Purdue Boilermakers 2010 NCAA Football Preview

Purdue Boilermakers

Big Ten Conference

2009 Record: (5-7, 4-4)

2009 Bowl: none

Coach: Danny Hope (5-7 at Purdue, 40-29 overall)

Offensive Coordinator: Gary Nord

Defensive Coordinator: Gary Emanuel and Donn Landholm

Returning Leaders

Rushing: Ralph Bolden, RB, 935 yards

Passing: Caleb TerBush, QB, 22 yards

Receiving: Keith Smith, WR, 1,100 yards

Tackles: Joe Holland, LB, 81

Sacks: Ryan Kerrigan, DE, 13.0

Interceptions: Kawann Short, DT, 2

Other Key Returnees: TE Kyle Adams, LB Dwayne Beckford, LB Chris Carlino, WR Keith Carlos, DE Gerald Gooden, OT Dennis Kelly, G Ken Plue, LB Jason Werner, K Carson Wiggs

Key Losses: QB Joey Elliott, OT Zach Jones, CB Brandon King, S Dwight Mclean, DT Mike Neal, CB David Pender, G Zach Reckman, RB Jaycen Taylor, WR Aaron Valentin, S Torri Williams, C Jared Zwilling

Coach Danny Hope intends to improve on his first season at Purdue after finishing just shy of a bowl appearance. However, the off-season has not gone well for the Boilermakers. By the end of spring practice it seemed like the team could hardly field enough players to play a scrimmage. Most of the players should be back by September’s season opener, but on a team that has quite a few holes to fill, missing that valuable practice time could be an issue early in the season.

Strengths:

One player who may not recover from his injury is running back Ralph Bolden. Bolden carried the ball 200 times last season for 935 yards and nine touchdowns. He will certainly miss out on the beginning of the year and could be out for the year. Every other scholarship running back missed some time in the spring as well. However, this is a pretty good team on the ground with Dan Dierking leading the way. With a relatively experienced offensive line paving the way, the ground game should still be relatively decent with or without Bolden. Former wideout Keith Carlos and sophomore Al-Terek McBurse should carry the load if Bolden is out for the year. Quarterback Robert Marve will fill in for departed quarterback Joey Elliott. The transfer from <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />Miami has a little more elusiveness than Elliott and his ability to pass and run should make the offense extremely tough to stop. Marve has some injury concerns of his own and he needs to get over a knee problem that slowed his progress in the spring. However, Marve is full of potential and has a ton of proven wide receivers at his disposal. Keith Smith is a superstar and Cortez Smith can take over for the departed Aaron Valentin. Add tight end Kyle Adams, the elusive youngster Antavian Edison and former quarterback Justin Siller to the mix and Marve will have plenty of passing options.

Weaknesses:

Besides committing a few too many turnovers, the offense did a great job. Yet, this team still only won five games thanks to a woeful defense. It was a team that ranked last in the Big Ten in rush defense. Yet, it is the front seven that is actually the strong point of the unit. Linebacker Joe Holland is the team’s best returning tackler and fellow linebackers Chris Carlino and Jason Werner are also back. Freshman Will Lucas had a great spring while some others were out with injuries and he will be hard to keep out of the lineup. With sack specialist Joe Kerrigan and tackle Kawann Short clogging the middle, the rush defense should be better…but there is really nowhere else to go but up compared to last year’s performance.

The Bottom Line:

The success or failures of the defense will likely fall on the shoulders of an inexperienced secondary. There are a myriad of options to fill in the holes, but nobody has really stepped up and appears ready to take over the unit. Even freshman Ricardo Allen is getting a long look for a starting job, or at least major playing time, and junior college transfers Max Charlot and Michael Eargle are a couple other new faces who will be given the opportunity to contribute. Safety Albert Evans is the only player in the secondary with any semblance of real Big Ten experience and he has to be ready to become a leader. If he does not, and nobody else fills the void, Purdue will once again be outside of the bowl picture.

2009 Team Stats:

Rushing Offense: 136.08 (75^th in nation, 7^th in conference)

Passing Offense: 255.25 (34, 3)

Total Offense: 391.33 (53, 6)

Scoring Offense: 27.83 (58, 6)

Rushing Defense: 173.42 (94, 11)

Pass Defense: 203.17 (37, 4)

Total Defense: 376.58 (69, 7)

Scoring Defense: 29.08 (89, 9)

Turnover Margin: -.42 (87, 9)

Sacks: 2.67 (22, 4)

Sacks Allowed: 1.67 (49, 4)