Purdue tight ends expect to deliver 'huge impact' this season
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Cole Herdman feels great.
Not only has he fully recovered from January's hernia surgery, he's coming off a summer in which he added 10 pounds but still feels light on his feet.
Maybe that's why the third-year sophomore tight end is so excited for 2016.
"I feel like I can be a huge weapon," Herdman said after Purdue's second practice of training camp Friday. "The tight ends as a group, I feel like we’re going to have a huge impact this year. It’s going to be a great year for us as an offense as well."
Having position coach Terry Malone as offensive coordinator helps, Herdman said, because Malone can see their work ethic, their skill set, their worth and already values the importance of keeping tight ends involved in an offense.
Malone likes the versatility his group brings, especially with Herdman, who unofficially played more offensive snaps than any of the team's tight ends last season despite not being a starter. Already, Herdman has shown he is comfortable detaching from the line of scrimmage, splitting into the slot and running routes as a receiver. He may only have caught 18 passes last season, but the quarterbacks had confidence in him because he rarely missed opportunities when they presented them.
But it may be the strides made when he's doing more-typical tight end duties — the underrated and, largely, unnoticed blocking — that really has Herdman ready to seize major game snaps.
After playing at 240 pounds last season, Herdman added 10 pounds this summer, and he's noticed it showing up already on the field.
"It feels different, but I feel a lot stronger. I feel like I can block well, even better than I did last year," he said. "I’m going against guys who are 275, closer to 300 pounds, and it’s good to have that muscle weight. It feels real good."
In the first two days of camp, Malone has sent his tight ends to work alongside the O-line in drills vs. the D-line, and Herdman has held his own.
So far, Malone likes what he's seen out of the player who's now the veteran in the room with only redshirt freshmen Brycen Hopkins and Jess Trussell as well as a walk-on freshman in the group.
"He’s certainly a better football player today because he’s stronger," Malone said of Herdman. "He’s a year more mature. He’s just a young guy. I know he seems like he’s been around awhile, but he’s just a sophomore. Coming off a really productive freshman season. Now, to be able to step up not only his game — you can see improvements already without even pads on in terms of strength and explosiveness — but he’s really become quite a leader on our team. That’s something we’d been hoping for."
• For the second consecutive day, junior Gelen Robinson was with the third-team defense. Robinson started seven games last season and has played in 21 in his career, but he’s behind first-year JUCO transfer Austin Larkin and first-year end Tim Faison, who came to Purdue as a linebacker.
“He’s got to keep getting better and try to work his way up the depth chart,” Hazell said of Robinson. “That’s what camp is all about, finding your position, where you are.”
Interesting to hear Hazell mention Faison’s “good motor,” a trait the coaching staff has been waiting to see from Robinson. Having just moved to end, Faison is incredibly undersized — he’s a linebacker playing end, essentially, and is listed at 211 — but he could offer a unique piece the defense is looking for, Hazell said.
“We’re looking for a guy who can rush the passer,” Hazell said. “He’s a light guy, but his skill set has to bring it off the edge.”
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