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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 5 19 experience. And Hazell did say at the midway point in spring that if the season had started then, Apple- by would be the guy. Appleby tries not to get involved in that debate, but he will admit he had a good spring, especially con- sidering he improved on three ar- eas he'd targeted: Have an action on every play, tighten up mechanics and to build confidence so he could play free. "I think I've matured in a sense of knowing where to focus my en- ergy, just go out there and play to the best of my ability and have fun and everything takes care of itself," Appleby said. "I think it's been con- tagious throughout our offense and throughout our team. Guys are feed- ing off where we're trying to go. I'm just really, really excited where we are. I think we're in a good place. There's a lot of stuff on film that we've got to get corrected. I could be even better, and I know that. That's a good thing. If I were to sit back and say, 'I've got this thing, I've made it,' that's when we should feel worried. There's tons more out there and Coach Shoop is going to be on me like never before." Blough's body of work isn't as large as Apple- by's or Etling's, but he showed moxie and ath- leticism over the spring, especially outside the pocket. But a key ele- ment in Blough's devel- opment will be an under- standing of when to use his scrambling ability as a weapon and when to stay in the pocket and be poised. "Coach Shoop likes to say he'll nev- er coach the athleticism out of us," Blough said early in the spring. "He's going to give us some freedom and give us some room to whatever you want to call it, go Brett Favre on him and flip a ball around or throw a ball behind your back. Well, maybe not. But just kind of have fun. But we're going to find a nice balance and it's going to work for years to come. "What we've been talking about with me is letting the other guys do the job. I'm just going to drive the bus and take them to where they need to be and play point guard. I don't always have to go LeBron James and do it myself because that doesn't work all the time." MORE NEEDED Perhaps the biggest lingering question exiting spring is whether Purdue can get production at defen- sive end. After starters Ryan Russell and Jalani Phillips graduated, junior Evan Panfil and sophomore Gelen Robinson got all the first-team reps this spring. They still have work to do, Hazell and Hudson said. Panfil is often praised for his mo- tor and attitude, but he needs to lit- erally better direct his energy on the field. Too often, he's not executing the defense the way it's designed, and it's imperative Panfil learns to stay within himself. "That's the guy I was hoping would take that next step (this spring)," Hazell said. "He's gotten better, but he's still needing to be more dominant. That's the guy who has to have a great summer." Robinson is a powerful, strong young player, but he too needs to better understand his assignments and execute them consistently. Per- haps it'd help if Robinson focused strictly on football, Hudson said. "He can have better technique than anybody because he knows how to use his hands and he has balance and body control and power that other guys don't have, but it's got to be for football," Hudson said of Robinson, who also wrestled and was on the track team in his first year at Purdue. "He's got to convert it to football and play it every day. He can. The one thing he did do is when he went in on Saturdays (last season), he made plays. Some of those guys, they get in as a freshman and it's like drinking water from a fire hose, it's overwhelming." j 2015 Football Schedule Sept. 6 at Marshall Sept. 12 Indiana State Sept. 19 Virginia Tech Sept. 26 Bowling Green Oct. 3 at Michigan State Oct. 10 Minnesota Oct. 17 at Wisconsin Oct. 31 Nebraska Nov. 7 Illinois Nov. 14 at Northwestern Nov. 21 at Iowa Nov. 28 Indiana