GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 26, ISSUE 6 60
BY KYLE CHARTERS
KCharters@GoldandBlack.com
J.D.
Dellinger wants to compete for Purdue's place-kicking job.
But he might not have to.
The Boilermakers were woeful in the spring, with a trio of
walk-ons who struggled to find any sort of consistency, missing even the most
makeable ones. In nearly perfect conditions in the mid-April spring game, the
trio was 2-of-4, with chip-shot makes of 18 and 24 yards and misses of 27 and
35. In the kick scrimmage two weeks before, granted in some of the worst
conditions Ross-Ade Stadium has ever seen with extreme wind and cold tem-
peratures, the group was a collective 15-of-31.
Yet, Dellinger isn't taking anything for granted.
"I'm going in with the mentality to compete for the job and win the job,
regardless of what anyone says or whatever's going on," the North Carolina
native said before arriving at Purdue in June for the summer semester. "So
I'm going to win the job first, that's my mentality. Once I do that, then I think
I'll be fine (to be) the starter, to handle the pressure and be the guy."
Purdue is putting a lot of trust in the rookie, because it needs him to come
Freshman needs to solidify kicking game
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