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ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 24, ISSUE 6 9 f a wonderful, amazing degree, but you go out there and it's a productivity game. "I think some guys are anxious to do that — it's not a negative. I think some guys, it's been a negative until now, but I think it can be a positive." Hudson, Shoop and Hazell will closely need to monitor those will-they-or-won't-they players. With a program that's trying to build, they need to fig- ure out how long to stay invested in certain players before moving on. Already, there have been indications. Brandon Cottom, for one, seemed to get passed over quickly in the spring after he has struggled to stay healthy. The same could be the case for little-used defensive tackle Michael Rouse III, who's been given significant op- portunities to make a move in practice but, according to coaches, hasn't quite seized them. And perhaps Gilliam could be on the hot seat, considering the potential-packed freshmen options who will be ready in the fall at his position. "We've got to know pretty quickly on those guys that are coming in that we think are ready enough to help us," Hazell said. "Are they better than the guys that had an opportunity before and how long do you hang onto those guys who may not have done it — or may not be able to do it?" As last season progressed, Hazell and his staff seemed to lean toward the youth movement, putting under- classmen on the field in fa- vor of some older players. The goal, though, is for the upperclassmen, and ex- perience, to ultimately win out. Hudson sounds like he'd rather not play any true freshmen on defense. Shoop has been quicker to pull that trigger, inserting one at the most important position on his unit midsea- son, surrounded by other true and redshirt freshmen. That youth movement contributed some to the strug- gles in 2013, perhaps another reason the staff is trying to push forward: They don't expect the same result because there's more experience, more familiarity and a higher comfort level. So since the season ended, they've focused on improv- ing the latter, especially by preaching film study and raising football IQ. They've preached that confidence can be built by success, and success can come when there's comfort and better understanding of responsibilities and schemes. It started to sink in during the offseason — players were sour coming off 1-11 — and then was affirmed in the spring when players saw what buying in could mean: Efficiency, progress, confidence. And as the coaches stayed largely positive, mentioning 2013 only in certain moments, the Boilermakers started to believe again. Believe that 1-11 with its confusion, lack of trust, slow starts and fight that didn't go to the finish, was truly done. Some begrudgingly ad- mitted during the hard days in the offseason — when they didn't want to get out of bed for a 6 a.m., when they didn't want to be running in the heat, when they were battling a particularly chal- lenging conditioning day — it crept in. "We just went 1-11. You don't have room for error, to relax," Danny Etling said of what would enter his thoughts. "We don't want to get too lackadaisical like, 'We're going to be better this year just because we're bet- ter.' But what are you going to do to get better every sin- gle day? I think a lot of peo- ple took on that mantra."