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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 27, ISSUE 3 52 starter David Blough and highly touted backup Elijah Sindelar. Literally. Sparks didn't spend much time running the scout-team offense in his rookie sea- son — at least in the first half — unlike Blough and Sindelar during their freshman seasons. Instead, Sparks stood behind the first- and second-team offenses in practic- es and watched them work, and he said in the middle of the season that actually was a blessing. "In training camp, my setback was men- tally, realizing the coverages, knowing the plays, so I feel like where I needed to grow is where they have me growing. So all these mental reps I'm taking is what I need," he said. "I'm not saying I don't physically need to get better because everybody has areas to get better, but the most important spot I need in my game right now is the mental aspect of the game, and I feel like what they're doing with me now couldn't be any better. "Of course, I'd be loving playing right now. Me be- ing competitive, I want to help the team. But at the same time, I talk to a lot of the people around me and they just continue to tell me, 'Just stay focused and your time will come.'" Though it's unclear what type of quarterback Jeff Brohm wants in terms of skill set, it's likely Sparks will need to continue to make strides in terms of poise in the pocket. Often during practice in the first half of the season, Sparks was quick to escape and rely on his legs. Then-QB coach Tim Lester worked with Sparks on that area a lot. "From the moment he got here, I've been trying to get him to not rely on his feet just because he doesn't realize, he meets Ja'Whaun Bentley, and you're like, 'This is how big the guys are who are hitting you,'" Lester said in the middle of the season. "He rolled out once, to the right, in practice, and nothing was really there. He stopped and went to turn and cut back and (Jake) Replogle was chas- ing him. Of course, he didn't hit him. But I'm like, 'You realize that's going to hurt. That's not just like any pain you felt in Louisiana. You're going to get rocked there.' "He's learning. He's learning from watching the other two on how to work the pocket. … I need him to be able to sit back in there because he has the ability to throw it. He just needs to be able to put it all togeth- er and have good timing. That takes a long time, but he's working on it." OFFENSIVE LINE Purdue kept its two freshman linemen on the shelf, which it needed to do with Tanner Hawthorne and Grant Hermanns, players who both came to Purdue saying they needed to add strength and weight. By the end of the season, though, Hawthorne was in a walking boot on his left foot with an undisclosed injury. It's unclear if the injury required surgery — or would in the offseason. Neither is good for a player who needed to make considerable strides. The Boilermakers lack game experience up front in 2017, losing three starters in Jason King, Jordan Roos and Cameron Cermin along with the likelihood it won't get Martesse Patterson, who was a starter, back. That presents a tremendous opportunity for Hawthorne and Hermanns, as well as the other first-year player from 2016, Jalen Neal. Neal was a junior college transfer who competed in training camp for a starting tackle spot. He finally saw the field after Patterson was suspended, playing the Tom Campbell Navon Mosley started 10 games at safety and nickel in his first season with the Boilermakers.