Purdue will punctuate injury-marred spring on Saturday with dress rehearsal

MORE: Spring Football Central

This spring has been almost as notable for who has missed practice with injury as it has been for who has played.

Defensive stalwarts like linebacker Markus Bailey (hip) and tackle Lorenzo Neal (knee) have missed all of spring drills. On offense, projected starting center Viktor Beach (back) and quarterback Elijah Sindelar (knee) have missed time. Jeff Brohm will be without Bailey, Neal and Sindelar for tomorrow’s spring game, which kicks off at 12 p.m. ET in Ross-Ade Stadium and will be televised by BTN.

“We will have some guys out for sure,” said Brohm. “But we are gonna go goods on goods, ones on ones, and let the guys play, get some experience. I think we’ve had a good camp. We’ve had some live tackling almost every day that we are allowed to, so we have a real feel for game-like conditions.”

Brohm said Purdue won’t have live tackling for the entire spring game. And in case you are wondering: Yes, sophomore sensation Rondale Moore will play—but the wideout won’t take part in any live-tackling portions of the game.

Overall, Brohm seems pleased with the progress of his third Boilermaker squad. And he isn’t worried about the injuries—at least the ones to the players who already have a lot of experience. In addition to the names mentioned earlier, other key personnel that won't play on Saturday due to injury: linebackers Cornel Jones and Jaylan Alexander; running backs Richie Worship and Tario Fuller, safety Brennan Thieneman and defensive tackle Anthony Watts.

“When you play a long, tough physical schedule in the Big Ten, maybe your numbers and depth aren't quite where you want it,,” said Brohm. “Guys get injured, you've got to get them healthy. They have every opportunity to use that time to get their body right and fresh. And if they have to miss spring practice, even though that's not what you would want on a perfect scenario, you gotta get them healthy so they can come back and play.”

Brohm received a scare last week when Sindelar tweaked his left knee—the same one he tore an ACL in back in 2017. But MRI results showed no damage. Sindelar--out since last Tuesday--is good to go but will sit out the spring game as a precaution. Redshirt freshman signal-caller Jack Plummer will run the first-team.

"I was a little worried and concerned," said Brohm after he heard of Sindelar's "tweaked" knee last week. "I am not gonna lie. We didn't know quite what it was. I think it just turned out to be a hyper-extension, but it’s on his knee that has had some issues. Like I said before, we want to make sure we take care of Elijah, we monitor his progress, we get him to the game healthy, we continue to get him work.

"But at the same time, he has played a lot of football and we want to make sure we don’t jeopardize getting him injured because we are trying to crank things up in practice. We have to be smart with it. When he gets fully healthy, we will get him back in the mix. But we will tread a little more carefully so we make sure he is game-ready."

Among the major concerns entering spring ball were the offensive line and the pass rush. But Brohm has seen signs of improvement in both areas.

“Up front (on the offensive line), there are a lot of young guys and they are improving,” said Brohm. “I don’t want to single one out yet. I see guys like (redshirt freshmen) Jimmy McKenna step up a little bit, Will Bramel step up a little bit.”

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But Brohm has appeared frustrated by the absence of Beach. The 6-4, 305-pound sophomore was slated to be the No. 1 center with Kirk Barron gone. But a back injury suffered while lifting weights this winter has kept Beach out most of the spring. Brohm is glad Beach has worked his way back onto the field. He will play on Saturday.

“With Viktor, we were optimistic that we want him to have a good camp and come in as our starting center,” said Brohm. “Unfortunately, due to the injury and lack of reps, he has to get in better shape, he has to make sure he’s 100 percent, he has to fight through some things a little bit to get back in the flow. He’s young, so we’ve got to get him repetitions. We don’t want to put too much pressure on him. We anticipate him having a good May and a good summer session of getting back healthy. And hopefully for fall camp, he can be back to what we think he can do.”

The pass rush has flashed potential, even with “Leo” Derrick Barnes out most of the spring with thumb and hamstring issues. Players like senior Kai Higgins, sophomore Giovanni Reviere (who has moved from end to tackle) and early enrollee George Karlaftis have gotten a push.

“Up front on the defensive line, I think we have more bodies,” said Brohm. “Right now, George Karlaftis has been our most productive, but Giovanni has shown up a little bit more. Kai Higgins I think has improved, but that’s an area we have to improve.

“Jeff Marks is a guy we moved to the inside. And his quickness, just like Giovanni, has been the difference. Once again, he’s going against some guys who haven’t played a lot. But he has the ability and capability. Gotta get more consistent.”

Brohm is eager to get one last look at his team on Saturday.

“We will probably simplify it down a little bit just to see guys make some plays and compete and not get too creative and think we gonna out coach each other or out scheme each other,” he said. “We want to see if guys can produce and how they play in game settings. So we are excited to get that underway.”

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