Purdue Running Back Devin Mockobee's Status Uncertain Ahead of Game Against Indiana
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue redshirt freshman running back Devin Mockobee exited last Saturday's game against Northwestern early in the first quarter and was unable to return.
As the team gets ready for a rivalry matchup on the road against Indiana for the 2022 regular-season finale, coach Jeff Brohm is uncertain if Mockobee will be available by the end of the week.
"Devin, unfortunately, got dinged early in the game, and he's going through the protocol you have to go through," Brohm said. "So I don't know what his status will be come game time, but we'll hopefully see later in the week."
Mockobee — a walk-on from Boonville, Ind. — has become a standout in the backfield for the Boilermakers. He leads the team with 150 carries for 750 yards rushing and seven touchdowns.
After he left last week's game, Purdue turned to running backs Dylan Downing and Kobe Lewis, as well as wide receiver Tyrone Tracy to fill the void at the position. The offense tallied 140 yards on the ground in a narrow 17-9 victory.
Downing led the way with 17 rushing attempts for 49 yards, and Lewis added 11 carries for 42 yards.
"Both those guys have played a lot of football, Dylan and Kobe," Brohm said. "They play hard, work hard and are different types of runners. So we gotta make sure we call as many plays that we feel comfortable they can have success with. But I think they'll work hard and rise to the occasion and be ready to go for us."
Tracy, a redshirt senior transfer from Iowa, matched his season-high with three carries against Northwestern and recorded 32 yards. So far this season, he's registered 35 total touches for 268 yards from scrimmage.
Purdue is scheduled to take on Indiana on Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind. The game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET.
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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.