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In every sense of the term, Will Bramel is young, a 19-year-old redshirt freshman who's yet to play his first college snap.
Purdue's message to the offensive tackle, though, even though he is young: You don't have time to be.
"Coaches say that all the time, 'You're not a freshman,"" Bramel said. "They tell me, 'You've been here. It's your time.' I'm trying to take pride in that and having a sense of urgency to do my job."
As questions abound for the Boilermakers on their offensive line, it's the 6-foot-6, 300-plus-pound Bramel that already seems to be one of the better-known commodities at a position full of uncertainty.
When Jeff Brohm spoke on Day 1 of camp of three offensive linemen he and his staff felt most comfortable with, Bramel was one of them, along with veterans Matt McCann and Grant Hermanns, Purdue's two most experienced offensive linemen, or rather, Purdue's only two experienced offensive linemen.
Obviously, Purdue is counting on Bramel, who exited training camp as its No. 1 right tackle, but he's cross-trained at center, too, and may be the Boilermakers' No. 2 option there, as much as they don't want to need it. He also played guard some in the spring.
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Whether it's his right tackle spot or wherever, Bramel, in context, may be one of the most important players for Purdue's offense.
He doesn't view it as pressure, though, he said.
"Urgency is the right word," Bramel said, "and the whole off-season we've had a sense of urgency, that's really gotten us better, because it's made us more competitive and competition makes everybody better. Having a sense of urgency and not really treating it like an off-season, I think that made us better as an O-line."
Purdue does hope its offensive line will play this season above its aggregate experience level, and individually, Bramel is one of the faces of that theme, encountering an opportunity that's come quickly, an opportunity he says he prepared for during a redshirt season spent maximizing opportunities to learn, from coaches and veterans alike, and adding 30 pounds and conditioning himself for a leading role.
"I want to take pride in being able to play a full game," Bramel said. "I know that sounds really simple, but I don't want fatigue to wear me down. That's been my mentality since I started playing football as a little kid. Don't let fatigue bring you down. That's easier said than done, but something I look to take pride in, to be conditioned well enough to play at the same speed in the fourth quarter as I did in the first quarter."
Speed has been the most acute adjustment, though, as Bramel has jumped over all the steps that often come between redshirting and starting, and won't get any easier.
"It's obviously going to be faster than what I see in practice, but our defense has improved a lot," Bramel said, "and they play fast and take pride in that. I think the way our defense plays and the way we take live reps is really helping me adjust to the speed of the games. Every opponent, they're going to play their heart out, and it's just going to be different, but I'm excited for it."
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