.

“Right now, they are competing and doing a good job,” said Brown. “But right now, we aren’t ready to say anybody has anything nailed down. That’s the good thing about it. We have some jobs open. Tomorrow morning, we are gonna scrimmage some. And those will be looked at under a microscope.”

Simeon Smiley is in a new role this year, moving from safety to nickel back/corner. And he likes it. The move took place last spring.

“I think I have held up great,” said the junior. “They see it, I see it. Hopefully, Game One, I am ready to go.”

At 6-0, 205 pounds, Smiley is the biggest corner on the roster. And he also is one of the smartest.

“He has been on the field,” said cornerback coach Greg Brown. “He knows what he’s doing. He’s a smart kid. That's one of the keys. How fast can you think while you are moving? And he can think pretty fast. And that is a huge key. You have to have some athleticism, speed ability, etc. But the thing that separates guys is how fast can you think. He can think fairly fast.”

The passes were coming fast and furious during one-on-one pass-drill work. And the wideouts looked good.

Not too many balls hit the ground, as wideouts, tight ends and running backs took turns battling one-on-one with a defender on pass routes.

Redshirt freshmen Amad Anderson, Jr. and Jordan Bonner made some nice grabs. Anderson made one long TD catch and caught a tipped ball on another rep. Gonna be hard to keep him off the field.

And it’s impossible not to notice freshmen TJ Sheffield and Milton Wright, who both made some nice receptions. It was especially interesting to watch Sheffield battle fellow freshman Jalen Graham, a precocious 6-3 safety.

The wealth of talent Purdue will have to throw to is interesting. No doubt, Jeff Brohm will have lots of options.

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