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Gold and Black Illustrated, Vol 27, Digital 4

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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 27, ISSUE 4 44 King and Jordan Roos, plus left tackle Cameron Cer- min, Purdue has only two senior linemen, Johnny Daniels and Jalen Neal. Neither, however, was a re- cruited freshman OL, with Daniels flipping over from defensive line before last season and Neal being a former J.C. transfer. Patterson, a junior and one of the few upperclass- men, may or may not be back, as the left tackle's le- gal issues had yet to clear up as of mid-February. And Matt McCann, the returning right tackle, is out in the spring because of an ankle injury. Outside of center Kirk Barron, the Boilermakers have a bunch of holes to fill. And Jackson, who will likely be slotted as a guard this spring, likes it. "It's an open field right now, free game," the rookie said. "Because with the new coaching staff, spots are open at every position. Everyone gets a restart. The guys they slept on last year get a brand-new start; the ones who played last year, who didn't need to be play- ing, they might get exposed, you never know." Although he's only been on campus a couple months, Jackson expects to be given a chance to win a job. Unlike Smart, he never looked at a depth chart before committing, feeling like he could earn a position as long as he continued to im- prove. And since he arrived on campus, the 6-foot-2 Jack- son has put on nearly 10 pounds, getting up to about 273 only a week before the start of spring practices. Jackson, likely at guard, is looking forward to seeing where he fits in then, relishing the competition. "It makes everybody better," he said. "The compe- tition is good. Expose the ones who need to be ex- posed and praise the ones who need to be praised." Smart is hoping he can be part of the latter group. The 6-6, 290-pounder might be one of the most crit- ical additions to the Boilermakers, because he's al- most certainly going to get an early opportunities. With McCann out for the spring — and Patterson an unlikely contributor until the fall, at best, if at all — Purdue doesn't have much right now at tack- le. It's possible that Smart will get first-team repeti- tions at right tackle, where he played the last couple seasons at Northeast Mississippi C.C. It was then that Smart started to blossom, turning the athleticism he had as an under-recruited high school player in northern Mississippi — he had only junior college offers then — into a more well-round- ed prospect. He chose Purdue over Ohio, Arkansas State, Texas State, Middle Tennessee and others. But he's not yet a finished product, he thinks, needing more time to develop physically. "I've never really been in a strong, structured weight program," Smart said. "This is the first big weight program I've been in. They've been working on everything. "I feel like I have a lot of room to grow, but I'm excited about it." Smart seems eager; Jackson definitely is. This offseason, Jackson has noticed subtle be- haviors in the workout drills, like which players are trying to push their way to the front of the line and which are hanging in the back. And he thinks he sees room to push to the front. "This place needs some dogs," he said. "As long as everybody comes in with the same attitude, it's time to play, it's time to eat. You've just got to get yours, then come together as a team." j When I say "good," you say "neighbor." P097313.1 State Farm, Home Office, Bloomington, IL Call me for your insurance needs and see how it feels to be on a #1 team. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. ® CALL ME TODAY. Now that's teamwork. Trent B Johnson, Agent 249 E State Street West Lafayette, IN 47906 Bus: 765-743-9595 trentismyagent.com

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