Purdue coaches 'cannot wait' to mold young talent in bowl practices
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During bowl practices, the future of Purdue's football program will get on the field.
The general belief is that for college programs, the allotted 15 bowl practices are a vital element toward program development, an extra set of winter workouts while half the Football Bowl Subdivision programs idle.
Purdue, selected to play Auburn in the Music City Bowl, will conduct its first bowl practice session Friday, perhaps looking to get more reps for the 20 or so freshmen or redshirt freshmen who were on the travel roster for the regular season finale at Indiana, but received little to no playing time this season. It's a safe assumption all of those 20 players and more reserves will get a lot of early work in these bowl practices.
"During these bowl practices, this is where we really get to grind into it and almost to a point kind of start over with some of those young guys and get to reintroduce them to the offense and what we're doing and what we expect," Purdue co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard said on Nov. 20.
Shephard may get to work more with freshman receivers Amad Anderson, Jordan Bonner and Kory Taylor more in this month than the previous three months combined. The Boilermaker wide receiver coach said two weeks ago bowl practices are when those younger players, who are practicing but have been settled on the idea that they likely won't see the field in the 2018 season, now have some immediate consequences to their actions.
"It's not like a game (for freshmen in in-season practices) because a lot of those young guys aren't playing right now," Shephard said. "Those bowl practices are something where we try to treat them like games and so, hey, there is going to be some pressure on you to perform. The expectation is to learn these concepts and know what you're doing once you get into spring ball. If you're starting out new in spring ball, you're kind of already behind the 8 ball."
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However, Purdue coach Jeff Brohm said Sunday at the program's Music City Bowl media conference that the Boilermakers will not be using all 15 practices, a common stance for Brohm-led programs. Brohm said he always wants to stress the importance of giving his players time off to recover from injuries, focus on semester finals and mentally recharge for the season finale.
"I think it's important that we keep somewhat the same schedule we had last year, which means I want our guys to have a break. I want our guys to get away from it a little bit," Brohm said. "At the same time, we're getting some workouts in the weight room and conditioning. We'll get back out on the practice field starting this Friday, but even then, it won't be an every-day thing. We're going to make sure that we are smart with it. They have finals coming up the week after. We're on the road quite a bit recruiting, as well. We want to make sure we finish that off."
Brohm hinted Sunday that bowl practices could be a proving ground for younger talent for no other reason than trying to make sure key veterans get to the Dec. 28 game at full health. With the new NCAA redshirt rule in place and Purdue in no danger of losing the year for any freshmen other than Rondale Moore, Jaylan Alexander and Jeff Marks, Brohm suggested freshmen could see playing time in this game vs. Auburn.
"Yes, everyone is on the table right now, so there's a chance that quite a few guys that either have barely played or haven't played at all could participate in this game," Brohm said. "Like I said, we'll utilize this month to see if they are ready to go, and if they have been working hard and putting in the time, you would think that guys that aren't happy that they are not playing would step up and get it done, but we've got to see exactly how they practice."
With defensive tackle Lorenzo Neal already out for the bowl game after injuring his knee in the regular season finale at Indiana, Brohm knows Purdue can ill afford to lose any more key talent before they take the field against a traditional Southeastern Conference power.
"We'll utilize the time we need to prepare the young guys for the future which I think we'll do a more thorough job of this year than last year (and) ante the thing up a little bit and increase the intensity of that. That'll be fun." Brohm said. "You know, we've got to get to the game as healthy as we can but also be prepared and also be fresh."
Part of Brohm's philosophy has always been to treat the bowl game as a year-end reward for his players and by doing so, they'll be more likely to perform at a high level. Last season Purdue was a 2.5-point underdog to Arizona and pulled off a 38-35 victory in the Foster Farms Bowl. Brohm's programs are currently undefeated in bowl games, but it should be noted Nick Holt was the interim coach for Western Kentucky's 51-31 win over Memphis in the 2016 Boca Raton Bowl.
"When you go to a bowl game, you want to experience it, have fun with it, enjoy the process. It is reward for your guys playing well throughout the season and finding a way to advance to the postseason, so we're going to make sure we definitely enjoy it," Brohm said. "We'll have our hands full, but that's what makes the game fun."
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