Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/399550
GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 8 • 31 with former Purdue quarterback Robert Marve to play without an ACL during Marve's final season. But Marve has a different injury history than Robinson — Mar- ve had the injury before, so he knew what to expect, knew how the healing process felt, knew how he could push it. Robinson is a newbie. Linebackers coach Marcus Freeman asked Robinson Mon- day when the surgery would happen. "I told him I was just sitting around and waiting, see if some swelling would go down and if my knee doesn't buckle," Robin- son said. "But I still walk around, go downstairs and my knee buckles and it's shaky." MOVING UP Senior tight end Justin Sinz made the first cut to the Mackey Award, given to the nation's best tight end. Sinz is now one of 33 players on the midseason watch list. He's third on the team in re- ceptions with 22, and he has 176 yards and one touchdown. After a blistering start, catching 15 passes in his first three games, Sinz's production has cooled a bit as the Boilermakers' offense has targeted more receivers over the last several weeks. Still, the captain had four catches for 20 yards against Michigan State last week and had a big 25-yarder against the Illini in Purdue's first Big Ten victory since 2012. He's caught a pass in 19 con- secutive games for the Boiler- makers. The award list will be trimmed to semifinalists on Nov. 17, and the finalist announced on Nov. 24. COACH'S COMMENTS Joe Tiller, Purdue's all-time winningest football coach, was in West Lafayette last week- end and got flagged down for a quick interview during ABC's broadcast. He was asked about the re- building project and said he thought players were "listening to their coaches and playing at a higher energy level." "It seems like it's more im- portant to them," Tiller said. When asked specifically about Hazell, Tiller said he liked the new coach, then added this nugget: "You'll find out with the passage of time how his de- meanor works in a Big Ten pro- gram. I don't know. We'll find out as we move along." Tiller appeared on "Gold and Black LIVE" on Oct. 10. For the complete interview click the button. HAMMER DOWN CANCER Purdue is auctioning off some of the accent pieces it wore for its "Hammer Down Cancer" game last week against Michigan State. Fans can bid on neon receiv- er and linemen gloves on the school's auction website, pur- duesports.cstvauctions.com. A portion of the winning bids will be donated to the Purdue Center for Cancer Research. The reason the Boilermakers wore yellow instead of pink, which is often worn for cancer games, is because it's the color that the center uses to honor its work to cure cancer and to honor cancer survivors. Before the game, cancer survivors lined the field where Purdue players ran out of the inflatable train during introduc - tions, and Hazell had a public information spot on the video board during the game with women's basketball director of operations Terry Kix, who is a cancer survivor. THE NEXT THREE Nov. 1, at Nebraska Nebraska makes the trip this Saturday to Evanston to face the Northwestern Wildcats. This Tom Campbell Senior tight end Justin Sinz, who has caught a pass in 19 consecutive games, recently made the midseason cut for the Mackey Award.