Coach's corner: Even when David Bell is wrong, he's right

MORE: First look: Illinois | Gold and Black Radio: A look at Purdue football | David Bell honored by Big Ten | Opponent View: Illinois | Data Driven | Number Crunching: Week 9

Co-OC/WR coach JaMarcus Shephard had a confession to make after practice on Tuesday.

“OK, I’m just gonna be honest with you,” said Shephard. “(David Bell) ran the wrong route (on his 7-yard touchdown catch last Saturday at Iowa), OK. And you know what? Thank god he caught a touchdown on a play when he did the wrong thing. Just a slight miscommunication between himself and me. But, it all turns out for the best.”

A whole lot turned out well for Bell in Iowa City, as the true freshman from Indianapolis made 13 catches for 197 yards--including that aforementioned touchdown grab--to earn Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors for a second time in a row. So, what pattern was Bell supposed to be running?

“He was supposed to run a slant,” said Purdue quarterback Jack Plummer. “And I took my drop, and I don't know if you guys saw me kind of pause a little bit. I saw the corner wasn’t looking at me, so I was like, I may as well just throw it over there. There is no other receiver over there.

“I put it on the back hip kind of and he made a good play. Tried to give him a little back-shoulder ball because I couldn’t put it over the top because he was already halfway into the end zone.”

Shephard was impressed.

“At the end of the day, those type of things, actually, they kinda just tell you that … just get him the ball. He’ll find a way to make it happen,” said Shephard.

Bell has been making a lot happen this year. In the last four games, he has been on fire. Bell has 33 receptions for 505 yards (15.3 ypc) and three TDs. He is averaging 126.3 yards per game over that stretch. On the year, Bell has 39 catches for 635 yards (16.2 ypc) and four TDs. All of those totals lead the team.

“He’s good, a good player,” said Plummer. “Those go balls, he’s good at just going up and getting it. He probably had the quiet 200-yard game I’ve ever seen. Kind of when someone is getting 200 yards, you have to be really focused on targeting them. I didn’t really feel like I was locked in, focused and targeting him. But he was coming open within the offense and making plays … When I looked at the stat line after the game, I had no idea he had 13 catches for 197 yards."

One carry for three yards. It was a modest line. But, it was a significant one for Richie Worship.

You see, for 6-0, 250-pound fifth-year senior, it was his first carry since November 11, 2017--almost two years ago. That also was the last time Worship played in a game, as he carried four times for 11 yards in a loss at Northwestern.

“It felt great being out there,” said Worship after practice on Tuesday. “It’s been a long two years. When I got out there, it felt like my first game in college again. It just felt good to be out there with my brothers.”

After that game at Northwestern, Worship suffered a torn ACL the following week in practice and subsequently underwent knee surgery. And since then, Worship has battled back, and back, and back from knee surgery. Was there ever a point when he considered just … giving up?

“It was early, early on,” said Worship. “Because I just knew the risks and complications of the whole injury. What helped was family, family and coaching staff. They had faith in me and kinda drove my motivation to keep working and get back out there.”

He missed all of 2018. Now, finally, the Cleveland native got back on the field for 10 snaps in last Saturday’s 26-20 defeat at Iowa. And, he's ready for more.

“Richie, you know, he's continuing to work through his issues and we'll see how healthy he is at the end of the week, said Jeff Brohm when asked this week if Worship would play this Saturday when Illinois (4-3 overall; 1-3 Big Ten) visits for a noon ET kickoff. “He had some soreness and some things after the game, so we'll make sure we manage that and see if he can play this week.”

Worship isn’t the lone veteran running back working his way back from injury. Fellow fifth-year senior Tario Fuller played for the first time in 2019 in a victory vs. Maryland almost two weeks ago, playing 11 snaps and carrying five times for 10 yards with a fumble. But Fuller—who came back from a broken jaw suffered in training camp—didn’t play last week at Iowa.

“Well, you know, both those guys are getting back from injury,” said Brohm. “I think you'll see Tario in the mix this week.”

Worship is hoping for more action.

"I hope so, I hope so," he said. "It's all in Coach Brohm's plan. Trust his plan. Whatever he decides, I'm right there behind him."

You could sense a bit of frustration in Jeff Brohm’s voice.

The Purdue coach was talking about quarterback Jack Plummer following Purdue’s 26-20 loss at Iowa last Saturday. And Brohm wanted to see the redshirt freshman run more instead of waiting for protracted periods of time to find a receiver—and risking sack.

“When you're a guy like Jack, a guy who has some athleticism and has the ability to convert when they are going to cover some plays, that has to be in your head that you running the ball, and throwing it away, but definitely you running the ball to get some yards has got to be an option,” said Brohm.

What was Brohm telling Plummer at Iowa?

“He was harping on me like, hey, if the No. 1 receiver and No. 2 receiver aren't open, and if there’s no No. 3 receiver on that side, you’re a good runner—run it,” said Plummer. “We want you to step up in the pocket and not try to go around and scramble on the outside. Try to go up and scramble through the middle more and use my legs.”

Despite being 6-5, 220 pounds, Plummer is nifty with his feet. He’s able to extend plays in the pocket … or just run, if needed. Does Brohm want to draw up designed runs for Plummer?

“I don't know if it's definitely truly that,” said Brohm. “We do want to make sure that versions the zone read and some things like that are up and available and ready to go.

“I just think in pass situations, when teams are playing the pass, if the check-down is not there, the next check-down is you running the football and that just has to always happen.”

Playing Illinois is special for tight end Brycen Hopkins. Why? Because his dad, Brad, was a star offensive tackle for the Fighting Illini before going on to a standout NFL career with the Oilers/Titans.

"Every year, it's the same," said Hopkins. "My dad shows up in an all-Illinois get-up. Then he kind of takes it off at the end when we start winning. It's kind of funny because every time we play, he meets me on the field and we take a picture in his Illinois get-up and then he slips out (of it) to show he's really a Purdue fan."

Illinois recruited Hopkins a little when he was coming out of Ensworth High in Nashville, but the Fighting Illini but told Hopkins he was too slow.

"I had knee braces on, but they didn't know that," said Hopkins, who has 29 catches for 396 yards and three touchdowns in 2019. "I had the lineman knee braces on. But, it's all good. I'm glad where I'm at."

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