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SAN FRANCISCO — It’s a balance Jeff Brohm has worked to perfect.
On a daily basis, Purdue’s first-year head coach has preached about having fun, allowing players to be themselves and bringing flair and personality to the football program. But, in the same breath, he’s also expected his guys to treat the game with respect, focusing when needed to improve each player’s craft.
The Boilermakers are working the ultimate balancing act over the next four days: They’re, finally, after five long seasons back in a bowl atmosphere, and it just so happens to be in (mostly) sunny California. But they also desperately want to finish the season over .500, which only happens with a victory over Arizona in the Foster Farms Bowl on Dec. 27.
So, balance.
Like on Sunday morning, the team loaded up onto buses, then a ferry for a tour of Alcatraz Island, but then they shuttled directly to Laney College in Oakland, Calif., where they’re practicing.
At least in that one specific transition from fun to focus, players said they handled it well.
“When you’re in such a big, nice city like San Francisco, it can be a distraction at times. But I feel like we know how to compartmentalize what we’ve got going on,” running back D.J. Knox said. “So when it’s time to practice, everybody is locked in. (Sunday), we had a good practice, everybody was focused, catching balls, flying around, and when we’re out having fun, we’re just enjoying company of each other. So it’s kind of like an extended camp with a little bit extra fun because all we have is pretty much each other, and once we’re around each other, it’s the same thing all the time.”
Though Purdue’s roster isn’t loaded with seniors, there has seemed to be a largely mature pulse to the group, perhaps because there is a solid group of junior leaders, as well, and those upperclassmen have done a good job keeping everyone focused when it’s been needed.
That included Sunday when Purdue practiced without pads, which has been the trend for the bulk of the bowl practices. Players have loved the approach, though, saying it’s really helped them save their legs.
“We had a lot of helmet practices where we didn’t have a ton of contact, but we flew around and stayed at our top speed, working with the quarterbacks and the O-line every day and that’s prepared us well for this game. We’re in good shape,” tight end Cole Herdman said.
Purdue didn’t practice very long Sunday and won’t Monday on Christmas, either, but it’ll be fast and focused, quarterback Elijah Sindelar said.
“Right now, we’re just kind of fine-tuning,” Sindelar said. “We game-planned the past couple weeks. We have our game plan. We have our script we’re going to stick to. Now we’re just fine-tuning, making sure we can execute those plays and be able to execute at a high level.
“Coming down here, it’s good for guys to have fun and be around each other, but it’s also about winning the game, so we have to make sure we’re practicing and being focused in the moment and not letting, ‘Well, we’re in California, let’s just have fun and not do our business.’ We’re here to win the game.”
Surely, though, some of the chatter on the bus from practice back to the team hotel — it’s about a 30-minute drive — was about the morning’s tour.
And the route to the island: Players met actress Diane Keaton on the ferry. Once there, they got cozy, so to speak, with the tight confines of the nation’s first maximum security prison.
“It was amazing,” Knox said. “Just, first off, seeing a prison in the middle of an ocean is just crazy to me because there’s no way out. You’re planning to escape, (but) it’s just over with. Just give up.
“It was a good experience. You got to go in and see how people were living in there. The audio tour let you know who everybody was and how everything played out. So it was pretty cool.”
Sindelar and Herdman said they appreciated the history of the prison — Al Capone was there for a period, and Sindelar snapped a photo of the “Scarface file” on site.
“It was super cool. I’ve always wanted to see it,” Sindelar said of the prison. “I’ve heard stories about people never really escaping, but apparently there were three who have never been found. Who knows if they escaped or not? They either drowned or they made it. We’ll never know. It was really cool to see all those things. To see solitary confinement. Sort of freaky to be honest. But a great experience.”
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