#60 Purdue - Season Preview

2019 RECAP

The 2019 season was really dampened by the loss of explosive WR Rondale Moore. But, in his absence, true freshman David Bell took off. The passing game from afar looked much better than it really was to most, however. Finishing 7th in the Power5 in passing yards with 310, yet just 41st in yards per attempt. Quarterback play was inconsistent to say the least with 3 guys taking significant snaps due to injuries throughout the year. The run game was basically nonexistent. Not only was it not really in the gameplay, but when they did run the ball it was very ineffective. The offensive line ended up with dismal numbers in the run game according to Football Outsiders.

The defense really struggled as well throughout the year. A couple of bright spots were Karlaftis and Barnes on the edge of the D-Line who both tallied 8 sacks, however, beyond that there was not much to show for. Purdue surrendered over 430 yards a game, almost 200 of which came on the ground ranking 56th in the Power5.

A full year of Rondale Moore and David Bell is something Purdue fans are very excited about and they should be. The duo projects to be one of the best in the country. Moore played in just 4 games a year ago after a hamstring injury sidelined him the rest of the year. In 2018, Moore became the first true freshman consensus All-American in Big10 history after he hauled in 114 catches for over 1200 yards and 12 touchdowns. An explosive, versatile weapon, Moore seemed to do it all for the Boilermakers and his departure really hurt them. However, it did give David Bell a chance to explode. Bell is a big-bodied, 6'2" 210-pound receiver who plays a very physical game. High points the ball well and made highly contested catches throughout last year as a true freshman. The difference in styles between the two should work out great and that passing attack should again be great in 2020.

The QB situation is still to be determined. As of now, many are giving the nod to Jack Plummer who was the first of the two to take over after Sindelar went down for the year early last year. Competition arose after Plummer missed the last 3 games with a leg injury and Aidan O'Connell came in and performed rather great. This lead to HC Jeff Brohm announcing the two would be splitting reps this spring. Purdue got some spring ball in and the early reports were both QBs were doing great, and no decisions have been made. There may not be a large difference in the offense with either winning the job, and overall Purdue will be just fine at quarterback in 2020. Expectations will be high with the receiving core, so one could expect a short leash to come along with that.

King Doerue is another intriguing name for this 2020 Purdue offense. The running back showed great flashes as a true freshman a year ago. Doerue is a short, stocky, bowling ball of a running back who doesn't show elite speed but does a phenomenal job at making guys miss and runs tough. It would be nice to see Purdue balance things out a bit more in 2020 and utilize the power run game of Doerue.

Chances of that happening will depend on how much the offensive line improves. Purdue will return a veteran group in 2020, returning 4 starters from a year ago. Unfortunately, the 2019 group was pretty bad at creating room for Doerue and others. Football Outsiders created the unit with just 2.09 Line Yards which ranked 125th in the nation. Purdue just did not run the ball at a high volume so overall the offense performed just about average.

A rather terrible year defensively leads to a new defensive coordinator in 2020 with the hiring of Bob Diaco. Diaco will change presumably change things up to 3-4 scheme in an attempt to bring some more athleticism to the middle of the field. The unit was awful against the run last year, surrendering almost 200 yards a game, ranking 56th in the P5. The addition of another linebacker will hopefully alleviate some of those issues.

The D-Line, which already boasts a great player in George Karlaftis, will get a huge boost with the return of Lorenzo Neal. Neal missed all of 2019 with a torn ACL, he was an honorable mention to the All-Big10 team in 2018. An athletic 315 pounder, Neal will be a great compliment inside next to Karlaftis. Rounding out the DL will be another 5th year senior in Anthony Watts. Overall the DL is very experienced and very talented and should excel.

Diaco will look to get more athletic for the most part amongst the linebacker unit in 2020. Jalen Graham will likely convert from safety and Juco transfer Demarcus Mitchell will likely be on the other side. Inside will be returning starter Jaylan Alexander and converted LB to DE back to LB Derrick Barnes. Barnes will be an intriguing player to watch this year. He performed well in his transition to defensive end in 2019 where he racked up 8 sacks. He seemed to struggle in coverage back when he was a LB in 2018, however, he was on the outside at that time. Now moving to the inside his body size may match better and his speed and coverage skills may not be as exposed as before. This unit will need to be a huge part of the turnaround defensively in 2020.

A veteran secondary group will return who for the most part performed well last year. The loss of CB Kenneth Major and the move to 3-4 scheme will likely mean Simeon Smiley, who played primarily nickel last year, will move back to safety this year. Cory Trice slid into the starting lineup halfway through last year and blossomed. The 6'3" cornerback showed big-play ability and was very active in the secondary. He earned All-Big10 honorable mention honors while playing in just 8 games his RS Freshman campaign.