Tiller meets with Lymon; Wednesday football notes

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Coach Joe Tiller met with injured wide receiver Selwyn Lymon on Wednesday afternoon and received plenty of good news.

Physically, Lymon's recovering well, according to Tiller.

"I was more interested in how he was doing," Tiller said, following Wednesday's practice. "He's doing extremely well. They haven't turned him loose to start running yet, but he told me that the Monday before he came back (to campus) he went out and (ran) a mile, just to see if he could do it. He said, 'I held up pretty well.'"

Lymon had been injured after being stabbed in the chest in the early morning hours of March 30.

After being released from the hospital, where he spent several days, Lymon returned to his home in Fort Wayne to recover. He's since returned to West Lafayette.

"He's doing really, really well physically," Tiller said, "and he's back in line academically, which is good."

Tiller said Lymon shouldn't have any problems stemming from the days of class he missed.

"We notified his professors and they've been good about it," Tiller said.

Tiller added, responding to a comment, "He has a pretty good excuse."

As for his fact-finding mission into the incident itself – and any involvement by players – Tiller said he's now deferring to police.

"That's their job now," Tiller said, "not mine."

The coach added that based on what he knows now, he doesn't see any punitive actions being taken on his part.

Mason Moves

Sophomore running back Dray Mason has been moved to wide receiver, where he'll operate out of the slot.

The 5-foot-10, 193-pound Indianapolis native was caught in a log jam at running back, behind juniors Jaycen Taylor and Kory Sheets and senior Dario Camacho.

In the slot, upperclassmen Dorien Bryant and Desmond Tardy occupy the two top spots.

Taylor Back

As was expected, Taylor returned to practice Monday.

For the past nine days, the junior had been sidelined by a sprained ankle.

Additionally, sophomore defensive tackle Mike Neal, a key player in the grand scheme of things on Purdue's defensive line, shed the purple jersey he'd been wearing all spring. He took part in drills and "live" pass-rush work.

"I'm hoping," Tiller said, "that with each day (the trainers) will give him more opportunities, from a team (drill) standpoint."

Neal's been bothered by the same foot problem that plagued him during the season.

Linebacker A Concern

Tiller is worried about his depth at linebacker.

"The area that is becoming a concern is the linebacker area," Tiller said, "just because we don't have a lot of options there. I think our front-line guys are fine, but what we're trying to find out … is who those next guys are going to be."

Matters weren't helped by Monday's suspension of redshirt freshman Jeff Lindsay, nor by the fact that sophomore Jason Werner remains sidelined after undergoing a second back surgery.

All reports on Werner returning have been positive.

Right now, Purdue's front-line trio is Dan Bick in the middle, with Anthony Heygood and Stanford Keglar on the weak and strong sides, respectively.

Bick is in purple, though, and not taking part in scrimmages. He's been bothered by a sore neck.

Recruiting

East Chicago Central defensive tackle prospect Kawann Short and 2007 signee Joe Holland were among those recruits at practice Wednesday.

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