Q & A :
D e f e n s i v e
c o o r d i n a t o r
g r e g
h u d s o n
'Not Acceptable'
Hudson says Purdue needs to be bigger, stronger for Big Ten
Tom Campbell
In his first season at Purdue, coordinator Greg Hudson's defense struggled, showing its inability to match up physically with
offenses in the Big Ten.
BY KYLE CHARTERS
KCharters@GoldandBlack.com
G
reg Hudson was willing to make significant midseason shifts to try to get the Boilermaker defense
playing more efficiently.
But the answers to what ailed Purdue never came
easy. Instead, Hudson's first Boilermaker defense sunk
to some all-time lows, giving up a program-record 456
points in 12 games, an average of 38 points per game
that ranked 111th out of 123 FBS schools in 2013. It gave
up yardage in bunches, as well, with its 459.9 average
ranking 104th.
He says the performance wasn't acceptable; but how
quickly will fixes come, and how?
Following are excerpts from an interview with Hudson
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IllustrateD volume 24, issue 3
in early December, while he was on the road recruiting.
Gold and Black: Now that you have had a chance
to sort of digest 2013, how do you evaluate things?
Hudson: "To be honest with you, I haven't had a
chance to digest the season, because the way the calendar is today and you walk off the field of your last game
and you have to run to the airport or run to your rental car and go recruit. It is a slow digestion. I guess you
could say I am a little backed up with the season. The
thing that happens is your mind is constantly racing and
it immediately switches over to 'What happened? What
can we do better? How fast can we do it? What is the
answer?'
"In recruiting, you're by yourself so there is a lot of
time for reflection."
Gold and Black: Well, you have had some time to
f
