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GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 27 • 15 draft went down the drain for me." David Hedelin, who was sitting near Jurasevich up front, made sure to joke with him, "don't cry," and another person up front re- minded Jurasevich of a significant benefit to being a scholarship guy: "Welcome to the training table." Even after he'd had a week to absorb the news, Jurasevich still was shell-shocked. Not surprising, really, considering the path Jurase- vich had followed to get here. He spent a year at North Cen- tral College after high school, and it wasn't a pleasant experience. He'd always wanted to attend Purdue, so he transferred. He tried out for a walk-on role. He was rejected. He tried out again the next year, was rejected. Then, finally, before last season, he made it. Now, Jurasevich is the No. 1 tight end on the depth chart. And on scholarship. "It was like a movie, really," Ju- rasevich told the Northwest Times Saturday about how Hazell un- veiled the news. "I wasn't expect- ing it at all. I was like, 'What? Did I get traded? Why did I get traded?' It was like a blur. "(My career) wasn't exactly the way you draw it up, but those are the cards I was dealt. I have one year. I have to make the most of it." PUSHING IRON In years past, the Boilermakers cut back in the weight room dur- ing spring practice, allowing them to be as fresh as possible for the 15 sessions. But considering Purdue's need to get bigger and stronger as soon as possible — the second half of last season showed a physical deficit — it decided to lift more through the spring. At the direction of sports per- formance director Duane Carlisle, the Boilermakers lifted three days a week this spring, while also prac- ticing about three days a week. "I think it's helped a lot," defen- sive tackle Jake Replogle said. "Last year, it was more about staying fresh for practice. Not saying we're not fresh this year, but instead of maybe just keeping your strength levels, this year we're actually get- ting stronger throughout spring ball, which I think has helped us a lot and we can see that during practice, the increases that we've had since the beginning." The Boilermakers are sup- posed to have a couple weeks off following the spring, but players likely will still work on their own. And they'll do so feeling better about their strength conditioning. "Spring ball is always a grind, but I think this year our strength coaches have done a great job of working us hard but also keeping us fresh enough that we can go out and compete every day with full ability," Replogle said. "I haven't felt overworked or anything." BUILDING DEPTH With all five starters return- ing on the offensive line, Purdue's hope for this spring was for that group to build depth. Depth as defined by position coach Jim Bridge: Players "able to help you win a Big Ten football game. The guarantee that we have in our room is that we're only going to play the people who are going to help us win." Last season, coaches were comfortable with six players: Da- vid Hedelin, Jason King, Robert Kugler, Jordan Roos, J.J. Prince and Cameron Cermin, the latter two sharing reps at right tackle. But it'd seem this spring add- ed another name to the list. Hazell raved about Martesse Patterson, who played guard and tackle this spring on the right side, and the redshirt freshman could be in contention to start in the fall. Even if doesn't, it'd seem likely he'll at least play on a rotational basis. That could mean he's in a group for two spots with four players. Hazell left the spring feeling good about the entire unit, even if there still are decisions to be made about who plays on the right side. "It's so much fun to watch those guys come off the ball now and protect," he said. "Before, when you have young guys in there and they can't protect, it's hard to eval - uate receivers and quarterbacks and running backs because you don't have an offensive line. Now, Tom Campbell Ja'Whaun Bentley may have made the biggest strides in the weight room over the winter, and he and his teammates were able to maintain that progress with a change to the weight- lifting plan this spring.