Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1524108
A U G U S T 2 0 2 4 9 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M After going 4-8 in Ryan Walters' first season as head coach, Purdue hit the transfer portal hard and as a result will look very different this fall. That's probably for the best, because the Boilermakers' schedule looks very dif- ferent, too. Like everyone else in the former Big Ten West, Purdue is having to adjust to a world in which the league's traditional blue blood programs are no longer con- centrated in the opposite division. This year's schedule serves up games against Oregon, Ohio State and Penn State, and that's just the Big Ten slate. The Boilers are also set to welcome Notre Dame to West Lafayette in mid-September, fol- lowed by a long road trip to Oregon State the next week. The Beavers may not be as formidable as they were before being abandoned by their Pac-12 brethren, but this year's slate is still going to be a big challenge for Walters in his bid to return Purdue to bowl contention. If the Boilermakers are going to take a step forward this fall, they will need a strong showing from senior quarter- back Hudson Card. A 2023 transfer from Texas, Card threw for 2,387 yards and 15 touchdowns last year while adding 203 yards and 5 scores on the ground. Junior receiver Jahmal Edrine should help el- evate the passing attack. Edrine was also part of last year's transfer class but missed the entire campaign after suffering a knee injury in preseason camp. The 6-foot- 3, 215-pounder amassed 570 yards and 6 touchdowns as a redshirt freshman at Florida Atlantic. Sophomore C.J. Smith and senior Kam Brown will also feature prominently, having arrived from Georgia and UCLA, respectively. The Boilers' top running back, redshirt junior Devin Mockobee, is a familiar name after totaling 1,779 yards and leading the team in rushing his first two seasons. But backup Reggie Love is new, having ar- rived from Illinois this year, and two of the anticipated starters up front are portal acquisitions, with senior left tackle Corey Stewart coming from Ball State and se- nior right guard DJ Wingfield from New Mexico. On defense, Purdue landed two more transfers from Georgia in junior corner- back Nyland Green and sophomore edge rusher CJ Madden. Green played in 23 games in two seasons with the Bulldogs, while Madden saw action in eight. An- other transfer, junior "star" linebacker Kyndrich Breedlove, is expected to start after arriving from Colorado. Despite the influx of newcomers, the team's best defensive player might be a homegrown talent. Safety Dillon Thiene- man led the team in tackles (106) and in- terceptions (6) last fall, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors along with a third-team All-America nod from the Associated Press. One certainty at Purdue is that the defense will have to improve if the team is going to make the kind of strides that Walters wants to see. The Boilermakers allowed 29.9 points per game last season, tying for 98th in the FBS. One other area that has to improve is the kicking game. Ben Freehill and Ju- lio Macias combined to hit just 8 of 17 field goal attempts in 2023, and Purdue is hoping that freshman Spencer Porath can drastically improve on last year's 47.1 percent success rate. — Matt Herb N O V . 1 6 | T I M E T B A | T V T B A | R O S S - A D E S T A D I U M | W E S T L A F A Y E T T E , I N D . As a true freshman last fall, safety Dillon Thieneman ranked third in the FBS with 6 interceptions. PHOTO COURTESY PURDUE ATHLETICS GAME 10 PURDUE 2024 SCHEDULE Date Opponent 2023 Result Aug. 31 Indiana State — Sept. 14 Notre Dame — Sept. 21 at Oregon State — Sept. 28 Nebraska L, 31-14 Oct. 5 at Wisconsin L, 38-17 Oct. 12 at Illinois W, 44-19 Oct. 18 Oregon — Nov. 2 Northwestern L, 23-15 Nov. 9 at Ohio State L, 41-7 Nov. 16 Penn State — Nov. 22 at Michigan State — Nov. 30 at Indiana W, 35-31 QUICK FACTS All-Time Series: Penn State leads 16-3-1 Last Meeting: Keyvone Lee caught a 10-yard touchdown pass with 57 seconds remaining to lift Penn State to a 35-31 comeback win over the host Boilermakers on Sept. 1, 2022 Head Coach: Ryan Walters (4-8 in one season at Purdue; career coaching record: same) 2023 Record: 4-8, 3-6 Big Ten Returning Starters: 8 (4 offense, 4 defense) RETURNING LEADERS Rushing: RB Devin Mockobee (811 yards, 6 TD) Passing: QB Hudson Card (2,387 yards, 15 TD) Receiving: TE Max Klare (196 yards, 0 TD) Tackles: S Dillon Thieneman (106) Sacks: LB Kydran Jenkins (7.5) Interceptions: S Dillon Thieneman (6) BEST-CASE SCENARIO The transfers could jell quickly, giving quar- terback Hudson Card a chance to build on a promising debut season in West Lafayette and creating an opportunity for a bowl ap- pearance. WORST-CASE SCENARIO A difficult schedule — Pro Football Focus rates it the third-toughest in the FBS — could saddle Purdue with a mediocre record even if the roster has been upgraded.