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GoldanDBlack express • volume 24, express 23 • 26 Offensive tackle will be one posi- tion to watch with both starters gradu- ated. Four players will work this spring to try to secure a spot. "This gives guys opportunities to prove if they can or cannot do it for those 14 or 15 practices. They have to survive," Hazell said. "There's no other thing but to survive in those 14 days. We have to make sure we have devel- oped some guys on the inside that could potentially slide back outside, but we want to give those guys on the outside a chance to be successful. That was part of the meeting conversation that I had with some of those tackles." The competition at linebacker will be intriguing, too, with redshirt fresh- man Danny Ezechukwu set to be with the No. 1 defense at weakside lineback- er on Day 1 of spring ball, Hazell said. "He's a big kid. He's 6-foot-3, 255 pounds. He's very athletic, and we've got to find out if he's physical enough to play that position for us," Hazell said. "He looks like a Big Ten linebacker." Bulking up Each player was given a goal weight to hit for the beginning of training camp, Hazell said, and many already have made good progress during off- season workouts. Specifically, Hazell mentioned sophomore defensive end Evan Panfil, who came to Purdue at 240 pounds but now is at 265, 10 pounds from his goal weight. "Lot of guys are like that," Hazell said. "Jordan Roos was in my office and was 317 and looked good. It was a good-looking 317. "It's fun to watch them get bigger." ComBine performanCe Ricardo Allen was in the middle-of- the-pack at best among the defensive backs during NFL Combine workouts last week. Allen was the only Purdue player invited. Allen's best test result — in terms of where he finished in relation to other DBs — was in the 20-yard shuttle. His 4.15 time was ninth among the 26 de- fensive backs who participated in that drill. Otherwise, Allen was mostly in the middle or at the bottom of the group. His 40-yard dash time (4.61) was 23rd of 30, his 13 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press was tied for 19th of 34, his 117-inch broad jump was tied for 24th of 27 and his 35.5-inch vertical jump tied for 18th out of 28. Allen will compete in Purdue's pro day on Tuesday, along with a group of former teammates. Among those scheduled to work out for NFL scouts inside Mollenkopf are Bruce Gaston, Greg Latta, Cody Webster and Will Lucas, as well as former Boilermakers Akeem Shavers, Ralph Bolden and Antavian Edison. Players will be measured in the bench press, 40-yard dash and vertical jump before testing begins. Big raises A pair of Big Ten coaches signed new contracts last week that gave them significant pay increases, as well as a boost in assistant coach salary pools. Michigan State's Mark Dantonio was promised a raise after the Rose Bowl, and he got a big-time bump. He made about $1.9 million per year un- der the previous contract but now will make $3.64 million annually, according to ESPN.com. Dantonio is 64-29 with the Spartans. The contract also allocated an ad- ditional $785,000 to the assistant salary pool, which allowed defensive coordi- nator Pat Narduzzi's salary to increase to $905,000. Minnesota coach Jerry Kill got a $900,000 raise — pushing him from the lowest-paid coach in the Big Ten last season at $1.2 million to making an av- erage of $2.3 million over the next five years, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. But the contract also gave the Go- phers some protection, stipulating what would happen if Kill can't coach for an extended period because of health reasons. Kill already has missed parts of four games because of seizures over his Minnesota career. If he is unable to coach for 70 con- secutive days during the season or 90 consecutive days overall, the agree- ment "shall terminate automatically," a story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune said. The contract also says the pool for Kill's nine primary assistant coaches must rank in the top six of the Big Ten. Minnesota was 8-5 and lost in the Texas Bowl last season, Kill's third with the program. j TWIN CITY DODGE CHRYSLER JEEP RAM 650 Sagamore Parkway South Lafayette, IN 47905 See the 2014 Jeep Wrangler! TwinCitySuperstore.com 800-562-4581