Spring practice No. 4: Notebook

MORE: Spring Football Central

It’s difficult to envision that there will be many bigger defensive backfields in the Big Ten than the one Purdue will utilize this fall.

The Boilermakers figure to start 6-0, 200-pound sophomore Kenneth Major at cornerback opposite 6-0, 205-pound junior Simeon Smiley. The safeties should be 6-3, 210-pound redshirt freshman Cory Trice and 6-0, 200-pound senior Navon Mosley.

And there is plenty of size in reserve with players like 6-2, 190-pound redshirt freshman corner Byron Perkins and 6-0, 195-pound redshirt freshman corner Jordan Rucker. It doesn't stop there. At safety, the Boilermakers boast 6-0, 205-pound redshirt freshman Kadin Smith and the freakiest of them all: 6-3, 215-pound true freshman Jalen Graham. The “runt” of the bunch is 5-11, 185-pound sophomore cornerback Dedrick Mackey.

“Me, Coco (nickname for Major), Mackey, Ruck and Perk,” said Smiley. “(It's a good group at cornerback.) Coco is a little experienced. He started last year for us. I think he’ll do well. He will grow a little and learn more plays and fundamentals of the game. He is athletic, fast, he is a big guy. Mackey is a little better than people expect him to be because he is a little undersized. He is a good player. He has been working on getting his hands on guys. He can run with guys. He’s a fast kid. Ruck is a very physical guy. He has a few things to work on, too.”

THE SPRING OF GEORGE

The staff is giving true freshman defensive end George Karlaftis a full baptism this spring after he arrived early from nearby West Lafayette High School. The 6-4, 265-pound prodigy is lining up with the first-team on the edge. And, he is more than holding his own. Karlaftis also at times slides inside at tackle, lines up as a “Leo” in a two-point stance and even has been seen dropping into coverage in a zone-blitz. At one point, injured “Leo” Derrick Barnes took him aside and was offering advice. Purdue sideline football reporter and former Boiler offensive tackle Kelly Kitchel thinks “Big George” has done a good job reshaping his body in a short period of time, too.”

“He looks like he has trimmed up,” said Kitchel, an assistant coach at West Lafayette High School who saw Karlaftis develop into a prep All-American. “And I hear from the weight staff at Purdue that they can’t keep him out of the complex. He has a real hunger to get better.”

LOOKING FOR A LEADER

The defense is dominated by youth, so it will be vital to have some leadership in the back end. That’s where senior safety Navon Mosley steps in.

“His leadership, his approach to the game, his work ethic along with his play, it all will be vital and it has shown early on in spring,” said co-defensive coordinator/secondary Anthony Poindexter. “He is telling them what to do, how to do it. He understands more than any of them because he has been around the longest, he knows how I coach and my approach. They all look up to him. That is what we need from him.”

Mosley’s role directing traffic is even more vital with a stalwart like safety Jacob Thieneman gone.

“It’s hard when you lose that type of talent, physically and mentally … his whole package is hard to replace,” said Poindexter. “But that’s why you recruit. You bring young ones up the ranks. If I can develop two or three of them, we will have them for a while.”

Junior cornerback Simeon Smiley and junior safety Brennan Thieneman also must help lead the way along with Mosley.

“I have two good examples (Mosley and Smiley) in the room of how to do business,” said Poindexter. “Even Brennan. He has been around a while. He can take a little bit of that leadership off of Mo. Smiley will do a great job, too.

“Nobody can replace game time. I can kinda tell them how it is, but they won't take it from me. The guys who played in the game, they’ll take it from them. It’s fast, it’s gonna be like this … The guys will respect it. That is the benefit now, I have guys who have played in the room. The young guys just have to listen to them.”

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