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Safety Jalen Graham played all 82 plays at Nevada. Defensive end George Karlaftis took part in 77 snaps last Friday. It was a big workload for both true freshmen in their college debuts. Did Graham expect to play so much?

“Not really,” he said. “It was a great experience. Now, I want to build on it.”

The only other Boilermaker defenders who played as much as Graham and Karlaftis were sophomore cornerbacks Kenneth Major (76) and Dedrick Mackey (82), junior cornerback Simeon Smiley (81), senior linebacker Markus Bailey (82), junior defensive end Derrick Barnes (81), senior linebacker Ben Holt (78) and senior safety Navon Mosley (71).

Not only did Graham and Karlaftis play a lot ... but they also more than held their own.

“I thought (Graham) did well,” said Purdue co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach Anthony Poindexter. “Basically, he played the whole game. … For his first start, I thought he did quite well.”

Safety Marvin Grant made his debut as a "dime" back, playing 12 snaps. Redshirt freshman cornerback Cory Trice played six snaps. Upfront, redshirt freshmen linemen Lawrence Johnson (27) and Brandon Deen (47) also saw action.

According to Pro Football Focus metrics, Graham rated as Purdue’s second-best defensive player. He finished with four tackles. The only Purdue defender who rated higher than Graham, according to PFF, was Major.

Karlaftis was just as impressive as Graham.

“He got pressure on the quarterback, he was harassing the quarterback all night,” said Pointdexter. “The stats don’t show that he had a high sack number, but pressures he had early on were a big factor in how we could play coverage back there.”

Karlaftis was the No. 4 rated Purdue defender, according to PFF. He had four tackles, half a sack and 1.5 TFLs. The West Lafayette High product was always buzzing around the Nevada backfield. Both Karlaftis and Graham graduated high school early and took part in spring drills. No doubt, that has hastened their development.

"Look, they are good players,” said Poindexter. “They both were here in the spring, so we kinda knew what we had with both players. So kudos to them for having the mental toughness to go on the road for their first college game. I’m pretty sure their nerves were wracked. They settled in. And after they settled in, we just let them play.”

If Poindexter had to do it over again, however, he may have rotated more liberally.

"We probably could have used more d-line, probably more secondary guys, even linebackers," he said. "Overall, I think we could have used a couple more players … just give a guy a series or two of rest. It all adds up at the end of a game. You see guys who had 80 plays … probably if you could have had them down to 60, 65, it might been the difference. But who knows?

"Sometimes, the game gets going a certain way and you feel good, you are in a groove. It’s hard to say, let’s make a change here especially when they really weren’t pushing on us or moving the ball that much in the first half. Just like the players, we as coaches learn from Game One to Game Two. We have a plan going into this week."

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In addition to several freshmen making their debut last Friday, senior linebacker Ben Holt also got his Boilermaker baptism. He arrived as a grad transfer from Western Kentucky--a Group of Five school--and started at Nevada.

"I thought personally, I did well.,” said Holt, the son of Purdue defensive coordinator Nick Holt. “I have to do a better job in the fourth quarter. But as a defense, I thought we played hard the whole game. I thought we played well. We had some really good three-and-outs, some good stops. I just think we have to create some more turnovers.”

Purdue lost that battle, 5-0. But Holt finished No. 3 on the team with seven tackles at Nevada. The Boilermakers lost a heart-breaker on a last-second field goal, as the offense and defense both had fourth-quarter struggles that proved costly. How bad was it? Purdue was outscored 27-7 in the second half and 17-0 in the fourth quarter. Nevada had an 8:43 to 6:17 edge in time of possession in the final quarter.

“We were out there for a good portion of time,” said Holt. “And (Nevada) remained fresh, so we just have to finish in the fourth quarter.”

Was altitude an issue? Reno, Nevada, is over 4,400 feet above sea level.

“It’s hard to say,” said Holt. “But definitely later in the game, definitely you could feel it kind of dragging on, something a little different. To be honest, we just have to finish the game on defense to get the win for us.”

Now, it’s on to Vanderbilt.

“They run hard, they have a good running back (Ke’Shawn Vaughn), they gotta good tight end (Jared Pinkney),” said Holt. “They’re a good team. A good defense, too.

“Most definitely, we are ready to get this one, especially in front of the home crowd. We are ready to go, ready to get after them. It’s a good team coming up here, so it’s gonna be a fun game.”

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GoldandBlack.com confirmed today that junior tight end Darius Pittman has left the program.

He was listed as the No. 3 tight end on the most recent depth chart behind fifth-year senior Brycen Hopkins and redshirt freshman Payne Durham. The 6-3, 250-pound Pittman played in the opener at Nevada, taking part in 13 snaps with one target.

The Gulfport, Miss., native was part of Jeff Brohm’s first recruiting class and never redshirted. He caught two passes for 23 yards in his Purdue career, playing mostly special teams.

With Pittman gone, true freshman tight ends Garrett Miller and Kyle Bilodeau could have bigger roles moving forward. Each made the trip to Nevada. Miller looked to be getting more reps than Bilodeau at practice on Wednesday.

And redshirt freshman defensive end Jack Cravaak was seen with the tight ends. The 6-5, 250-pound Cravaak was recruited almost exclusively out of Madeira High in Cincinnati as a tight end.