Spring checkup: The running backs

This is a spot that looks to be in good shape, with every key running back from 2019 returning. But better production is needed for an offense that finished last in the Big Ten in rushing last season (83.3 ypg). That was 44 yards lower than the No. 13 rushing team in the Big Ten (Michigan State, 127.15 ypg).

No doubt, the line needs to improve, too, to help this burgeoning group of backs perform better. When did Purdue last have a 1,000-yard rusher? You have to go back to 2008, when Kory Sheets had 1,131 yards and a single-season record 16 rushing TDs.

THE SKINNY: When injury prevented Tario Fuller (jaw) and Richie Worship (knee) from playing roles last season, Purdue turned to true freshman King Doerue. And he showed promise.

The muscular Doerue isn’t a big-play back, but he can move the chains. He paced Purdue in rushing in 2019 with 451 yards on 130 carries and also tallied five TDs. While it was impressive that a true freshman led the Boilermakers in rushing, know this: It was the fewest rushing yards for a team leader since Jerome Sparkman led Purdue with 451 yards rushing in 1989. Doerue’s best game came vs. Minnesota, when he ran for a season-high 94 yards. Doerue showed nice hands out of the backfield, catching 20 passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns. He's a keeper.

Doerue’s classmate, Da’Joun Hewitt, is coming out a redshirt. He has giddy-up and power. Hewitt needs to make a move or risk getting lost in the shuffle. This figures to be a big season for Hewitt.

Zander Horvath is intriguing. In fact, the 6-3, 230-pound junior could be a pro. The former walk-on has a Muscle Beach physique and showed his potential in the finale vs. Indiana last season, when he blasted the Hoosiers for 164 yards rushing on 23 carries with two TDs, averaging 7.1 yards per tote. Horvath didn’t stop there, making four grabs for 24 yards. He ended last year with 377 yards rushing on 79 carries with two touchdowns, while making 17 catches for 142 yards and a score. Horvath averaged 4.8 yards per carry with a long of 48.

When Purdue uses a fullback, sophomore Alfred Armour gets the call. The former walk-on is a banger who knocks people backwards.

A wild card is incoming freshman Tarik Murphy, one of Purdue’s most touted running back signees in years. The Queens, N.Y., native isn’t a run-away-from-you back, but Murphy has some wiggle and zip. And he’s also big and physical. He didn't turn down the likes of Oregon to sit on the bench in West Lafayette.

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