Ryan Walters Details Improvement After First Spring Scrimmage

After almost two weeks of typical practices, Purdue football finally went live on Saturday. The 1st of April marked one of two scrimmages the Boilermakers will have during their month-long spring practice slate. Head coach Ryan Walters said the scrimmage was a success for the team and gave them insight into how they've progressed thus far.

"Had fun. It was, you know, first live situations, a lot of lessons learned just in terms of operations," Walters said. "We were able to see what's real and what's not."

It was the first time the Boilermakers had been able to put what they'd been working on to the test. Walters shared that the coaching staff scripted upwards of 90 plays, and they "got most of them in" over the two-hour practice period.

Purdue split the scrimmage into four parts on Saturday, working on several different downs and distances and specific situations. Walters broke down how the Boilermakers ran their first scrimmage of the spring.

"The way we sort of attacked situational football, we start off just first down, then we went to first and second down. Then, we introduced third downs. Then we introduced the red area. So, we kind of broke it up in four parts today as well in the live scenarios," Walters said.

After months of going through the transition period, conducting winter workouts, and getting a glimpse of the 2023 Boilermakers during practice, Walters and the other Purdue coaches have a good sense of where the roster is at.

There are a limited amount of things the team can work on during spring practice with the rules and regulations set forth by the NCAA. However, Walters identified how he measures success and improvements during this stretch.

"I think it's a steady improvement. I don't know if I'd necessarily say rapid. I think that's sort of impossible in this arena. There's too many moving parts," Walters said. "We measure success in the springtime just by steady improvement, which is just not making the same mistakes you know from practice two to three, practice three to four, and so on. So I think guys are understanding that."

Along with the limited amount of live reps comes the difficulty of knowing exactly how each phase of the team is actually performing. That was no different in Saturday's scrimmage, as both offense and defense had their moments.

Walters shared that the Purdue offense executed and produced some explosive plays during the intra-squad scrimmage, while the defense also forced a handful of turnovers.

"You know, it's hard in scrimmages. I was happy at times on defense. I was happy at times with the offense. I'm also learning as the head guy -- not to take sides all the time," Walters said. "I don't know if there's a winner and loser. We all win -- at least I can say we all win as a head coach."

Despite being unable to paint the whole picture just yet, Walters identified numerous players that have stood out these first two weeks. Offensively, quarterback Hudson Card, running backs Devin Mockobee and Tyrone Tracy, and wide receiver TJ Sheffield were among the guys Walters named as being successful thus far.

On the other side of the ball, outside linebackers Nic Caraway and Khordae Sydnor, defensive end Joe Anderson, linebacker OC Brothers, and senior safety Sanoussi Kane all stood out in the head coach's eyes.

Perhaps nobody impressed more than quarterback Hudson Card, however. The Texas import came to Purdue as a highly touted recruit in the transfer portal and has lived up to that billing so far in West Lafayette.

"I think he's got a chance to be special. I don't know if I've been around somebody that's got, you know, the elite talent in terms of his arm talent that's coupled with his ability to extend plays with his legs. Because he doesn't just extend them, like he can go hit a home run," Walters said about his new signal caller.

Card showed flashes of his running ability with the Longhorns, but the Purdue coaches have already seen what he's capable of. The leader of the offense continues to turn heads this spring as he prepares for a potential breakout season with the Boilermakers this fall.

The new quarterback in town is becoming increasingly comfortable with Purdue, but he is not alone. The Boilermakers' roster is getting used to their new coaching staff, but Walters said Purdue's leaders embraced him and the other incoming coaches.

"It's been awesome, man. You know, since day one, these guys really embraced us. The leadership on this team has been very open to change, and I think we're building trust and chemistry both with the staff and with the guys in the locker room," Walters said.

While there are still over 150 days until the season-opener against Fresno State in Ross-Ade Stadium, Walters believes his team is establishing a solid base for what they want to become by the time the regular season rolls around.

"I think we've got the makings of the right ingredients to be successful in the fall. We just got to keep improving and keep adding depth," Walters said.

Depth has become an issue at several key positions for Purdue over the first couple of weeks this spring, and that trend continued Saturday. Projected contributors Gus Hartwig, Kydran Jenkins, Isaiah Nichols, Broc Thompson, Scotty Humpich, and Garrett Miller were all seen without pads, as they have been for the entire spring session thus far.

However, a few more names were added to the injury report on Saturday. Starting safety Cam Allen had participated in all five practices before the scrimmage but was held out. The same can be said for fellow defensive backs Ryan Brandt, Jordan Buchanan, and Anthony Brown.

The offense has seen similar struggles on the injury front, as young weapons Drew Biber, Curtis Deville, Kentrell Marks, and Zion Steptoe all missed the team's first scrimmage. Biber, Deville, and Steptoe had not missed a practice until Saturday, while Marks has been in and out through the first two weeks.

Walters said that if today was a regular season game, many of those players held out would play. The team chose to keep them on the sideline out of an abundance of caution. Injuries and players missing time are common in spring football, so the Boilermakers are playing things safe right now.