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ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 3 55 f everything is different and faster and you have to react to it. You have to be physical at the point of attack and those are some of the things they are learning about and seeing." TIGHT END There may not be a redshirt freshman on Purdue's team staring at more of a golden opportunity than Cole Herdman. With Purdue losing four seniors, including its top three of Justin Sinz, Gabe Holmes and Dolapo Macarthy, Herd- man is coming out of redshirt right into a wide-open fray at his position, though Purdue will add at least one junior college transfer at the semester, but is otherwise only left with walk-on Jordan Jurasevic returning among players who set foot on the field this season, leaving a pretty gap- ing void atop the depth chart come spring. Purdue seems to believe at this early juncture that Herd- man may be in position to contribute early in his career, for reasons that go beyond a dearth of options otherwise. "He's a tough, physical kid that plays hard," tight ends coach Gerad Parker said. "He's not afraid of contact and at 230-plus pounds already, we feel like another offseason can get him into the low 240s and he has a chance to be a physical player and hold contact in this league. Just knowing that he's a physical kid who isn't afraid to put his hands in there, it's encouraging." Purdue sees Herdman as a 240-pounder who can hold up as an in-line blocker. But when it recruited him, it was drawn to some of the skills he displayed in basketball — athleticism, jumping ability, soft hands — that jibed with skills needed to be an effective receiver. There's some refining to be done in that sense. "He's going to be moving a lot, which we can plant that in him early in his career," Parker said. "He needs to be better with contact, and you can tell he hasn't run a lot of routes coming into college. His route game is kind of limited, with things he does with his arms and things like that. I think it's important for us to get him in the route game and learning how to get in and out of routes. The little things that it takes to be a good route-runner take work." OFFENSIVE LINE The area where Purdue went all-out seeking immedi- From Our Family to Yours... We Love the Boilermakers! WindowWorld.com Four Indiana Locations Lafayette Indianapolis Terre Haute Muncie Columbus New store 523 s. earl Ave. Tom Campbell Diminutive receiver Trae Hart probably played before he was physically ready, making this offseason a critical one for the near-160-pounder.