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10 IllustrateD volume 25, issue 1 f f o o t b a l l : t r a i n i n g c a m p r e v i e w BY STACY CLARDIE SClardie@GoldandBlack.com O n their own, they may not mean much. When Darrell Hazell used words like "mature," "focused" and "tough- er" to describe his Purdue team during camp, they could have been just cliché-type opportunities to pin on a program that managed only one victory a season ago. But they were so much more. There were actions behind the labels, real signs the Boilermakers could be headed toward improvement in too often not-talked-about but piv- otal areas. After watching the first-team offense mount a long touchdown drive on the opening series of the camp-closing jersey scrimmage on Aug. 16, Hazell didn't see a defeated defensive unit. He saw one surging with a drive to reverse the poor start, saw one rallying to fight. Not a com- mon sight on the sidelines in 2013. During a special-teams only prac- tice toward the end of camp, Hazell looked up to see unoccupied players having competitions on a recently in- stalled dip-and-chin station. Instead of being satisfied with spending an afternoon in the 70-degree sun just watching, players wanted no wasted moments. Despite a surprise road trip to Saint Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Ind., in the second week of camp for a two-a-day session, players weren't upset about the last-minute change of venue but were "begging" for more sprints when they got there, Hazell said. The day before the scrimmage, the morning practice was scheduled to only be in shells, but a miscommu- nication had players dressing in full pads — and then quickly telling their coach they preferred it that way. At moments throughout camp, de- fensive players were getting yelled at by coaches for taking offensive play- ers to the ground or leveling them during "thud" periods, not full-con- tact ones, and there was little apolo- gizing by the D. It wasn't just about announcing a presence but establish- ing one by bringing aggressiveness and physicality, an attitude that's developing for that unit. It's one that wasn't shown enough in 2013. "It's just a different mindset," Ha- zell said of his team. "Guys are work- ing hard. I love their effort. They just continue to get better and tougher, Showing Signs Hazell likes strides in maturity, toughness, more