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WR David Bell in concussion protocol

MORE: Notebook: Brohm says 'Jack Plummer will be our starter' vs. Illinois

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The status of Purdue receiver David Bell for Saturday's game vs. Illinois is murky, as the junior looks to rebound from a big hit he took in last Saturday's game at Notre Dame.

"So, David Bell is in concussion protocol," said Boilermaker coach Jeff Brohm today, "and will continue to take him through the process. Hopefully, it gets better each and every day."

Purdue (2-1) may not know if Bell will be available to play Illinois (1-3) in the Boilermakers' Big Ten opener until Thursday, Friday or even Saturday.

"Correct," said Brohm. "It'll go through the normal concussion protocol and pass a series of tests and doing some different things and seeing how he progresses."

Even if Bell has limited to no practice this week--and ends up getting cleared before the 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff in Ross-Ade Stadium--he still could suit up for Purdue.

"He's the type of player that doesn't have to practice a whole lot at all, other than making sure he's feeling right and feeling good, in good condition, in good shape," said Brohm. "I think we'll monitor that obviously extremely closely this week and hope to get him out there whenever he can go."

In the fourth quarter last Saturday, Bell took a big hit from behind from Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton. Bell subsequently hit the ground violently face first after taking the blow.

He lay on the field for an extended time before being taken to the locker room on a cart. Bell was sitting up and alert as he left the field. Bell sent out a tweet (see below) Sunday night saying he was OK.

If Bell can't play on Saturday, Purdue still has a deep well of talent at receiver.

"Well, the rotation we had been having was David, backed up by Mershawn Rice," said Brohm. "We have Milton Wright backed up by Broc Thompson. We saw Abdur (Rahmaan Yassen) get in the (Notre Dame) game a little bit. He would be one of the next men up there. Jackson Anthrop and TJ Sheffield in the slot."

Rice is out with a foot injury suffered vs. Notre Dame and "will be out for an extended period of time," according to Brohm.

Bell leads Purdue with 21 catches for 319 yards (15.2 ypc) and three touchdowns. His 21 receptions pace the league, while his 106.3 receiving yards per game rank No. 2 in the Big Ten.

Purdue's offense already is without running back Zander Horvath, who underwent surgery last week after breaking his left fibula at UConn. The fifth-year senior will be out 4-6 weeks.

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