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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 28, ISSUE 5 30 in his fourth season with the Houston Texans. "He never seems very panicked," Jackson said of Mackey, comparing him fa- vorably to the current pro. "He's very quick with his reactions, closes space well and just has a natural knack for timing, when to take a shot on the ball or when to go for interception. "… Sometimes, that's an innate skill that guys have or don't have and he seems to have that natural gift, so hopefully we can take advan- tage of it." Although Mackey and Major were standouts in the spring — asked afterward if there were any pleasant surprises, Jeff Brohm first mentioned the pair — the depth chart is far from determined. In the latter half of the spring, Cason and Blackmon rolled back in with the 1s at times, creating a four-play- er rotation the Boilermakers lacked a year ago. In the spring game, Cason was with the 1s, hav- ing moved from the left side — Purdue generally keeps its cornerbacks on one side or the other — to the right, jumping back ahead of Mackey. But then Mackey had those two interceptions, and pick six on the bigger stage of the spring game. In the fall, Purdue welcomes in five more fresh- man defensive backs, all of whom have high school experience at cornerback. They'll add to the mix. But it's Major and Mackey who have a jump on many of the others. "I watched those two guys, and they were hungry for it. They wished they could have been out there last year," Hunte said in April. "… So I'm definite- ly excited to see the future of the cornerbacks here at Purdue because those two guys specifically, being that they're young and they're looking to play a lot this year, them getting that experience is going to help them. "They're only going to elevate their game. They're going to get bigger, stronger and faster. And as years go by, they'll continue to mentally get smarter, into the game more, learning how to watch film. Coach Jackson has done a great job with those guys so far from what I've seen in prac- tice. Those two guys, they're going to be special for this program." j "I watched those two guys, and they were hungry for it. They wished they could have been out there last year." Da'Wan Hunte on cornerbacks Kenneth Major and Dedrick Mackey