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26 ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 24, ISSUE 6 f his ability." Purdue's hoping J.J. Prince can make similar strides with more playing time. After playing only a couple of snaps last season as a redshirt freshman — though one was technically a start against Penn State when Purdue came out in a jumbo package — Prince got every first- team snap at right tackle in the spring and emerged as a player coaches trust. But who will bookend Prince on the left side and who will play next to him at right guard? Ultimately, it could be newcomers. Though Purdue will need to fill the spot at left tackle for the first three games, it's likely junior college trans- fer David Hedelin will take over in Week 4 after serving an NCAA-mandated three-game suspension. At right guard, occasional 2013 starter Jordan Roos and classmate Cameron Cermin rotated the No. 1 reps in the spring. But transfer Corey Clements, who's weighed more than 400 pounds, could be the prototyp- ical "road grater" that Coach Jim Bridge likes there. With Clements' size, he can cover up defensive linemen and help create seams in the running game. But Bridge also raves about Clements' athleticism. "Really excited about him," Bridge said. "Corey is one of those unique human beings — like a Nate Newton for the Dallas Cowboys — who has an ability to carry a little bit more weight than maybe anybody else could get away with. Corey's size is part of his strength, yet he can't allow his size to become a weakness either. That's going to be the challenge." Also: Clements always has been a tackle. But Bridge insists Purdue will put the best five play- ers on the field, even if that means shifting them from previous spots. Another possibility is Cermin winding up back outside — he played there last season before being moved inside where Hazell, ultimately, said he was a better fit. "You'd like us to be older as fast as we can. You'd like us to have experience as fast as we can. Those are things you can't wave a magic wand and have happen," Bridge said. "I think the biggest sense of growth that needs to happen is the sense of complete understand- ing about what the guy next to you (is doing) and appre- ciating how your job impacts his job. We really grew in that a whole bunch in the spring, thought the guys real- ly jumped in full steam and really embraced the changes of what was going on. It's a bunch of strongly committed guys. "Everybody is going to try to come into training camp to earn a position. My job is to coach every single per- son to challenge for a job." j