Purdue football: Open competition begins anew in struggling secondary
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The only position group at Purdue that seems to have avoided the injury bug so far this season has been the secondary.
Good health hasn't equated to quality play, though, and Purdue coach Jeff Brohm is beginning to realize that four games into the season, only one of which has ended in a victory.
“We have to shore up our pass defense,” Brohm said. “That’s been an issue for a while, and it needs to start this week.”
Those struggles were clearly evident last Saturday against Minnesota, a day in which Minnesota receivers seemed to run around uncontested on nearly every route. Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan was nearly perfect, completing 21 of his 22 passes for 396 yards and four touchdowns.
Three different Minnesota wideouts — Rashod Bateman, Tyler Johnson and Chris Autman-Bell — all had huge days. Bateman was the most productive, finishing with 177 yards and two scores. Autman-Bell added 97 yards and a touchdown, while Johnson ended the day with 73 yards and a score of his own.
“There were way too many open guys down the field, way too many guys not be disrupted at the line of scrimmage, and way too many holes in the secondary,” Brohm said. “Those things need to start to decrease.”
As Saturday's Noon ET game with unbeaten Penn State approaches, Brohm said he plans to create an open competition at various positions.
“There’s not a starter for sure at those positions,” Brohm said. “It’s important that we open things up and allow guys to have an opportunity to play and compete.”
In an effort to either knock home the reality of an open competition or to light a fire under the normal starters, Brohm instead listed redshirt freshmen Cory Trice and Jordan Rucker as the starters at cornerback on the depth chart this week. That's a change from regular starters Dedrick Mackey and Simeon Smiley.
Brohm also has been concerned about the interior of his defensive line. For that reason, he has made a change there as well by listing Kai Higgins as the starting defensive tackle.
“Higgins is someone who plays extremely hard, he has experience for us, he cares and is a very good leader,” Brohm said, “We want to find ways to get him on the field.”
Whether it’s the secondary or the defensive line, Brohm realizes that changes need to be made on his 1-3 team. His defense needs to right the ship.
“We have to get better,” Brohm said. “We’ve got to coach better, we’ve got to get our guys in the best position to succeed, and we’ve got to work extremely hard in practice.''
