2023 First Glance Preview: Week Thirteen Purdue Boilermakers
/
Written By: Nate Comp (@NathanComp1)
Week Thirteen: Purdue Boilermakers
Date & Time: Saturday, November 18, 2023, Time: TBA
Venue: Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN
TV: TBA
Boilermakers at a Glance
Head Coach: Ryan Walters
Entering his 1st year as Purdue’s Head Coach
Overall Record: 0-0
Last Season: 8-6 (6-3) 1st in B1G West
Boilermakers Returning Leaders
Passing: None
Rushing: Devin Mockobee (195 carries, 968 yards, 9 TD, 5.0 Avg)
Receiving: TJ Sheffield (46 rec, 480 yards, 4 TD, 10.4 avg)
Tackles: Sanoussi Kane (73 tackles, 1 sack, 3 PD, 1 FF, 1 FR)
Boilermakers Preseason Predictions
Athlon: 6th in B1G West
Lindy’s:
Phil Steele:
Street & Smith’s:
Impact Newcomers for the Boilermakers
A busy transfer portal season was made busier when Jeff Brohm left for the Louisville job and Purdue brought in new head coach Ryan Walters. Because of this, the Boilers will see significant roster turnover entering this season. In total, 25 transfers exited the program and 15 were brought in. Of the 15, the most impactful is Hudson Card, a 4-star ranked transfer from the University of Texas, who was brought in to take over the quarterback position. Overall, Purdue’s transfer portal class was ranked the 34th best in the country.
Biggest Questions Facing the 2023 Boilermakers
1. What will the Ryan Walters era look like for Purdue?
2. While defensive improvement is likely, can the offense sustain Brohm-levels of success?
3. How does the defense handle the change in scheme?
Program Preview
The Boilermakers edged out Illinois last season to claim the Big Ten West title and earn a spot in the Big Ten Championship game, but that was just about the last time the Purdue program had some stability. Since then, Purdue was blown out by Michigan in the Big Ten title game, destroyed by LSU in the Citrus Bowl, and lost their head coach of the last six years as Jeff Brohm took the head job at his alma-mater, Louisville. Brohm inherited the Boilers after going 9-39 under the previous regime and quickly turned around the program, going 36-34 overall and 26-25 in the Big Ten. The Boilers were 3-1 against Top Five opponents under Brohm.
Now, they have turned to Ryan Walters, former Illinois defensive coordinator, to lead the program. While Brohm’s background was on the offensive side of the ball, Walters comes with a defensive background. He will be implementing a new 3-4 defensive scheme, one that he saw success with in Champaign, but there is work to be done in West Lafayette – he returns just four defensive starters. Hudson Card will have the task of filling the shoes of Aidan O’Connell in an offense that ranked among the top two in passing in the Big Ten for five of Brohm’s six seasons.
Offensive Preview
Head coach is not the only staffing change, as Purdue also brought in new offensive coordinator Graham Harrell this offseason from West Virginia. Harrell had a bit more of a balanced attack than the Boilers are accustomed to when he was the OC last season with the Mountaineers, averaging 30.6 points per game, 227.5 passing yards, and 171.5 rushing yards. He is likely to implement a similar system this season around quarterback Hudson Card and returning tailback Devin Mockobee, a former walk-on that nearly rushed for 1000 yards last season and had nine TDs. A more balanced attack could be good for the Boilers; Purdue was 6-0 last season when rushing for at least 115 yards and 7-1 when running for 95 yards or more.
Wide receiver production will certainly be a void to fill, as Charlie Jones is now on the Cincinnati Bengals. TJ Sheffield and Mershawn Rice return, alongside Marshall transfer Corey Gammage, a 6’4” 220-pound matchup nightmare who made 178 catches for 2,239 yards and 13 touchdowns the last four seasons.
The offensive line returns three starters, including stud center Gus Heartwig. They also added Bowling green’s Jalen Grant and UNLV’s Preston Nichols, so while there will be a couple new faces to the line, it should be relatively experienced.
Defensive Preview
Ryan Walters’ defense last year at Illinois is what ultimately earned him the job at Purdue; last year, Walters’ defense was the best scoring defense (12.8 points per game) and third-best total defense (273.5 yards per game) in the country. The biggest test for the Boilers defense this season will be implementing the 3-4 scheme. With just 3 down linemen, the defensive line must be good enough to allow the eight guys behind them to make plays. Illinois was a takeaway machine last season (31 takeaways forced, 3rd nationally), but much of that relies on the men up front.
Walters has brought in a few transfers, including Malik Langham from Vanderbilt, Isaiah Nichols from Arkansas, and Jeffrey M’Ba from Auburn to set the tone up front around returning nose tackle Cole Brevard. If these men can hold up against the run, then the eight men behind them can make plays.
Cam Allen will be the leader of the defensive secondary. Allen has 173 tackles, ten interceptions, and 12 broken up passes in his four years. Sanoussi Kane led the team in tackles last year, and cornerbacks Salim Turner-Muhammad and Marquis Wilson enter from the portal in hopes of filling the void of Cory Trice.
Special Teams Preview
Junior Jack Ansell returns as the starting punter for the 2023 Boilermakers. Ben Freehill, Julio Macias, and Caleb Krockover will battle for the place kicker position, though Freehill is the senior of the group and handled kickoffs last season, so he may be the favorite.
2023 First Glance Previews