Purdue offensive line showing improvement during training camp

Marcus Johnson's first five months on the job as Purdue's offensive line coach have been eventful to say the least, with his unit having the most question marks of any on the Boilermakers roster throughout the off-season.

Multi-year starters Spencer Holstege and Eric Miller both entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, a handful of incoming transfers looking to make an impact, several injuries creating uncertainty, and a last minute change to the offensive line coaching role at the start of the spring.

All of which Marcus Johnson inherited when he left his post at Missouri to join Ryan Walters' staff in West Lafayette in March. Johnson's reasoning for taking the job was simple, his relationship with Walters both on and off the field.

"Coach Walters and I, we go back to 2020 at Mizzou. We had a great relationship back then and I think he saw a difference in that group and the product that was put on the field," Johnson said. "I wanted this opportunity, for one, because I'm good friends with him. I mean, this is his first big opportunity as a big time coach and I wanted to be a part of it."

The reunion has bee a success thus far, as Walters praised Johnson and his unit for their work during the summer and first part of fall camp on Tuesday.

"[Offensive] line has improved tremendously. Coach Johnson has done awesome job with those guys. We obviously added a couple of faces and the guys that were here did a great job in the offseason with Coach Ro," Walters said. "What we do defensively kind of puts pressure on that group in particular, just with the one-on-one blocks and different twist schemes that we do. So those guys are getting inundated fast with communication and playing with each other."

One of Ryan Walters' desires for the Boilermakers as a program is for them to showcase three traits. Competitiveness, toughness, and discipline. Johnson and the Purdue offensive line have embraced that to the fullest, which could set up success during the season, according to Johnson.

"Coach Walters says it every day. Competitive, tough, disciplined. If [we're] a competitive tough, disciplined, group; We got a chance to do some really good things around here. I think it's as simple as that, you know, stick to the motto day in and day out, and we'll be fine," Johnson said.

Johnson has been pleased with the motivation and work ethic of his players since he took over this spring. The unit has embraced the tough times that come along with improvement during the off-season.

"I think they've been willing. That's one of the things I appreciate about this group, is that they don't mind work," Johnson said.

While the offensive line has improved in recent weeks and months, Johnson still sees a lot more room for growth between now and the season opener on September 2nd. Most notably, continuing to build the chemistry between all five members of the front line.

"We need to continue to create that chemistry and cohesion. There's a lot of new faces--At the end of the day, we got to find the right five and put them in the right spot," Johnson said. "We're still in the evaluation process trying to see what's the right mix. But I appreciate the guys work and effort. We just got to continue to be attention to detail with everything."

Senior Jalen Grant was one of those new faces Johnson referred to, after coming from Bowling Green out of the transfer portal. Grant was one of the five incoming transfers who are expected to compete for playing time this fall, joining Austin Johnson, Ben Farrell, Preston Nichols and Luke Griffin.

"Every single day is a new day to make the cohesiveness and brotherhood better," Grant said. "You make the choice to come in with a good attitude and give good effort at practice, you're gonna get the trust of everybody in the locker room that you can do your job on Saturday's."

Fellow veteran lineman, Daniel Johnson, echoed the sentiments of his position coach and teammate on Thursday afternoon.

"Just hard work. You know, like, when things get hard you start to rely on other people, start to rely on each other. That's just what it is," Johnson said.

Johnson has been rehabbing a torn ACL suffered halfway through last season and has been on the field for the majority of fall camp this month. The sixth-year tackle has been working alongside center Gus Hartwig while they push to get back onto the field this fall.

Hartwig's status for week one has remained largely unknown throughout camp, as he remains limited, but is ramping up the workload as the days go on. Johnson shared that he does not know whether Hartwig will be back by the Fresno State game.

The Boilermakers' offensive line coach did touch on the importance of staying healthy, which will be a key for Purdue's success up front.

"I think that's gonna be the biggest key for us this season is just staying healthy. A bunch of guys got injured on this [offensive] line group last year. So we just got to be smart in everything that we're doing, and if we can stay healthy, we've got a chance to do some good things," Johnson said.

Center Josh Kaltenberger, who replaced Hartwig at the end of last season also went down with a leg injury during practice last week, but the ailment is not as serious as initially thought. Although, there is no timetable for his return at this point.

During Thursday's scrimmage, which was the final during training camp, Purdue had several players out, including starting left tackle Mahamane Moussa. One of the players that helped fill in for Moussa was Preston Nichols, who has been working at left guard during camp. The experiment is yet another example of the cross-training that the Boilermakers have done on both sides of the ball.

Johnson shared that moving players around to different spots along the line has been a common occurrence to ensure that everybody in the group is as prepared as possible for any scenario that may happen during the season.

"That's something that's always in the back of my mind is putting these guys in a certain situation before the game comes so it's not their first time being in the situation. So depth is a huge, huge thing, especially in the trenches because we all know everybody ain't gonna make it through an entire season healthy on the line of scrimmage," Johnson said.

Despite some injuries, the Boilermakers seem to have found a possible starting five for the start of the regular season, with depth pieces in place if more injuries occur.

Mahamane Moussa and Marcus Mbow have locked in starting roles at both tackle positions, while Preston Nichols has been working at left guard and Jalen Grant is primed to start at right guard. Colorado transfer Austin Johnson has been working as Purdue's starting center with both Hartwig and Kaltenberger sidelined at the moment.

Daniel Johnson is expected to be the top reserve at each tackle spot, while the same can be said for Luke Griffin at left guard and right guard. Redshirt freshman center Malachi Preciado is also a sleeper in the room and could see playing time if needed.

While Purdue could have the group outlined on paper, the answers to the questions that have surrounded the unit will be unveiled when the Boilermakers kick off the season is just over two weeks.