Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Looking For Results Boilermakers think their time is now By Wes Morgan Purdue fourth-year head coach Danny Hope, growing impatient with the program’s middling residency in the Big Ten Conference, is optimistic that his team will be able to break through for the first time in his tenure. There’s no reason not to. The Boilermakers, who finished 7-6 last season, return 19 starters — the most of any team in the league — a trio of healthy quarterbacks and a new approach on defense. In 2009 and 2010 combined, five different quarterbacks started during a 25-game stretch, mostly because of injuries. This year, Hope has veterans Caleb TerBush, Robert Marve and Rob Henry at his disposal, with TerBush expected to start and Marve, who was granted a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA after a career littered with maladies, offering a change of pace at some point in each contest. In his first season of serious action, TerBush started all 13 games as a junior in 2011 and completed 61.7 percent of his passes (171 of 277) for 1,905 yards with 13 touchdowns and six interceptions. Marve (6-1, 212), after transferring from Miami, started the first four games of the 2010 campaign before being derailed by a knee injury. He appeared in 10 games last year as a reserve, completing 60 percent of his passes for 633 yards with four scores. “They’re going to play at least two quarterbacks,” said Mike Carmin, a Purdue beat writer for the West Lafayette Journal and Courier. “TerBush is the starter in the opener and most likely when they play Notre Dame. The question is when do you put Marve in? How long do you keep him in and how is it all going to work. How does it not disrupt the flow? How do you keep a rhythm and how do you keep everything going smoothly on offense? “This is an offense this year that needs to take a step forward. It has healthy quarterbacks and people back on the offensive side that should lead to better production.” A lot depends on a group of seven offensive linemen that will form a rotation. It’s nothing new that the Boilermakers’ big boys aren’t all that big (average weight 294.6 pounds), but they’re versatile and fairly experienced. Whether or not they can provide adequate protection remains to be seen. The line gave up 29 sacks in 2011. “They’ve got a junior college transfer, Devin Smith, that gives them some size [6-7, 320], and he’s probably going to start at right guard. He’s their biggest guy,” Carmin said. “The biggest question I’ve seen through camp is protecting the quarterback. That they give their quarterback time to execute the offense will probably be an area to watch moving forward with the season.” Senior center Rick Schmeig is the unit’s anchor with 15 starts to his credit. The 6-3, 305-pounder is the guy the Boilermakers can least afford to lose on the front line if they want to make a real push for a Leaders Division title. A thin receiving corps is led by senior Antavian Edison, who finished with 584 yards and three touchdowns last year. Senior tailback Akeem Shavers will shoulder most of the load with classmate Ralph Bolden still rehabilitating a third ACL tear, which happened in the final game of the regular season last fall. Shavers (5-11, 203) rushed for 519 yards and six touchdowns on 111 carries in 2011. First-year defensive coordinator Tim Tibesar was brought in to overhaul a group that finished 2011 ranked 73rd nationally in total defense (395.7 yards allowed per game). Tibesar came to Purdue via Montreal, where he spent the last three seasons, in the Canadian Football League. He previously worked at Kansas State (defensive coordinator from 2007-08) and helped the Wildcats wrack up 2.5 sacks per game in ’07, which led the Big 12. He’ll also be instructing the Boilermakers linebackers. The defensive line, which switches between three- and four-man looks, features senior tackle Kawann Short (6-3, 315), who’s projected as an NFL first-round draft pick in 2012 and was voted a team co-captain by his teammates. Pro scouts have been fixtures at practices during fall camp to watch the young man that will surely set the defensive tone for Purdue. Tibesar is still trying to develop depth at linebacker, his area of expertise but a unit that took a massive hit just days before the season opener against Eastern Kentucky with the arrest and subsequent suspension of Dwayne Beckford. The troubled senior was arrested last December on a drunken-driving charge, which was his third run-in with West Lafayette area law enforcement. He was arrested a fourth time in late August for what the university said was a violation of his probation. Now Beckford’s future with the team is uncertain. The defense will get a boost from a veteran secondary that should do much better than the 221 passing yards allowed per contest in 2011. “I think expectations are high,” Carmin said. “Purdue hasn’t really shied away from these expectations that have been placed on them and that they have placed on themselves. “They have openly talked about this being the year for the program to take the next step. This is an opportunity for them to move forward. The schedule is favorable from the standpoint that they play five of their first six games at home, and Ohio State and Penn State aren’t eligible [for a conference or Leaders Division championship]. “This is not a perfect Purdue team that will just show up and beat people. They have to be more disciplined from a penalty standpoint and limit their turnovers.” Facts & Figures Notre Dame vs. Purdue Game Info Date: Sept. 8, 2012 Site: Notre Dame Stadium (80,795) Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. ET Television: NBC Series Facts: This is the 84th meeting between the two schools. Notre Dame holds a 55-26-2 advantage. The Irish have won the last four contests against the Boilermakers, including a 38-10 romp in West Lafayette, Ind., last year. Purdue Head Coach Danny Hope’s Record • 17-21 (.447) in fourth season at Purdue Prime Personnel • QB Caleb TerBush — The 6-5, 225-pound senior started 13 games last season and completed 177 of 277 passing attempts for 1,905 yards and 13 touchdowns. He threw just six interceptions all year, including none over the final four games, and rushed 83 times for 219 yards and a score. • RB Akeem Shavers — The 5-11, 203-pound senior ran for 519 yards and six touchdowns on 111 carries in 2011 behind Ralph Bolden, who averaged a team-high 56.2 yards per game last season and tore an ACL in the regular-season finale. Shavers added five receptions for 58 yards and a touchdown. • C Rick Schmeig — A 15-game starter, the 6-3, 305-pound senior helped clear the way for a Boilermakers squad that rushed for more than 100 yards in 11 games last fall. • WR Antavian Edison — Purdue’s leading returning pass catcher finished 2011 with 584 yards and three touchdowns. The 5-11, 175-pound senior started six games last fall and averaged 13.3 yards per reception. • DT Kawann Short — The senior was an All-Big Ten selection last year and the team’s defensive MVP after recording a career-high 54 tackles (17 for loss) and 6.5 sacks. He recovered a fumble, forced another, blocked two kicks and broke up two passes. For The Record • Purdue outscored opponents 231-185 in the first half last season, but was on the short end of a 164-119 deficit in the final two quarters and overtime. • Senior running back Ralph Bolden was limited in fall camp and his return is uncertain after tearing his ACL at the end of last season. It was the third time the Folkston, Ga., native suffered an ACL tear in his career, the first coming as a senior at Charlton County High and the second during the 2010 offseason. Last year’s injury cost him a chance to play in the first bowl game of his career.