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8 ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 24, ISSUE 6 f There are plenty of players who can use some button-pushing. Namely, a good chunk of the senior class, especially considering how cru- cial so many of those players will be to the team's progress. As many as six seniors are expected to start on defense, including defensive end Ryan Russell, Jalani Phillips at Jack and Joe Gilliam at weakside linebacker. On offense, running backs Akeem Hunt and Raheem Mostert as well as tight ends Gabe Holmes and Dolapo Macar- thy and offensive tackle Jack DeBoef could be heavily depended on. Few in that group has proven to be a consistently solid player. Even though most of them fall into the "potential" category. It'd seem to be a now-or-never scenario, then. "You look at the senior group and what have any of us done?" said senior Sean Robinson, the projected starter at middle linebacker. "That's the reality of the situation. Yeah, we have some good players and guys who look bet- ter than others, and some guys who perform better, but we're in this together, so what have we done as a unit successfully? We won one game. "Every se- nior has to have a sense of urgency and a sense of ownership. … When that happens, that's when we'll be successful." Russell has been ridden by coaches the entire offsea- son, getting blunt assess- ments of his effort level and what's ex- pected of him. He came to Purdue figuring he'd leave as a member of its "Den of Defensive Ends." So far, as a three-year starter, he's managed seven sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss in 38 career games. Defensive coordinator Greg Hudson told Russell he had to grow up quickly and start playing like a senior. Gilliam, too, has started and played a significant amount of games — his 22 starts entering his final season are third-most on the defense — but hasn't finished higher than fourth on the team in tackles in a single season. Hudson's called him out for not staying healthy enough to be able to get accurate evaluations in practice. Phillips has had less hype, but he also was put in a posi- tion last season in which he was expected to make plays, working in the Jack spot. Now, he'll need to do it consis- tently with a permanent switch to a three-man front. "We've got guys who are there every day, but they have just been treading water. And that will be bad if they leave that way," Hudson said. "But you can almost make your college career like high school. Not many people ask about your sophomore and junior year of high school. They all remember your senior year, so I think we've got guys that they're feeling the seat is hot and it's time to give something to Purdue and play some football. And that's part of the deal. You're coming here as a student-athlete, you're going to get Tom Campbell Speedy, tough sophomore B.J. Knauf has some big potential, but staying on the field remains a big question. Knauf is healthy after offseason surgery, but now needs to contribute to get the offense moving. PURDUE'S BIG TEN RANK Category Rank (Avg.) Scoring offense 12th (14.9) Scoring defense 11th (38.8) Pass offense 6th (215.8) Pass defense 10th (233.9) Rush offense 12th (67.1) Rush defense 10th (235.4) Total offense 12th (282.9) Total defense 10th (459.9) Pass efficiency 12th (111.8) Sacks by 12th (14) Sacks against 12th (38) Third down conv. 12th (30.8) Kickoff returns 2nd (23.0) Punting 1st (41.7) Turnover margin 8th (-0.17)