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Tom Campbell Raheem Mostert suffered a knee injury vs. Wisconsin last season that kept him out most of the second half of the year. Healthy now, he's hoping to once again be a menace on kick returns. in which he had two kicks blocked, including an extra point, and missed another long field goal, meant his job was lost again. Griggs said he tried to learn from the ups and downs. "When things are down, you have to be able to remember the good times and stay focused to get yourself back on track," he said, "and you have to not lose sight of your goal and what you're there for. In my case, it was not losing sight of being able to help the team." Griggs, who hit four of his seven attempts in 2012, each opportunity coming from 30 yards or deeper, did get another chance, and he delivered. At Iowa, in a game Purdue needed to win to keep alive its slim postseason hopes, Griggs nailed a career-long 46-yarder as time expired to win. Although he didn't have another attempt the rest of the season, he feels the kick gave him momentum. "It was an affirmation of what I knew I could do and what I knew I was capable of," Griggs said. "I've been training since I was in sixth grade to be a Division I kicker and when you work at something that long and put in that many hours of practice, you sort of get a sense of what you're capable of and where you should be at. And I think that was a good indicator to me of what I was capable of and there was room for me to obviously get better." The duo will continue to complete, likely into the start of training camp, and maybe beyond. "Whatever happens with the competition, we're doing whatever we can to help the team," McCartney said. "We want the team to be as good as it can and make sure we hold up our end of the deal." The rest of Purdue's special teams, at least from a skill point of view, appear more solidly set. Webster is coming off a junior year in which he averaged 42.3 THE SPECIALISTS Place-Kickers yards on his 70 punts, placing 29 37 Paul Griggs* 6-1 200 So. inside the 20-yard line with seven 43 Sam McCartney 6-4 215 So. touchbacks. He could be poised for 30 Thomas Meadows 6-1 180 So. another solid year, perhaps of All36 Tyler Murray 5-10 180 Fr. Big Ten quality. Punters Purdue's kick return game 42 Cody Webster* 6-1 210 Sr. might be not only the best in the 30 Thomas Meadows 6-1 180 So. Long-Snappers conference but in the nation with 53 John Bednar 6-3 220 R-Fr. juniors Raheem Mostert and 94 Grant Ellington 6-0 205 So. Akeem Hunt. 50 Jesse Schmitt* 6-2 250 Jr. Despite Mostert being injured Holders for part of the 2012 season, the 15 Rob Henry 6-2 200 Sr. Boilermakers, led by Hunt, aver(5) 42 Cody Webster* 6-1 210 Sr. aged nearly 23 yards per return, Kick Return tops in the Big Ten. 33 Danny Anthrop 6-0 180 So. Hunt took one 100 yards for a 8 Raheem Mostert* 5-11 180 Jr. touchdown at Ohio State last sea1 Akeem Hunt* 5-9 184 Jr. son, giving him an average of 22.2. Punt Return Mostert, the nation's leader in re21 Ricardo Allen* 5-9 186 Sr. turn average in 2011 when he had 8 Raheem Mostert 5-11 180 Jr. 2 Frankie Williams 5-9 186 So. a touchdown return vs. Western * Projected starters Michigan and several other near- 56 • Gold and Black IllustrateD • volume 23, issue 6 GBIprint.com GoldandBlack.com