Watson ready for impact; Day 10 notes, video

RyanWatsonplayedonlysparinglyasatruefreshman,asnaphereorthereinthefirsthalfoftheseason,andmaybeevenlessinthesecond.

Butit'sexperiencethathefeelshashelpedhimnow,ashelookstosolidifyaspotonthefirstteamatdefensivetackle.

"Mylittlebitofexperiencelastyearhelpedmegetafeelforthespeedandphysicalityofthegame,"hesaid."Ithelpedmealotgoingintospringpracticeandthissummer."

Watson,afour-starsigneebeforeplayinginhisfirstseasoninWestLafayette,thinkshewasonlygettingbyayearago,whenhehadacoupletacklesinninegames.Hewasundersized,hesaid,andnotaccustomedtothelevelofphysicality.

Buttheoffseasonhashelped.He's6-foot-2andupto306pounds.

"I'vebeenperformingprettywell,"hesaid."I'mnotgoingtoboostmyselforanything,butI'mmainlyworkingonfundamentals,that'swhatreallylackedbefore."

Watsonispartofwhatappearstobeadeepgroupofdefensivelinemen.HeandBruceGastonhaveoftenbeenthestartingDTs-althoughRyanIsaacwasinWatson'splaceafewsnapsMonday-withIsaac,EricMcDanielandMichaelRouseIIIbackingup.

Watsonthinksthedepthwillkeeppeoplefresh.

"Yougetyourenergybackandthere'salotofpeopletolearnfrom,"hesaid,"becauseeverybodybringsapieceofsomething."

ButWatsonwillbeanintegralpartofPurdue'ssuccess,too.

"Ryanisgoingtobeabigpluggerinside,"CoachDarrellHazellsaid."He'saguythat'sgoingtodemandadouble-teamandhe'sastrongkidwhoplayslow.He'llhelpus."

'Dogdays'

AsWeek2oftrainingcampgetsunderway,andaspracticeshittheirpeak,HazellthinkstheBoilermakersarefeelingalittletired.

"That'stobeexpected,"thefirst-yearcoachsaid."Here'sthedogdaysofcampthisweekanditwillbehardforthembecausewe'regoingtomakeithard.Butalsohardbecausethey'realittlebittired.We'llgetourlegsbackwhenweneedto."

Monday,Purduehadaconditioningdrillaboutmidwaythroughitspractice,achangefromthefirstweekofpractices.

"It'sourHoosierperiod,afour-minutegutcheck,"hesaid.

PurduegetsanothergutcheckTuesday,whenithasitsfirsttwo-a-daythisweek(anotherissetforThursday).TheBoilermakerswillhaveshellsonlyTuesdaymorning,butthenbeinfullpadsintheafternoonsession.

HazellsaysthatpracticeshouldbePurdue'smostdifficultofcamp.

"Overallwe'redoingprettygood,"fullbackKurtFreytagsaid."We'vebeenprettyblessedwiththisweather;it'sprobablythecoldestcampit'severbeen.…It'sbeennicethattheweatherhasn'tbeenafactor,butourstrengthandconditioningstaffdidagreatjobthiswholesummergettingusreadyforcamp.Goingintocamp,99.9percentofuswereinreallygoodshape."

Afterthesecondtwo-a-dayoftheweekThursday,PurduehasitskickoffluncheonFriday,thenthejerseyscrimmageSaturday.Then,it'sonlytwoweeks'tilkickoff.

"AsoldasIam,I'mactuallystillholdingup,"jokedFreytag,anearly23-year-oldfifth-yearsenior."Sotheseyoungguyshavenoexcusestobecomplaining."

Tworeturners

HazellsaysPurduewilllikelyusetwopuntreturnmen,rotatingFrankieWilliamsandB.J.Knauf.

Thosetwo,alongwithRicardoAllen,havebeengettingamajorityofthereturnopportunitieslately.

"Wedecidedlastnightwe'regoingtogowithtworeturners,justbasedoffofkickscrimmage,"Hazellsaid."There'stwoguysbacktherethatareverydynamic.We'llprobablyholdRicardobecausehe'sgoingtoplaysomanysnapsatcorner,butthoseothertwoguysareprettygood."

KnaufhadapuntreturnforaTDduringthekickscrimmageSaturday.

Purduecouldusetwodeepmentogetheronpuntreturns,asithasshownthatlookattimesduringcamp.

Misc.

Twodaysafterthekickscrimmage,Hazellwasaskedwhathethoughtafterreviewingthefilm.

"Obviously,we'vegottogetbetteratmakingfieldgoals,"hesaid."I'mgoingtowatchitwithourspecialistsat1:30andfindoutwhereourdeficienciesare.Butthat'sabigpartofwinningfootballgamesandweneedtomakesurewe'reknockingthemthrough."

RaheemMostertClickUnofficially,Purduehit14-of-22fieldgoalsonSaturday.HeretoviewthisLink.istryingtogetadjustedtohisnewrole,asarunningbackwiththeBoilermakers.

Mostertwascarryingtheballduringpositiondrills,butdidn'ttakeasnapinlateteamwork.Buthe'llneedtoworkhiswayupthedepthchart.

"Theonethingishe'sgoodwiththeballinhishands,sothatwaspartofthereasonthatwethoughtaboutmakingthatmove,"RBcoachJafarWilliamssaidoftheformerwidereceiver."Thethinghe'sgoingtohavetolearnisallthelittlethingsaboutplayingtheposition:footwork,thereads,thingslikethat.We'llgivehimopportunitieshereinthenextcoupledaysandseeifhecanhandleitandhopefullywe'llmoveforward."

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