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likely. "We see him as a linebacker," Freeman said. "We will evaluate him more after the season, but as of right now I think he is a linebacker." KEYANTE GREEN In Purdue's robust crop of incoming running backs, Green redshirted, now in position where he must carve out a niche for himself to find a path to the field. The Georgian is atypical, smaller at 5-9 and not as fast as some of the Boilermakers' other options in the backfield. But he's strong, aggressive and historically productive running between the tackles. "He is a north-and-south runner," Williams said. "He's faster than you think he is but he's very powerful and hard to bring down and I think that's what shocks people. He just has a natural body lean to him when he runs the ball, which I think helps him." RA'zAHN HOWARD As Purdue transitions to more three-man defensive fronts, Howard might have come along at the right time, as the mountainous 6-4, 320-or-so-pound tackle gives the Boilermakers an imposing interior line presence almost tailor-made for such alignments. "Ra'Zahn is (big) and that's the one thing about him he came here with, great strength," Carter said. "We've been working on him with his endurance level and some fundamentals and techniques, and keeping healthy. If he can do those things he's got a chance to be something special. He's a space-eater. He's huge and can knock people back and anchor the point of attack vs. double teams." Hustle, endurance and such were phases Howard showed he can still improve or mature in, but in games, he was the rare true freshman defensive lineman that stacked up favorably from Day 1. He held his ground and often generated push up front in the six games he played in. In a role where players are asked primarily to occupy blocks, Howard even made plays, recording a sack and batting down a pair of passes. There are obvious areas in which Howard must progress: Conditioning, health, practice habits, etc. But if he can do those things — even if only incrementally — he will have a great chance to be a foundation-type f Tom Campbell Strength and agressiveness give Keyante Green a chance to turn his redshirt year into playing time in '14. player on the Boilermaker defense's front line. DA'WAN HUNTE The rookie cornerback came in behind, still recovering from a knee injury that required surgery following his senior season of high school. "I think he's just now starting to get healthy. Even though he's been practicing, he hasn't been 100 percent," Heacock said in November. "But he's done a great job of staying focused and in the mix. "He's the one guy you see on a Friday afternoon as we're walking through (as part of game preparation) and he's doing drills on his own. I think he's made great strides since he's been here even though he hasn't had a bunch of opportunity, since he's been in and out of the training IllustrateD volume 24, issue 3 33