Gold and Black is a multi-platform media company that covers Purdue athletics like no one else.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/305196
IllustrateD volume 24, issue 5 15 f competition for as a long as you can, I mean, I wouldn't get complacent no matter what happened, but I think there needs to be a continued competition. Coach Hazell knows what's right and what needs to be done. I'm not going to complain. He knows exactly what he's doing. He's a coach who just gets it. I think whatever he decides to do is going to be the right decision. "Whoever is out there on Saturdays, there will be a reason." AccelerAted leArning Before spring, senior defensive end Ryan Russell was challenged by the coaching staff. Play like an upperclassman. Show a motor. Become what he was always expected to be: A worthy entry into Purdue's "den." Russell isn't there just yet, but he and the coaches are hoping a solid spring could help catapult him into a strong final season. "We saw a different Ryan," Hudson said. "I told Ryan, 'We have to make up a sophomore and junior year this spring. We have to look at it that way. We have to make you a senior. Right now you're not a senior. You're not a senior from a maturity standpoint, a leadership stand- point.' What he had to do in the winter conditioning was make up some things from his sophomore year. Then in the spring ball, let's make up some things from your ju- nior year. Then let's crank it up and polish it up in the summer and then in football camp, let's really have a true senior year because that's the one that's remembered. Nobody is going to remember your sophomore year, but you still need the development of the sophomore year. That's what we had to do. "So we just make up some ground, and we did. But he's still got a ways to go, but his path now has clear di- rection." Russell said he worked harder to have a consistent motor, realizing it's mental more than physical, and he knows how that constant push can pay off in results for the entire defense. During the spring game against an overmatched Tretter, who hadn't played left tackle all spring, Russell had a monster day with 3.5 sacks. Russell oftentimes used an outside speed rush to get underneath tackles and get to the quarterback. "It should be a mismatch for him eight out of the 12 games of the year," Hazell said. "He's got to be able to take advantage of that, drop his shoulders and get some pressure from the quarterback's back side or front side." On the rise Raheem Mostert may be the only one who isn't sure he did enough this spring to move into Purdue's top running back spot. Given the chance to seize the position by getting the bulk of the first-team reps, Mostert did just that, showing an ability to make positive plays running between the tackles as well as using his speed and play-making skills to break free on the outside. At the end of spring, Hazell said if Purdue were to line up for a game then, Mostert would "probably" be that No. 1 back, pushing him past last season's starter Akeem Hunt. Hunt always has been explosive with the ball in space but didn't have enough production on inside runs last season with the bulk of the carries. Hunt spent much of the spring working at slot receiver, a position in which he could excel. He caught seven balls in the spring game. But Mostert looks like he's the better fit in the back- field. "He's lightning in the bottle. He needs about this much room," Appleby said, holding fingers an inch apart, "and he's gone. You could see that in the kick return game. Once he gets comfortable back there at running back, he doesn't need a lot of space. He's big. He's powerful. He's one of the strongest guys we have on the team. He's just built. He's going to be a weapon for us. "Once he gets his feet under him, once he starts to see the vision and once he gets comfortable and confident, he's going to be electric for us." Mostert still can be better, especially without the ball in his hands and in better understanding the position. And he knows it. While Hunt was nearly perfect, Mostert said he had the most missed assignments of the running backs. "I don't think I deserve the No. 1 job just because I had a lot of MAs and stuff like that," Mostert said. "I'm just going to keep my level head, just stay focused at the prized possession, trying to get that No. 1 job. I just have to work harder." j