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GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 7 • 18 Or, in other words, Appleby has "juice." That's what Darrell Hazell wanted to add to Purdue's of- fense, a presence in the pocket and on the sidelines that could spark a unit that hadn't produced a touchdown by its first-team unit for six quarters entering the Illi- nois game. Appleby has that covered. He oozes leadership, energy and confidence. Every word he speaks is full of emotion and passion, whether he's talking about his "long road," his love for his teammates and Purdue, his insistence on the team's talent level and the long- team possibilities for success with the program or his unwavering faith. "Austin just really has some fire to him," center Robert Kugler said. Senior defensive end Ryan Russell compared Appleby to for - mer Purdue quarterback Robert Marve, the way they both "elec- trify the crowd and the sideline." "It's hard not to take notice," Russell said. "On defense, it's our job to get the ball back to the offense in the best position we can. So when they're capitalizing and they're bringing energy and they're coming over telling us, 'Just get it back to us, we're going to score. We're going to do it,' and you see that happen, it definitely gets you hyped up." At some point after each se- ries, Appleby had to put the head- set on to speak with offensive co- ordinator John Shoop. But even that seemed difficult because it meant he couldn't be roaming the sidelines encouraging teammates and offering tips. When Appleby was sitting on the bench Saturday, he was yell- ing across it to the running backs. A manager had to come over to him to tell him to cover the micro- phone so he wasn't blaring into Shoop's headset up in the box. As soon as Appleby got his in- structions and took off the head- set, he was over with the group of offensive linemen, patting them on the helmet, on the back, on the leg, either telling them good job after a scoring drive or, after a punt, telling them to get after it on the next series. Then he'd bounce to the receivers, the tight ends. He'd even talk to defense and specialists. "Austin's a team guy," Hazell said. "He really has been very sup- portive of his teammates, offense, defense. I'm just happy for his success on Saturday. He did ev- erything we asked him to do and then a little bit more. Just proud of how he played on Saturday. "You never know until the guy gets out there how he's going to perform. But he certainly rose to the level that you want him to." Appleby said the game went the way he's been preparing and praying it would. But he quickly added it was only one game, and he's not satisfied with that. And he knows the challenges will only get tougher from here. Illinois was the Big Ten's worst defense statistically. This week's opponent, No. 8 Michigan State, is one of the league's best. After that, Purdue has consecutive road games against Minnesota and Nebraska. Not that Appleby knows he'll be the starter beyond this week. Hazell won't give those assur - ances, won't say anything other than Appleby will start Saturday. So what if Appleby makes an early mistake against the aggressive Spartans? What if Purdue gets down big quickly? Will Appleby get yanked and Danny Etling giv- en another chance? They're more questions Ap- pleby can't answer, more situa- tions he can't control. But he knows what he can, and he'll keep doing that, the same things he's always been doing. "I said Saturday the last thing I'm going to do is play scared. It's not going to change this week, it's not going to change the week after that, it's not going to change ever," he said. "You can't go out and play this game scared. I'm go- ing to go out there and do what- ever I have to do for this team be- cause I love my teammates. If that means running the ball, if that means handing the ball off, if that means throwing it deep, short, if that means throwing it left-hand- ed behind my back, it doesn't mat- ter. Whatever we have to do for this team to be successful, I'm all about it. "The last thing I'm going to do is play scared or play hesi- tant, that's going to potentially hold this team back. I don't know what's going to happen with the situation. I can't control that. What I can control is my preparation, my work ethic, my attitude and my ef- fort on the field." j Tom Campbell In his first start, Appleby completed 15-of-20 passes for 202 yards and a touchdown. He wasn't sacked and didn't throw an interception.