As Purdue football continues to march closer to the 2024 season opener against Indiana State, second year head coach Ryan Walters admits his team is right where he thought they would be to this point.
Walters made the admission this week after watching his team participate in its first scrimmage and was pleased with what he saw.
“We kind of accomplished what we wanted to accomplish,” Walters said. “Saw lot of clean football, a lot of competitive plays made, guys playing the ball the right way and how we want them to play. So I was happy with the work we got.”
“It was Purdue on Purdue, you know what I mean? So guys made plays on both sides of the ball. Like I said, the plays that were made were competitive plays. I thought we tackled well, I thought we blocked well. I thought we covered and caught the ball well. So obviously, there’s some things that need cleaned up, especially with some guys that haven’t had a ton of reps, but from the first scrimmage standpoint I thought it was a good day,” Walters said.
All season long, including at the scrimmage, there has been an emphasis on health, something Walters said was at the forefront of goals.
“Stayed healthy coming out of that, and that was a main key. Obviously, dealt with a little bit of banged up guys, and so to be able to give our stalwart guys a chance to have two days of rest, I think it was beneficial in the long term,” Walters said.
With the scrimmage in the rear view mirror, Purdue football continued to put in work this week to prepare for the Sycamores. And, Walters has been pleased with what he has seen out of the Boilers.
“I think the thing that I’ve been most pleased with is guys approaching every day the way we want them to approach it. You’re not having to coach effort, you’re not having to coach communication, you’re not having to coach physicality and guys learning how to compete at a high level while still taking care of each other,” Walters said.
The second year head coach admitted Purdue football has operated the exact way he and his staff envisioned so far this fall camp.
“We haven’t had any adversity yet in terms of playing a game, but when we talk about the team makeup and good teams that I’ve been a part of, what it looks like in the locker room, you see that with these guys,” he said.
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