Radio Show Nuggets: Three takeaways from Jeff Brohm’s weekly appearance
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue is set to take on Maryland at Ross-Ade Stadium Saturday during homecoming (Noon ET, BTN).
Purdue coach Jeff Brohm talked about the young guys in the team's secondary, getting the tight ends involved on offense, and more during his Wednesday evening radio show live from the Stacked Pickle on campus.
Here are the three biggest takeaways from the show:
Takeaway No. 1: Freshmen in the secondary
Brohm discussed the Purdue secondary and some of the guys that we can expect to see play at those positions going forward. Cory Trice was the main guy that he talked about. According to Brohm his size allows him to make some good plays and be productive in the secondary. Cam Allen, who was removed from the Penn State game due to targeting, will also be seeing a lot of playing time going forward. Both are freshman who Brohm believes have a ton of potential.
“He’s someone (Trice) who has a lot of potential. He's really learning the position and still very green at it so he’s probably going to make a mistake here and there,” Brohm said. “His length helped him. He challenged routes a little better, came up and made tackles and I think he played with less fear than other guys did at times.”
“He’s (Allen) another true freshman that we feel like has a bright future,” Brohm said. “He can do quite a few things for us. He can play corner, safety and nickel. He’s very versatile and he’s got good instincts.”
Takeaway No. 2: Getting the tight ends involved
With Purdue’s offense suffering from a depleted wide receiving core, Brohm discussed the importance of getting the tight ends involved. So far this season, that position has been extremely inconsistent. Brycen Hopkins has 14 catches for 205 yards and three touchdowns, but all that production came in the first three weeks of the season. In the last two games Hopkins only has one catch for three yards. The other tight end, Payne Durham has caught three passes for 36 yards on the season.
“There’s just been some things that haven’t gone well. We’ve studied it again this week, going back and looking at everything we’ve done and what other teams are doing to find ways to get the ball to the tight end,” Brohm said. “We are low at receiver with a lot of guys being injured so they have to be a big part of our offense.”
Takeaway No. 3: Consistency in the punting game
Brohm discussed the reason for using two punters in the loss at Penn State. According to him, that comes down to an inconsistency from the main punter Brooks Cormier, and the return ability of Penn State. Cormier has a traditional punting style, while Zac Collins punts the ball rugby style. Collins’ rugby style punts typically don’t go as far, but instead are more tailored to keeping the ball away from returners. Brohm will continue to use both situationally and will hope the threat of another guy will challenge Cormier to become more consistent.
“Brooks has a lot of talent and I think he has a very bright future, but consistency is something he needs to get better at, Brohm said. “I haven’t liked the consistency I’ve seen during the game. It’s good to have two guys and be able to do different things.
