5 Burning Questions as Purdue Football Heads Into Fall Camp
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Fall camp is right at the doorstep for the Purdue football program, and with it comes several unanswered questions.
Coach Jeff Brohm and the Boilermakers are coming off a 2-4 season, and they haven't recorded a winning record since his first year with the program in 2017. Purdue has overhauled its defensive staff, but a starting signal-caller on the offensive side of the ball has yet to be determined.
Purdue football's first game of the season is scheduled against Oregon State on Sept. 4 at Ross-Ade Stadium, and there's plenty of work to be done in just a month's time.
As the team prepares to return to the practice field on Friday ahead of the 2021 season, here are five of the biggest questions looming over the program before the start of fall camp.
1. Who Wins the Purdue Quarterback Competition?
Purdue football has a stable of signal-callers competing for the starting job ahead of the season opener against Oregon State. Brohm anticipates the program to identify its starting quarterback internally after fall camp starts.
Last season, Aidan O'Connell earned the starting nod and led the Boilermakers to both of its victories. However, a foot injury knocked him out of the lineup for the final three games of the season, leaving Jack Plummer to take his place.
Both played the same number of games in 2021, and the two put up nearly identical statistics.
"Jack Plummer, Aidan O’Connell have both played a lot of football for us," Brohm said during the 2021 Big Ten Football Media Days, "They’ve done some good things. Do they need to continue to improve and get better? Yes. But I feel like we can play winning football with them in the game."
O'Connell finished the year having completed 88 of his 136 passes for 916 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions. After taking the reins of the offense, Plummer managed to complete 88 of 124 attempts, good for 938 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions.
Plummer, who enters his junior season, will look to retain the starting role by adding a dimension of mobility to the position. But O'Connell, a fifth-year senior who is now at full health, is poised to once again showcase his leadership, having joined the program as a walkon in 2017.
With their combined experience, O'Connell and Plummer are the frontrunners for the starting spot. But UCLA transfer Austin Burton, a senior, and redshirt freshman Michael Alaimo will be close behind.
Brohm said Burton now has a better understanding of the offense heading into his second year with the program. He also praised Alaimo, stating he may have the best arm in the whole group. However, neither player has appeared in a game for the Boilermakers.
Will it be O'Connell, or will it be Plummer? Would Brohm give the nod to a player with less experience? It might end up being a combination of all three during the 2021 football season.
“I always think it’s beneficial to have more than one guy that can play," Brohm said. "We’ve had success playing multiple guys a lot of years and want to continue to build that depth there."
2. Will the Defensive Staff Changes Work Out for the Best?
With Bob Diaco leading the charge on defense last season, Purdue ranked in the bottom half of most defensive statistics across the Big Ten. After losing three of its four games by just one score, faltering on defense isn't going to cut it in 2021.
Purdue hired a nearly entire new defensive staff this season, and Brohm said he will be a prominent figure in the defensive scheme this year. But will all the coaching adjustments make the difference on the field?
The team looks to deploy a more aggressive defensive approach, similar to Brohm's mentality leading the Boilermakers' pass-first offense. Purdue finished last in the Big Ten in sacks after recording just five in six games.
It ended last season given up 29.8 points and 399 total yards per game. The team also ended up 12th in the conference in passing defense.
The Boilermakers are utilizing a trio of co-defensive coordinators for the upcoming season, spearheaded by linebackers coach Brad Lambert calling the plays on game day. Lambert joined the team after spending two seasons as the defensive coordinator and linebackers and safeties coach at Marshall.
In 2020, the Thundering Herd led all Football Bowl Subdivision teams in scoring defense at 13 points per game and was second in the nation in total defense, allowing just 279.4 yards per game.
Ron English and Mark Hagen will assist Lambert and Brohm in defensive game preparations this year. English, who will be coaching the team's secondary, was the head coach for five seasons at Eastern Michigan and spent time as a defensive coordinator at Michigan, Louisville and San Jose State.
Hagen enters his second stint with the Boilermakers. He previously spent 10 seasons on the coaching staff at Purdue and rejoined the staff to coach the Boilermakers' defensive line. He was the assistant head coach at Texas last year, was Indiana's co-defensive coordinator for two seasons and the assistant defensive coordinator for another two.
