It has been nine months since Purdue football knocked off Indiana to retain the Old Oaken Bucket and, according to everyone associated with the football program, they are ready to line up against another opponent.
The Boilermakers will get that first opportunity Saturday when Purdue football rolls out the red carpet for Indiana State, as head coach Ryan Walters enters his second season at the helm.
For Walters, he admits it is “night and day” for Purdue football when he compares this season to last.
“Entirely different. We have a new locker room. Even the guys who are returning are older and more mature, their bodies are different and their understanding of what we are doing is higher. As a staff, we have grown. Last year was my first rodeo. You find ways to improve the program. For me, personally, just understanding how best to use my time to help the program. From a football standpoint, a year ago, there was a lot we were tweaking and changing. Now that everybody has been here a year and understands how we want to operate, there’s no need to micromanage and we can dive in. We are in a much better place,” Walters told the media this week.
Purdue football Hudson Card admits he feels a lot more comfortable heading into year two.
“I’m ready to get out there. We have put in so much time and we are ready to play. I know we believe what we are doing here. It is definitely fun to go play someone else for a change, and I think we are all ready for that to happen. We trust what we are doing here. I’m excited,” Card said.
And, that excitement will be at a high level Saturday for the
Sycamores.
“We are going to go out there and play to the best of our ability. A win is a win at the end of the day. All I care about is to win. We want to go out there and do some special things,” Card said.
Purdue coordinators ready for test from Indiana State
Walters and the players are not the only ones ready for the challenges Indiana State presents. So, too, are the coordinators.
Second year defensive coordinator Kevin Kane said Indiana State presents some challenges for his defense.
“Our offense, we have gone against it, and it forced us to use our rules and put us in difficult situations. Turn on tape with Indiana State and they present a lot of the same issues. Every offense will have new wrinkles. They’ve had however many months to study us. Follow your rules and play hard and we have a chance. Indiana State is a good program. As long our guys line up, play hard and follow rules, we have a chance,” Kane said.
Offensive coordinator Graham Harrell said the Sycamores do a “heck of a job playing hard.”
“Watching their tape, it looks like they get a lot of hats around the box in the run game. We have to do a heck of a job knowing our excitements and executing our assignments. Going into week one, you don’t know exactly what you will see. There is a little bit of a guessing game from that standpoint. I think they will make us be disciplined with our assignments. Whatever they do, we will have to adjust,” Harrell said.
