2007 Purdue football preview

2006 Record: 8-6, 5-3
Head Coach: Joe Tiller

Players Drafted:
Anthony Spencer - DE - Round 1 - Dallas
Uche Nwaneri - OG - Round 5 - Jacksonville
Mike Otto - OT - Round 7 - Tennessee

Top Recruits:
Brian Ellis – LB – 6’3” – 240 – Visalia, CA
James Shepherd – OT – 6’6” – 315 – Hopkinsville, KY
Justin Siller – QB – 6’4” – 200 – Orchard Lake, MI
Colton McKey – TE – 6’6” – 215 – The Woodlands, TX
Derrick Sherman – WR – 6’0” – 170 – Cincinnati, OH
Nickcaro Golding – DE – 6’4” – 220 – Evanston, IL


Key Players Returning:
Curtis Painter – QB – Jr.
Kory Sheets – RB – Jr.
Jaycen Taylor – RB – Jr.
Dorien Bryant – WR – Sr.
Jordan Grimes – G – Jr.
Sean Sester – OT – Jr.
Dan Bick – LB – Sr.
Justin Scott – S – Sr.
Cliff Avril – DE –Sr.
Ryan Baker – DT – Jr.

2007 Purdue Offensive Outlook

Junior QB Curtis Painter emerged last season as the leader of the Boilermakers offense by throwing for nearly 4000 yards and 22 touchdowns. Behind Painter, Purdue had the highest yards per game through the air in the Big Ten. Also, the Boilermakers led the conference in total yards per game with 415.

Senior WR Dorien Bryant was the recipient of Painter’s huge offensive statistics and piled up over 1000 yards on 87 receptions and scored six times. The Boilermakers have a nice group of receivers back with Bryant, Greg Orton, Selwin Lymon, and TE Dustin Kellar.

The running back situation appears to be a two-headed monster of Jaycen Taylor and Kory Sheets. Sheets was given the majority of the carries overall last season and averaged 4.9 yards per carry, but Taylor averaged 6 yards per carry on his 113 attempts. The backfield is set with these two and the offense should benefit from having fresh legs to carry the ball.

The right side of the offensive line is locked-in with senior C Robbie Powell, junior G Jordan Grimes, and junior T Sean Sester. This trio provides the offense with security, and gives Purdue the base for leading the Big Ten if offense again this season. Garrett Miller will step in as the new LT and sophomore Eric Hedstrom will start at LG.

2007 Purdue Defensive Outlook

Last season the defense could not keep up with opposing offenses. The Boilermakers ranked at the bottom in many categories defensively last year and need to reverse those problems to contend for the Big Ten title. The defense was strong at linebacker, but it appeared that the front four and secondary needed time to grow. Purdue fans are hopeful that growing took place last year.

The defensive front will have three returning starters with Cliff Avril, Ryan Baker, and Jermaine Guynn. Avril had 84 tackles last year, and Baker can disrupt the backfield. Senior Mike McDonald will see his first action as a starter this year. Junior DT Alex McGee can provide help in the pass rush (2.5 sacks last season).

Senior LB Dan Bick led the team with 95 last year and is primed to get the defense back on track. Bick will be joined by senior Stanford Keglar and former running back Anthony Heygood who has made the transition to LB. This group isn’t flashy but will fly around the field to help make plays.

The secondary was exploited last year and allowed 241 yards passing per game. The good news is that those four starters earned plenty of experience, and all four return for the 2007 season. Initial signs point toward an improvement with seniors Terrell Vinson (CB) and Justin Scott (S) leading the way. Sophomores Brandon Erwin (FS) and Royce Adams (CB) started as freshman and could play an important role in the next few years.

2007 Purdue Special Teams

Sophomore Chris Summers is back for his second year as the place kicker. Summers will need to improve his accuracy after making just eight of 20 field goal attempts last season.

Senior Jared Armstrong had a very solid 2006 season and averaged 43.1 yards per punt. His leg will be a boost to help keep the defense out of bad field position.

Sheets and Bryant will handle the kick-off returns, and Royce Adams will return punts for the second straight season.

2007 Purdue Football Prediction

It’s no secret that the Purdue offense will rack up points this year. Similar to the Michigan Wolverines, the Boilermakers have many offensive weapons. The big question lies within the defense. After a weak 2006 showing the defense returns nine starters which should help the unit become better at stopping teams from averaging nearly 27 points per game. The Boilermakers will miss Wisconsin this year but face a tough three-game stretch with Notre Dame and Ohio State at home, and then a trip to the Big House on October 13th. Purdue has ten victories in sight this year and a very good shot at making some noise for the conference championship.

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