LOOKING AHEAD: Purdue LBs
It will be a Holt family reunion in West Lafayette next season. And new Purdue grad transfer linebacker Ben Holt couldn’t be happier to be reunited with father Nick, the Boilermaker defensive coordinator.
“It’s gonna be good to play for my father,” said Holt, who played the previous four seasons at Western Kentucky.
This has happened before, as Ben shared a field with his dad at WKU in 2015 and 2016 after arriving at Western Kentucky as a walk-on fullback when Nick Holt was DC for the Hilltoppers under Jeff Brohm. After Brohm took the Purdue job in 2017, Nick followed and Ben remained at Western Kentucky.
"I am gonna get on the field wherever I can at Purdue," said Holt. "I want to compete for a linebacker spot. That’s my plan. I am looking forward to doing that."
Purdue needs help at linebacker, and Holt will bring an immediate boost. The roster has some promising talent in Markus Bailey, Jaylen Alexander and Cornel Jones, but depth is iffy. Enter Holt.
“I think I have really good instincts,” said Holt. “I think I understand the game well. I just enjoy playing the game. I think that really helps me on the field. It comes out in my play.”
The 5-10, 220-pound Holt led the Hilltoppers in tackles last season with 116 and in TFLs with 11.5. He also broke up five passes and was credited with nine quarterback hurries and 2.5 sacks. He was Conference-USA's fourth-leading tackler. Does he expect to start this fall at Purdue?
“I don’t want to comment on that,” said Holt. “But as I said, I am looking forward to the competition. I can’t wait to get up there with my new teammates.”
This will be the third year in a row Purdue's added a grad transfer from its staff's former school, as it brought in T.J. McCollum in 2017 and Dennis Edwards in 2018. Linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe might have come last year but decided to enter the NFL draft instead. And Holt almost balked at finishing his career at Purdue.
“After the season, I got to talk to my dad a lot and I talked to my coaches at Western and they wanted to know what I was thinking about, if I was thinking about transferring,” said Holt, who also will be coached by McCollum who is GA for the linebackers. “ ‘I said, well, I love our team, but the only other place I would go is Purdue. I am not looking anywhere else.’ I want to play for my dad and have a year in the Big Ten at a good place like Purdue.
“After the season, I went up for break. I originally told my dad I was going to stay with my team. Then I watched them get their butt kicked by Auburn in the bowl. I thought, man, maybe I can help.”
Holt will arrive on campus this summer on scholarship to be led by his father., who coaches linebackers in addition to coordinating the defense. Will Ben Holt call Nick Holt "Dad" or "Coach"? Ben Holt knows the answer to that.
“It is kinda weird calling my dad 'Coach,' but I don’t call him 'Dad' on field,” said Holt. “I say ‘hey hey’ to get his attention. I have been there before, so I will figure it out.”
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