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VOLUME 25, ISSUE 6 43 Seeking Consistency R obert Gregory has not yet seen success at Purdue. The former star quarterback at Simeon High School, which he led to Chicago Public League championships as a sophomore and senior, is still search- ing as a Boilermaker. He might be close. Now a safety — Gregory didn't work out as a du- al-threat QB at Purdue, nor as a running back — the ju- nior thinks his time for impact is now. "Coming from where I did, with the winning percent- age of my high school, and being a quarterback and not playing, then moving to running back and not playing, and being a good athlete with the ball in my hands, that was hard," Gregory said. "Moving to defense was not an easy tran- sition, but it was a smart choice." Indeed. The shift has given Gregory a chance to see the field — he's the projected starting free safety — and an opportunity to let some of his natural ability shine. The 6-foot-1, 205-pounder, who says he's trimmed down from his offi- cially listed 219, is a fierce compet- itor, big hitter and gifted athlete. But he's not always got it. In his first season as a safety in 2014, Gregory showed he could make the "flash" plays, as defensive coordinator Greg Hudson calls them, the ones that garner attention of on- lookers in practice. His hit injured Dolapo Macarthy in the spring of '14, when he walloped him with a crushing tackle, dislodging the ball and the tight end's shoulder. But less-noticeable plays, at least to the untrained eye, kept Gregory off the field, yet again, last season. He played in 10 games, mostly on special teams, and had a couple tackles. His biggest play came against Indiana, when he recovered a fumble after checking in for a play when Landon Feichter was forced briefly to the sideline due to a hip pointer. "If I was more consistent last year in practices and throughout the season, I would have been able to con- tribute more than I did defensively, not just on special teams," he said. "I had a tendency to try to make the plays that I wasn't supposed to make and not trusting that my teammates were supposed to be where they were supposed to be. Yet, they were trusting me to bewhere I was supposed to be. That's something that I worked on this spring and I think I got a whole lot better at it." That'd be good for the Boilermakers. Aside from the brief knee scare that sidelined him a practice — initially, it was though the injury could be an ACL, but it was only a bruise — Gregory took every significant first-team snap in the spring. It was a good learning expe- rience. He tried to focus on car- rying out his assignments, not seeking out those "flash" plays but just the routine ones. "We told him to make layups, he does not have to shoot a three- point shot," Hudson said. "Just do exactly what the defense calls for and exactly what Taver (Johnson) has coached him to do, do that. It really will take care of itself at that position. You're going to get a million opportunities, more opportunities on the field than anybody really. It's not easy, it's a tough job. It might be the hardest job on the field." But Gregory feels ready. Even though he didn't work on offense, he thinks that experience has given him an edge. At safety, he can anticipate the moves of skill posi- tion players, because he's been there. "I feel like it's going to be great to have the knowledge of the game that I do and actually be able to contribute more than only on special teams," he said. "As far as our record goes, us losing, I felt more down on myself because I wasn't as much of a contributor as I know I can be. "I blame no one but myself because of my inconsisten- cies. That's a thing with me, I need to be more consistent, and I think I took big strides this spring." — Kyle Charters Tom Campbell Purdue needs Robert Gregory to slide into a starting safety position, where the Boilermakers have few experienced options.