GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 28, ISSUE 3 17
BY STACY CLARDIE
SClardie@GoldandBlack.com
A
fter Purdue had secured a successful rebound sea-
son with a 38-35 victory over Arizona in the Foster
Farms Bowl, returning linebacker Markus Bailey,
naturally, was optimistic when asked about the
program's future.
"This was such a crucial game for us to get," said Bailey,
the likely soon-to-be captain as a junior in 2018. "I know
it's going to give us a lot of momentum going forward in
the offseason. Having that win gives us confidence going
into the offseason, so we can work harder in spring ball
and everything.
"We want to do better than what we did this year next
year."
That — doing better — that's the caveat to this 7-6 fin-
ish, right?
Entering Jeff Brohm's first year guiding Purdue's pro-
gram, the outward expectation — and a seemingly fair
one — was not a bowl appearance.
Had the head coach been honest publicly, he probably
would have been included among those who felt that way,
regardless of the goal-setting that was done by the team
before the season that identified a bowl berth.
The likely trajectory of a program turnaround was three
years. Use the first one to get systems installed, even
though they'd have to be tweaked with the mostly non-
Brohm personnel in place, and win three, four games; the
second to allow more roster development but still show
Tom Campbell
Playing out of position on the outside, Markus Bailey still led Pur-
due in sacks and was No. 2 in tackles as a sophomore. With Nick
Holt planning to move Bailey back inside next season, it should
free up the junior-to-be to record 100-plus tackles.
Football Analysis
Great(er) Expectations
Surprise 2017 season changes timeline
