Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/91066
NEWS & NOTES he'll play Saturday after being forced to sit out the second half of the Minnesota game with an ankle injury. On Tuesday, the senior said he was about 90 percent and thought he'd have a SHORT LOOKING GOOD TO GO Defensive tackle Kawann Short thinks better determination of his status by Friday. "I'm optimistic he'll be in position to play this Saturday," Coach Danny Hope said. "It's not a green light yet, but I'm a little more encouraged from the medi- cal report (Tuesday) than two days ago. We'll see how he recovers in the next 24 or 48 hours. fering an ankle injury vs. Minnesota that also forced him sidelined for the second half. Hope says Ricardo Allen (shin) and Ryan Russell (knee), who both played vs. Minnesota, are recovering from in- juries that have slowed them in recent weeks. They're expected to play vs. the Nittany Lions. But Raheem Mostert and Normondo Purdue is beat up elsewhere, too. Brandon Taylor is probable after suf- " er, will miss his third consecutive week after suffering a knee injury vs. Wisconsin. Har- ris, a cornerback, has missed the last few weeks as he recovers from a knee injury. Hope says Harris is getting healthier but is behind from a practice reps point of view. Harris are not. Mostert, a return man and wide receiv- ve Purdue's starting quarterback, after he looked good in relief vs. Minnesota. But who backs him up remains a MARVE STARTS, THEN … On Sunday, Hope named Robert Mar- question. Rob Henry will play various roles, from ence of the quarterbacks that have been involved, to be quite honest with you. "So hats off to Robert Marve and " Caleb TerBush and to Rob Henry as well, they've for the most part overcome unbe- lievable adversities. quarterback to wide receiver to running back. But it's unclear where Caleb TerBush, who started the last seven games, will be part of the game plan. "We'll see how the game goes, said. "We're going to do what we have to do to win the ball game. " Hope terbacks all season. Marve started Game 1, when TerBush was suspended. Then, started the next seven, playing the entire way vs. Eastern Michigan, Marshall and Ohio State. But Marve returned from his ACL injury vs. Notre Dame to play in three of the last four games. Henry also has played, as a Wildcat QB Purdue has had to balance its quar- " and in mop-up duty. "You can't imagine what we've been through as a staff, trying to manage the rash of injuries and the hardships we've had at the quarterback position the last couple years, in the — what's the word I'm looking for? — mendacity that sometimes comes with the media and it has really stirred the pot and made it a very tough management situation for our staff and it has really tak- en a lot away from the collegiate experi- " Hope said. "Then you mix head coaches whose assistants violate rules. The Board of Directors Tuesday The NCAA is looking to get tough on NCAA GETTING TOUGH agreed to legislation that will do just that, saying "head coaches will now be pre- sumed to have knowledge of the rule- breaking unless they can prove other- wise, in part by showing they have taken significant steps to ensure compliance. If they cannot overcome the presumption, head coaches could be suspended from 10 percent of the season to an entire sea- son." made sense. "It does in some ways, in that the head Hope was asked if the new legislation coach takes some responsibility that he's watching out for everything and every- one around him," Hope said. "… The inten- tion behind it is good, but it seems a little bit extreme in some ways. I can't control everything that everyone does if they're not under my supervision or within my eyesight. — Gold and Black Staff " over the past four years to improve our per- sonnel, facilities and every phase of our pro- gram, which is evident. Our student-athletes, alumni, fans, coaching staff and administra- tion all expect to see the program move for- ward and take a step up the postseason lad- der. Currently, our performance has kept us from reaching our goals. But we have a third of the season left to play, and our focus is to achieve that consistency over the remaining four games. "We need to press forward, converting potential into results and having fun playing Boilermaker football. Although the statement did not address Hope specifically, the fourth-year coach was asked about it a day later, at his weekly press conference. "I read it but didn't pay a whole lot of at- tention to it," said Hope, who has 19-26 record " as Purdue's head coach. "I didn't try to read be- tween the lines any. I think it's a pretty generic statement and very similar to the one that was posted (last year). Our focus is to prepare our team for the football game this Saturday. "So I didn't play a whole lot of attention to the statement. I just glanced at it." Hope has been under scrutiny since Pur- due's loss Saturday. But after the game, he said the pressure to win now, and turn around the season, isn't any more than usual. "I've been under the same pressure since the day I got here," he said. "So it hasn't changed much in the last four-and-a-half years." either its own or others. The Boilermakers, after their 3-1 start, talked of winning a division and But Purdue's not lived up to expectations, GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 23, EXPRESS 9 • 27