Sinz important piece of offense; notes

JustinSinzcontainshisexcitementwell.

Hisvoiceneverelevates.Thesmilesarekepttoaminimum.Hemanagestomaturelytalkaboutthetightend'svaryingrolesinPurdue'soffensewithoutahintofgiddiness.

Sinzcertainlycouldhave.

TheremaynotbeabetterschemeforatightendtoplaythanJohnShoop'sprostyleapproachthatnotonlyisreliantondouble-tightendformationsbutalsoitsbevyofresponsibilitiesforthatposition.

AndthoughSinztechnicallyistheNo.2tightendtoGabeHolmes,themoreathleticandflashyoption,SinzactuallymaybethebesttightendonPurdue'sroster.

"He'swhatyouwantinatightend-he'sgotthewholepackage,"saidcenterRobertKugler,whojokedhewisheshe'dstayedattightendafterseeingthisnewoffense.

"He'sagreatablockingtightendandhe'sveryathletic.Hecangooutthereandmakeplays,buthe'stoughinsideandhecanhandleadefensiveend.He'ssmart,too.Hecanhandleallthedifferentplaysandthepositions.He'sreliableinallaspects,onthefieldandoffthefield."

Aformerhighschoolquarterback,Sinzhasshowcasedsomeofthebesthandsamongthetightendgroup.Theadjustmentwasn'tthattoughtocatchingballsinsteadofthrowingthem,Sinzjoked,remindingthatinquarterbackdrills,hehadtoplaycatch.

It'stakenmoretime,though,feelingcomfortableontheotherrequirementsofbeingareceivingtightend.

"IalwaysthoughtIhadprettydecenthands,andnowthatI'vegottenmoreconfidentintheroute-runningandknowingmyassignments,ItrynottothinkaboutittoomuchandjustletmynaturalabilitytakeoverandmaketheplaysIshould,"hesaid.

Sinzandtherestofthetightendswillbefrequenttargets.They'reoftenquickreadsforthequarterback,andthey'vebeenlargelyreliableatmakingthecatchestogainpositiveyards.Sinzlikelywon'tbetheonerunningdeeproutes-leavethattoHolmes-butit'sasafebetthathecouldsurpasshiscareertotalincatches(seven)duringnon-conferenceplay.

That'llbe,too,becauseSinzlikelywillstayonthefield.

OtherthanPatrickBade,whoiskindofthedesignatedpoint-of-attackblockeroncertainplays,SinzprobablyisPurdue'smostphysicaltightend.

Andthat'sgoingtobekey,too,inShoop'soffense.

"We'rethefocalpointofalotofblocksandalotofrunsarerightbehindus,andourblocksarecrucialtothesuccess,"Sinzsaid."Sowehavetoreallytakeownershipinthatandbephysicalatthepointofattackbecauseanyleakageoranypenetrationonourblockswillprobablybetheresultofabadplay.We'veworkedonthatandgottenalotbettersincethespring,andweneedtocontinuetoworkonthat.Butwe'redoingaprettygoodjob.

"Forus,asmanyplaysaswecangetandmake,that'sourgoal."

LeadingthechargeRobertKuglerhasbeenoneofthemostconsistentlyproductiveoffensivelinemenintrainingcamp,seeminglywinningthebulkofhisone-on-onebattlesindrillsagainstdefensivelinemenandtakingcontroloftheO-lineinteamwork.

Buthe'snotjuststeadyfromaproductionstandpoint.Hispresenceiscrucial.

InTuesday'spractice,Kuglerwasbleedingfromacutonhisleftarmandtheathletictrainersstoppedhimtowrapit.Kuglerwasvisiblyirritated,tryingtorushtheirtapejob.Hesimplyexplaineditlaterashedoesn'twanttomissanyrep-evenindrills.

That'sexactlythekindofmakeupPurduewantsandneedsupfront,andit'ssomethingthat'snoticedbyteammates,evenontheothersideoftheball.

"YoulookatKuglerandIdon'twanttosayhe'sundersized,buthe'snotsomeoneyoulookatandsay'Wow'about,"linebackerSeanRobinsonsaid."Butwhathehas,whatseparateshimfromeverybodyelse,ishismentalapproach.He'stheonewho'sblockingfive,10yardsdownthefield.Hetakesitpersonal.Whoeverhe'sgoingupagainst,everytime.Ifhedoesn'twin,that'sadisrespecttohimself.He'sjustsomentallystrongandhejusttakesitpersonal."

Kugler'sspotandKevinPamphileatlefttacklearetheonlyonesthathaven'tbeenshufflingthiscamp.

Theguardspotsstillmaynotbeset.

IfDevinSmithdoesn'treturnfromanMCLinjurybeforetheopener,JasonKingwillstartatleftguard,DarrellHazellsaidWednesday.

"We'rehopingtoget(Smith)backbyTuesday.Hefeelsabout70percentrightnow,"Hazellsaid."Probablygoingtohavetosplitrepsregardlessbecausehewon'tbeinasgoodofshapeasyou'dlikehimtobe."

TrevorFoyandJordanRoosstillarebattlingfortherightguardspot,Hazellsaid,thoughFoyhasaslightedgeatthispoint.RoosgotsomeworkwiththeNo.1offenselateinpracticeWednesday.RegardlessofwhostartsagainstCincinnati,though,Hazellsaid"RooswillplayforsurenextSaturday."

OnthemendJoeGilliamhadthepinremovedfromhisleftpinkiefingerWednesday,andhe'stargetingareturnfortheopener,Hazellsaid.

"It'sgoingtobeaday-to-dayprocessforhim,"Hazellsaid."It'samedicalthing.Youcannevertell.He'shealingverywellrightnow,butthatthinghastocloseupbeforehecanbangit."

ThoughGilliamdoesn'thaveloadsofexperience-lastseasonwashisfirstasafull-timestarter-heisPurdue'sbestcurrentoptionatmiddlelinebacker.WillLucasandJimmyHermanhavebeensharingrepswiththe1ssinceGilliamhasbeenout,butoftentimestheBoilermakershavehadbreakdownsinthemiddleofthefield.

Andthatisnotgood.

"Losing39likewedid,it'sliketakingDerekJeteroutofthelineup,"defensivecoordinatorGregHudsonsaid."Themiddleissoimportant.WhenBruce(Gaston)isn'tinthereandyourbestMikelinebacker(isn't)…youhavetobegreat,notgood,youhavetobegreatupthemiddle.WhenyoupullJeteroutandagreatcenterfielderorcatcher,you'vegotissues.Wegetgoodupthemiddle,we'llbeallright."

Etc.

GastonwaslimitedagaininpracticeonThursday-he'shardlyhadanyteamrepssincetweakinghishamstringandmissedthelastfourdaysofcamp.ButHazellisn'tworried.

"He'sjustwherewewanthimtobe,"HazellsaidofGaston."We'replayingthatonesafe.Hewantstobeoutthere,butwewon'tlethimbeoutthere.Wehavetobesmartaboutthat.You'vegottogetyourAplayerstothegame."

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