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ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 24, ISSUE 6 41 f Hudson says it's closer now to the style he'd envisioned. "Absolutely. And it starts closest to the ball," said Hud- son, whose Boilermakers played a more traditional 4-3 front before a midseason shift last year. "We've got some men down there who can play big. That's where it starts. And then we can branch out. But we're starting to see the direction the guys are going in on how they're supposed to play together and fit together, be a penetrating defense." Purdue wants to get after the quarterback and create turnovers, traits it lacked a season ago. The Boilermak- ers had only 14 total sacks, ranking 115th nationally and turned opponents over 19 times, which ranked 80th. But back-to-back seasons in the same defensive system, Pur- due's first such consecutive seasons of leadership since Brock Spack's last two years as the DC in 2007-08, give the Boilermakers hope for a rebound. "It's a work in progress coming back from a 1-11 season," Howard said. "But we've got a huge chip on our shoulders. Coach Hudson is preaching to us every day that nobody sees the positive going on here except for us, nobody is on the field with us at the end of the day. We're working. We have a dog mentality. I'm upset, angry about last season." Following, Gold and Black breaks down the defense po- sition-by-position. DEFENSIVE LINE Before the spring, Hudson sat down with Ryan Russell and had a frank conversation with the defensive end. Hudson gave Russell what he called the "cold, hard facts," pointing out that he hadn't yet played with the kind of intensity needed to turn himself into one of Purdue's greats. It's a conversation that has already paid dividends. Since then, Hudson says Russell has taken strides to get closer to expectations, and that's good, considering the 6-foot-5, 275-pounder's time is almost up. "(It was) probably some truth that he might have known deep down, but didn't want to hear," Hudson said. "But that's the beauty of sports, you can turn it on. It's just hard to turn it on sometimes. He's trending in the right direc- tion." The trend includes the spring game, when Russell turned in a great performance albeit against a mismatched offen- sive line accumulating 3.5 sacks among his 11 tackles. It was a step in the right direction, one that was spurred by Hudson's honest assessment. "He's been my biggest supporter and biggest critic," Russell said. "And that's what I want from a position coach or a D-coordinator. He told me that he did believe in me but that I wasn't there yet, and that's big for me, because you never want to hear only about what you're doing right." Russell's development is key for the Boilermakers, as he's CERAMIC • ENGINEERED hARDwooD LAMINATES • MARbLE CARPETING Specializing in • Homes • Businesses • Churches • Schools Where Contractors Buy Their Flooring Builders! Call our Contract Department and ask for our Contract Specialist 3437 State Road 26 E. 765-447-9393 800-403-6889 FAX 765-448-9978 Across from the Post Office go boilers go boilers Tom Campbell Sean Robinson has found a nice fit as Purdue's middle line- backer, but he needs his production to increase.