GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 26, ISSUE 6 31
ly is categorized by teammates as
an athletic freak, despite his con-
siderable size. But slimming down
from his spring playing weight of
357 pounds would best-suit Patter-
son from a conditioning standpoint:
He'll likely be needed to play a sea-
son's worth of 80-snap games. And
that could be a key to Purdue's abil-
ity to be better up front — there is
little depth behind the top five.
Shoulder surgery forced Cermin
to miss the spring. In his place,
redshirt freshman Matt McCann
emerged as the "starting" right
tackle. But it's likely Cermin as-
sumes that role by Week 1, consid-
ering his experience, intelligence
and toughness.
Other than McCann, though, the
rest of the top group will need to be
figured out during camp. Newcom-
er Jalen Neal could factor in at one
tackle spot, and returning players
Mike Mendez and Bearooz Yacoobi
could be on the two-deep. There's
no indication heading into camp
who Barron's backup will be at cen-
ter, which is a significant concern.
Still, Purdue feels good about its
front.
"That's what we're going to be
known for this season," said Herd-
man, who considers himself part of
that group. "A lot of people are say-
ing we have some spots to fill, but
I think we're going to show we can
play with anybody in the country.
We're going to play tough and attack
every play."
j