James Adams was the newest face added to the Boilermaker coaching staff after joining in April. He will coach the cornerbacks this upcoming season after spending one year in a similar role at the U.S. Naval Academy. Before then, he coached for one season with Western Michigan and eight with Charlotte.
3. Will the Boilermakers Improve in the Run Game?
Purdue football was one-dimensional in 2020. The team boasted the top-ranked passing offense in the Big Ten by recording 309 yards through the air per contest. But that statistic couldn't make up for the Boilermakers' last-place rushing attack.
The team posted just 150 rushing attempts all of last season. Purdue averaged only 3.3 yards per rush and scored on the ground four times in six games.
By the end of the season, the Boilermakers were averaging 81.5 rushing yards per game. Michigan State was the only other conference program not to average more than 100 yards on the ground.
Purdue enters the 2021 season with the same two backs leading the charge, with little experience behind them. Fifth-year senior Zander Horvath and junior King Doerue will look to provide balance to an otherwise lopsided offensive scheme.
Horvath, who appeared in all six games last season, posted 442 yards on the ground, averaged 5.0 yards per carry and scored two touchdowns. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound back is a workhorse with deceptive speed for his size.
Doerue had a slow start to the 2020 season after dealing with injuries. He appeared in four of the Boilermakers' matchups and only managed 64 rushing yards on 17 carries.
Redshirt freshman Dylan Downing is the only other true running back on the roster. He appeared in two games last year and rushed for eight yards on three carries. With limited depth, will Purdue turn to some of its wide receivers to provide a jolt in the run game?
4. Can the Boilermakers Generate a Consistent Pass Rush?
Without defensive star George Karlaftis on the field for the full extent of the season, Purdue's defense came away with just five sacks in 2020, which ranked dead last in the Big Ten. Karlaftis led the team with 1.5, but he played in just three games due to injury and COVID-19.
The Boilermakers are already at a disadvantage at the start of the upcoming season with starting defensive tackle Anthony Watts set to miss part of the year due to a broken foot. But the team should have enough depth to make up for his absence.
The team returns Lawrence Johnson, Branson Deen DaMarcus Mitchell and Jack Sullivan, who all made contributions to the defense last season. Mitchell was the leading performer among that group, having recorded 34 total tackles, six tackles for loss, one sack and one forced fumble.
Purdue also brought in three transfers along the defensive front. Joseph Anderson from South Carolina, Prince Boyd from Independence Community College and Damarjhe Lewis from Indiana all look to insert themselves on the defensive line.
But the biggest factor with this unit is Hagen, who has established himself with the players and is already making strides on the recruiting trail. He has coached 18 players that went on to be selected in the NFL Draft. Will Hagen lead this year's group to success in his first year with the program since 2010?
5. Can Special Teams Become a Strength for Purdue?
Purdue football has turned to a new group of specialists ahead of the 2021 season. The team added Australian punter Jack Ansell and Samford transfer Mitchell Fineran at kicker.
Last year, the Boilermakers averaged just 36.7 yards per punt, which was next to last in the Big Ten. Despite punting only 27 times in 2020, the team game up 117 return yards as a result, ranking fourth-worst in the conference.
While Purdue didn't necessarily struggle kicking field goals, the team will have some added security with Fineran. He was a second-team All-American selection and was 32-of-43 on field-goal attempts in three seasons with the Bulldogs, good for 74.4%. He was also successful on 109-of-111 extra-point attempts.
The Boilermakers have a group of players looking to make an impact in the return game, too. The team will return sophomore wide receiver TJ Sheffield as a return man, with redshirt fifth year Jackson Anthrop backing him up.
Track and field star Marcellus Moore will also be in the mix. Last season, the team attempted just three jump returns in six games for a total of 16 yards.
Will Purdue generate some explosiveness in the return game this season? And can the team flip the field with the punt unit on the field to give its defense some cushion?
All these questions will have to be answered for a Purdue football team looking to get back to its winning ways under Brohm. And it all starts Friday with the start of camp.
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D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.