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2012 PURDUE FOOTBALL PLA YER FEA TURE: RALPH BOLDEN Happy To Be Back Bolden ready to finish career strong SClardie@GoldandBlack.com BY STACY CLARDIE off his third surgery to his right knee. Didn't matter that there was a good Ralph Bolden did not want to wait. Didn't matter that he was coming chance he could have been awarded a sixth season by the NCAA if he sat. Didn't matter that Purdue had a couple other options in the backfield with Akeem Shavers and Akeem Hunt and his carries could be limited. The last time Bolden missed an en- felt like, how the team did, I didn't like the way it felt sitting out and everybody do- ing how bad we did, tire season, it was not pleasant. So he was adamant about playing in 2012, even if it meant he wouldn't get a full season. "After I sat out my junior year, I really watched helplessly as the team won only four games in 2010. "I wanted to be more than a vocal presence on the field. So just being out there and practicing, traveling to the games with them, and now playing, it means a lot to me. " said Bolden, who them during a crucial stretch run. Purdue is 0-3 in the Big Ten and needs to win three of its final five games to reach And the Boilermakers hope it helps " bowl eligibility at 6-6. Bolden's only goal now in his final col- legiate season is to play some part in that return to postseason. He isn't hoping to have another 100- yard rushing game before his career ends, though he said he thinks he's "very capable" of doing that. He isn't hoping to increase his snaps into the 40s, which would be about half of games. the starting running back. "There are a lot of things that are differ- ent now," Bolden said of his final comeback. He isn't hoping to surpass Shavers as "We've got a bunch of other guys we want to get the ball. I'm just trying to play in the system. Get Ws is really the main focus. "I just want to go to a bowl game, a nice bowl game. Hopefully better than Detroit last year (in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl). Even though we'll take Detroit if that's what happens. now. That's probably good considering how the first five weeks of the season went. The coaches' plan always was to wait Bolden is all about looking forward " until Big Ten play to put Bolden back on the field, offensive coordinator Gary Nord said. Bolden never cared for that plan. In his second game back from a third ACL injury, Bolden had some bounce against Ohio State, rushing for a team-high 35 yards on nine carries. he felt like he was ready to play well before he made his debut against Wisconsin in Week 6 on Oct. 13. But the coaches said they wanted to be cautious — Bolden was coming off his third anterior cruciate ligament injury in the same knee and was only eight months removed from surgery when the season started September 1. So they waited. He admitted he was frustrated, saying Tom Campbell en entered the game for the first time in 2012 on a second-and-10 in the first quar- ter. He got a nice ovation from the fans — and then got a carry on that first play, rush- ing left but not finding any room. That was the theme of the day: On his Then, finally, against the Badgers, Bold- four carries, he gained seven yards. By the end of the day, Bolden had played about 20 snaps against the Badgers. After the game, Coach Danny Hope GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 23, EXPRESS 8 • 17