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Had Purdue not earned a bowl berth, D.J. Washington would have taken his one final this week, then headed home to Louisville.
There, he would have been on his own for a few weeks, tasked with taking his own initiative to work out — and he occasionally would have — while also “probably (taking) some time off.”
But the freshman offensive lineman isn’t getting that break now. Instead, Washington is getting in extra practice time during this rookie redshirt season, plus having plenty of time to review film before and after. There’s just not much else to do, other than concentrate on football for the next week-plus as the Boilermakers prepare for the Dec. 27 Foster Farms Bowl.
“The only thing I’ve got to worry about it football,” he said after Thursday’s morning practice in Mollenkopf. “I don’t have to worry about studying for a quiz or anything like that. It’s strictly football right now. That’s best for me.”
It’s the same for the rest of Purdue’s inexperienced underclassmen, one of the biggest benefits to the extra 13 or so practices the Boilermakers will have between the end of the regular season and the bowl game vs. Arizona.
During the season, there’s not much time for those players to get team reps, as Purdue is getting its 1s and 2s ready for Saturday. Maybe they’re on the scout team, but that group is busy running the opponent’s offense or defense, trying to give the first group a good look, and not Purdue’s.
Their only significant time is reserved for Sundays, just one day a week to get actual team repetitions on film. It’s something, but not the every-day instruction they can get now.
“Especially during camp, we get a lot of work done with them,” passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard said. “And then the first half of the season, we tend to still get a lot done with them. As you get to the latter part of the season and the rotation has kind of been defined, it tapers off.
“But I think now ramping them back up is great. Purdue getting to a bowl game, these are the types that the really good teams across the country have gotten better and how they push the envelope and set the bar, through these practices and hopefully we can start to do that and have it over for years to come, get a chance to reset the bar.”
Purdue is spending about 30 minutes at the end of its bowl practices to work with its youth. After individual drills on Thursday, Purdue put its younger players through an 11-on-11, twice letting the offense drive from about midfield toward the end zone.
On the first drive, freshman tight end Darius Pittman caught a couple passes from rookie quarterback Nick Sipe, taking the first on a crossing pattern that he turned up the left seam.
“I want to get better at every opportunity I get,” said Pittman, who has played this season on special teams and as the Boilermakers’ third tight end. “So I’m taking advantage of these bowl practice and I’m going to work hard in the offseason, as well.”
But for as much as the repetitions matter, it might be the off-field training that’s as — or maybe even more — beneficial. Washington, who was lining up at left guard during Thursday’s team drill, says he has ample opportunity to get into the film room right now. He can do so in a few ways: As an offensive group, Purdue reviews its practices, as is routine, but he can also pull G.A. Justin Sinz aside for more detailed training.
In those sessions, which can be one-on-one or in a small group, Sinz is available. The former Boilermaker will break down a player’s practice film — Washington, for instance, is concentrating on his hand placement and footwork (and the simple stuff, too, like moving the right direction for each play) — and also taking a more big-picture examination of the offense.
“You just let him know when you want to get some extra time in and they’ll help you any time,” Washington said of Sinz, who assists Dale Williams in coaching the offensive line. “They’re ready to help you learn the plays.
“He’s breaking down the whole offense for me, so I can know what everybody is doing. If you know what everybody is doing on offense, then it helps you even more. He’s letting me know the QB (reads), who the running back is going to (block), where he’s going line up. You learn the protections and all of that.”
It’ll all add up to Washington feeling more advanced for the spring than he could been without the extra practices. And that’s critical. The 6-foot-4 now 291-pounder — he’d like to get up to 300 or a little more — wants an opportunity to compete in the two-deep as a redshirt freshman. And he thinks his athleticism could get him on the field early in his career, but only if he knows what he’s doing.
“It’s really helpful, because what I’m focused on right now is getting the plays down, so I can perform to the best I can,” Washington said. “I’m learning everything I can learn, getting extra help. It’s more of a young-guy speed and we’re getting there, to where we’ll be able to go with the older guys better than we do now.”
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