Purdue Football Confident in Depth on Defense Following Spring Practices

Purdue concluded its spring practices Saturday with its annual spring game inside Ross-Ade Stadium. There's a growing conviction that the team's defense has potential to be among the best in the Big Ten after returning eight starters from a year ago.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — During the team's 2022 spring practices, Purdue's defense was headlined by its projected depth in the trenches. 

Co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Mark Hagen said he would like to have three players at each position in the rotation once the season starts. The group has a way to go before it can reach that point, but the spring served as an opportunity to build as much depth as possible. 

"I think we'll be great," Said Purdue redshirt freshman defensive end Khordae Sydnor, who notched two sacks in the spring game. "We've got some time — a couple of months — to fix things up and just come not perfect, but dang near close to it. So I think we got a pretty good chance to be a top defensive line in the Big Ten."

The Boilermakers capped their spring activities on Saturday with its annual spring game inside Ross-Ade Stadium, with the defense securing a victory over the offense thanks to four takeaways, including one that led to a touchdown. 

Using a modified scoring system, Purdue's defense led 31-0 early in the third quarter, earning points for forcing punts, getting fourth-down stops and taking the ball away. But the offense started to find a rhythm in the second half and took a 42-40 lead late in the game. 

But the defense was quick to jump back ahead, forcing a fumble on a quarterback scramble to put five points on the board without enough time for the offense to strike again. 

"It was good to see the defense step up, play aggressive play with enthusiasm and make plays," Purdue coach Jeff Brohm said afterward. 

Purdue's defense is returning eight starters for the 2022 season after giving up 22.4 points and 366.5 yards per game last year. Starting quarterback Aidan O'Connell was a first-hand witness of the group's improvement throughout the spring. 

And similarly to the offense, the defense was missing several key players that are expected to return in time for fall camp. Starting senior cornerbacks Cory Trice and Jamari Brown both missed the entirety of the spring. The defensive line was also without senior Lawrence Johnson. 

But their absence opened the doors for younger players to take on a bigger role during the team's 15 total practices. 

"Like us, they have a lot of guys out who normally play and aren't playing right now, so they can be really good," O'Connell said. "They had a great season last year, and I think can follow it up with another great season. 

"They gave us some headaches this spring, just a lot of talented guys. Young guys emerge and older guys are steady hands, so it's fun to watch. It's not always fun on a day like (Saturday) when they get the better of us, but it was a good spring for them."

When the defense returns to full strength, there's a growing conviction that Purdue has the potential to be among the best in the Big Ten. But there's still a long way to go before the team can start to prove that in its season opener on Sept. 1. 

"Well, I don't want to get ahead of ourselves, I think that we definitely understand the system," Brohm said. "We have a lot of guys that have played a lot of football, and we have some depth behind them. That's with a lot of guys that didn't practice this spring. 

"So I feel like when we get all these guys back, as long as they're hungry, as long as they know all the small things it takes to win at a high level, I think we should be a very good defense"

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