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ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 3 73 f Q & A : J O H N S H O O P Steps Taken, More Needed Shoop expects to 'double down' on strides in Year 3 BY STACY CLARDIE SClardie@GoldandBlack.com P urdue more than doubled its rushing total in 2014 from 2013. It scored at least 30 points in five games in 2014 after doing it only once in 2013. It was one of the least penalized offenses in the Big Ten. But it also was 12th in the league in third-down con- versions, 13th in pass efficiency and last in total first downs. "I think we made some improvements, but we have a long way to go," offensive coordina- tor John Shoop said. "There's a lot for improve- ment in every aspect. But we've got a lot of guys who are coming back and our stingers are still very sharp and we're planning on having a great, great offseason." Here's an excerpt from a early-De- cember interview. Gold and Black: Where spe- cifically did you get better as a unit? Shoop: "I think there were times where our of- fensive line played at a high level, especially run blocking for a period of time. We need to do it more consistently, we need to do it for an entire season, but with (Robert) Kugler, (Jordan) Roos and (Jason) King, who at times they played as good as any center and guard combinations that you'll find in conference. We just need to get that for an entire season. "Of course, I think Akeem (Hunt) really came on and had a strong sea- son. He really got better from one year to the next in terms of making one cut, being more de- cisive as a runner and really showed some strength as a runner. "So I think specifically we knew we'd be strong in the A and B gaps and Kug and Roos and King were, and I think Akeem really hit those gaps running sometimes as well. So I think in particular, that was a strength for us. "Then I also think (Justin) Sinz every week just played at a high level and just had some production because he's always in the right place in the right time and fit things. We'll sure miss him more than people realize." Gold and Black: It seemed pretty clear that your line grew into a group that can block in the run game pretty well, but it seemed to struggle quite a bit in pass protection. How do you look at that unit this year? Shoop: "We need to get better at pass pro- tection all along, not just we need to get better on the edges at the tackle posi- tions, but also inside. And we need to get better at just throwing the ball as an offense. Everything is connected. And it's hard to pass protect if you're only throwing on third down and it's third and long. We have to get better at passing the ball on first and second down and converting first downs on first and second downs. We need to be a much more efficient team passing the ball, and then, if you do that, you can kind of take the Tom Campbell For the second consecutive year, John Shoop had to work with two quarterbacks during the season. It'll be a point in the offseason to find a consistent option at the position, and to get the offensive line to better protect the quarterback and create time for him to throw.