2022 First Glance Preview: Purdue Boilermakers

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

Week Thirteen: Purdue Boilermakers

Date & Time: Saturday, November 26

Venue: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN

TV: TBD

Boilermakers at a Glance

Head Coach: Jeff Brohm

Entering his sixth season at Purdue

Record at Purdue: 28-29

Overall Record: 58-39

Last Season: 9-4

Boilermakers Returning Leaders

Passing: Aidan O’Connell (3708 yards with 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions)

Rushing: King Doerue (530 yards with 3.93 yards per carry and two touchdowns)

Receiving: Payne Durham (467 yards on 45 receptions with six touchdowns)

Tackles: Kieren Douglas (57 tackles from his linebacker position)

Boilermakers Preseason Predictions

Athlon: 2nd in the Big Ten West (8-4, 6-3) Pinstripe Bowl Projection

Lindy’s: 3rd in the Big Ten West

Phil Steele: 5th in the Big Ten West

SP+: 35th Nationally

Impact Newcomers for the Boilermakers

Tyrone Tracy Jr. (transfer from Iowa)

Charlie Jones (transfer from Iowa)

Reese Taylor (transfer from Indiana)

Biggest Questions Facing Boilermakers

-The Boilermakers lost a lot of star power from last year’s squad as David Bell and George Karlaftis moved on to the NFL and Milton Wright was declared academically ineligible. Can the overall depth of the roster combine to make up for the loss of those individuals?

-Can Aidan O’Connell continue his stellar play from the second half of last season and make a dark horse run at Heisman contention?

-Purdue’s defense improved vastly in 2021 but they lost multiple top producers and their defensive coordinator. Can the defense continue to improve or will they regress back closer to 2020 and 2019 levels?

Program Preview

After a pair of disappointing seasons in 2019 and 2020, the Purdue Boilermakers needed a good campaign in 2021. Jeff Brohm is paid a whole lot of money and the results to justify the contract just weren’t there. Despite a modest start, the Boilers offense caught fire and they finished 5-1 over their final six games. They beat then number two Iowa in Iowa City and knocked off number three Michigan State. They also won a thrilling bowl game against Tennessee in overtime and finished 9-4. Aidan O’Connell is a perfect quarterback for Jeff Brohm’s system and he played fantastically in the second half of 2021. Pieces are in place to repeat the success they had last season and the schedule sets up as nicely as possible but they do have several key pieces to find a way to replace.

Offensive Preview

Any analysis of the Purdue offense starts and ends with Aidan O’Connell. A sixth-year former walk-on, O’Connell took over the position full-time in the middle of last season after spending the first few games rotating with Jack Plummer. Once given the nod, O’Connell was largely outstanding. He proved to be perfect for Jeff Brohm’s quick-passing offense and he enters 2022 as one of the nation’s most accurate and prolific passers. The Boilermakers struggle to run the ball effectively. They do it just enough to keep the defense honest but it’s definitely not the preferred method of playing offense. In fact, they only had seven rushing touchdowns all of last season. King Doerue will be the lead back with Iowa transfer Tyrone Tracy getting some time at running back in addition to wide receiver and sophomore Dylan Downing. Payne Durham is an excellent weapon at tight end but Purdue did lose second tight end Garrett Miller for the season to a camp injury in August. The offensive line is not a particular strength but the offensive system allows for that. The quick passing means the line does not have to block for long. Three starters return including the best of the group, center Gus Hartwig.

The biggest question mark on offense is how Purdue makes up for the loss of David Bell and Milton Wright. Those two were far and away the most dangerous and prolific weapons for the Boilers. Broc Thompson and T.J. Sheffield will be leaned on as the primary starters with Iowa transfers Tyrone Tracy and Charlie Jones both expected to see significant time. They will need Marshawn Rice, Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen and Deion Burks to develop quickly and step up when given the chance.

Defensive Preview

Purdue’s 2021 defense was not great but it was far better than what the anchor of a unit that weighed them down in 2020 and 2019. They held opponents to 22.4 points per game and played a more aggressive style with more blitzing and tighter coverage in the secondary. George Karlaftis is gone along with leading tackler Jaylan Alexander and top safety Marvin Grant. Karlaftis was a difference-maker as he often occupied two blockers and freed up space for other players to make plays. The other three starters on the defensive line return along with emerging pass rusher Kyrdan Jenkins. The linebackers should be solid with Kieren Douglas and Jalen Graham, probably the best playmaker for this defense according to Jeff Brohm. Cory Trice and Jamari Brown will be the corners along with IU transfer Reese Taylor or Kansas State transfer Tee Denson. Cam Allen is back at free safety. Brad Lambert left Purdue for Wake Forest so Brohm turned to former Eastern Michigan head coach Ron English to fill the co-DC role. It would be surprising if Purdue improved on the performance of 2021 but they’ll be hoping to keep teams around 24 points a game or better.

Special Teams Preview

This was a unit that struggled a bit at times. The return game was not great and they were poor at punting (10th in the league). Mitchell Fineran is back for another season after hitting 24 of 29 field goals and they’ll be hoping Jack Ansell can be much better than he was at punter in 2021. The biggest difference will be the addition of Charlie Jones as a returner. He was the Big Ten’s best returner in 2021 at Iowa and while he’ll help at wideout, he can really make a difference for Purdue when returning kicks and punts.