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Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/141859
out what they need me to be and then being that. Every guy is a little bit different, and that's fun to me. I absolutely love the science of the game, too, how to move people around to get it. If a quarterback likes that, we tend to get along. I think the quarterbacks I've had success with we've kind of had similar personalities where we've enjoyed the science of the game." Gold and Black: Obviously you have a lot of receivers in terms of numbers. Do you think it will be evident this fall that you can get three or four guys who really emerge to get the most snaps? Shoop: "We're going to have to. … We need to increase production at that position throughout the summer and when we come back for training camp, that can't be Practice 1. That's got to be Practice 16. I think that's a big deal at that position. The work they put in this offseason needs to be apparent when we get back for training camp, that's for sure. "We're anxious to see Danny Anthrop. We didn't see him at all (in the spring with an injury), and they say he's quicker than a hiccup, so we're looking forward to that. He and B.J. (Knauf) are going to be similar guys trying to compete, and I think they're two guys who can win vs. man-to-man and can get in and out of breaks. I think (Shane) Mikesky and Dolapo (Macarthy) and Chuck (Torwudzo) are going to be competing at the X position as well. They're all going to have to get better against man-to-man but are improving at finding the holes in zone." Gold and Black: When you're talking about deep ball play-action, do you have a guy who can catch the ball in those situations or is that another waitand-see? Shoop: "One of the things I told the guys was a lot of deep ball, double-move types of throws, that work is done individually because it's hard to be in individual work in practice and throw eight straight deep balls and then say, 'Hey, now we're going to 7-on-7' because everybody is gassed. I've talked to the quarterbacks and the wideouts extensively about this, so much of that deep-ball work is going to have to be done in the summer when you have time to do it. When you can take a few minutes between reps to catch your breath so it's a good and purposeful rep. I'll be interested (to see). It's really important to me, like I said, that it's Practice 16, 30 • Gold and Black IllustrateD • volume 23, issue 6 not Practice 1." Gold and Black: By what point do you want to know those five starting offensive linemen? Shoop: "Last week. (laughs) I think of it more in terms of I want to know the eight who are going to play and help us on game day. I do think, though, in terms of starting five, when we were really good at the Chicago Bears, we went 17 games with the same five offensive linemen starting. Alabama, their first two national championships, that offensive line started two straight years, same five people. Those things make a difference for sure." Gold and Black: Is there a statistic where you can say, "If we rank in the top 3 in the Big Ten, we'll win games?" Shoop: "The most important things in offensive football are this: Points scored vs. points against. One hundred percent of the games we've won, we've scored more points than the opponent. The second-most important thing, and we talk about this a lot, is what we call a double positive. If we win the turnover battle and we win the big-play battle — a run of (at least) 12 and a pass of (at least) 18 — we'll win the game. In games that I've called in college, when we've won the double positive, our record is 100 percent. Those stats matter. I've won games where we've had 250 yards of offense but we held the ball for 40 minutes and I felt great about it. We won 20-17. I've called games where we've thrown for 450 yards and we've won 42-40, and I felt great about those games, as well. One of the things about our team is no matter the track, no matter how the game turns out, no matter what, we're going to find a way to have success." Gold and Black: You sound like you're going to enjoy that process here. Shoop: "Purdue is the kind of place that the more I'm here, the more I like this school and the more I find out about it, the better I think this situation is. I really feel a deep responsibility to get that word out to people. This is a good place. That's uncommon, that feeling. The longer you're somewhere, sometimes you start to see the warts of something. But the longer I'm here and the longer I'm around the staff, the stronger I feel about it, and that's a good thing. We can sell that. We've just got to get people to campus." j GBIprint.com GoldandBlack.com