Purdue Football: 5 Things That Need to Happen in 2021 to Make a Jump

2021 has to be the jump year.

1. Consistency at Quarterback – The last two seasons have been a roller coaster at this position after David Blough and Elijah Sindelar gave us a couple of years of stability. Since then, Jack Plummer and Aidan O’Connell have went back and forth with the starting job. It is looking like a 4 man race this spring and summer with AOC, Plummer, Austin Burton and Mike Alaimo all returning this year. Alaimo was a former 4 start recruit who took a redshirt, don’t be surprised if he makes a leap. Huge arm.
2. Improved Offensive Line – The offensive line made a nice jump last year in the pass game. I would love to see us improve in run blocking. The hard part of it is, Coach Brohm recruits tall and lean offensive linemen that are experts in pass protection – good athletes with good feet. But, if they don’t improve much in run game, the continued surge of pass protection would be great. Tyler Witt is coming from WKU to help with the interior offensive line and Greg Long decided to return – both will boost the OL. Gus Hartwig is the star of that group and will only get better.
3. Defensive Schemes to make sense – There just wasn’t a whole lot of things that made sense on the defensive side of the ball. The scheme Bobby D brought in didn’t fit. The coach didn’t fit. From everything I have read, it seems like Coach Lambert (awesome name!) will make the scheme based around what he has of players. To me, that sounds more like a 4-2-5. In his career, he has done just about everything. His old head coaches he worked for all have had glowing reviews of his approach and ability to reach the players.
4. Punting – What a disaster this has been. Jack Ansell, an Aussie, is coming to campus to try and save the day. Really, this one could have been everything but field goals. Kick and Punt Returns have also been bad. Kick off coverage could have been better. I put punting as I see it as the biggest issue. Punting is really the first form of defense when changing possessions. Only kicking the ball 25 to 35 yards is not really flipping the field. We need a punter to consistently be in the upper 30s and lowers 40s to truly flip the field and give our defense a chance to make a stop.
5. Identity – I want this Purdue team to find an identity again. If we can do that, I think we can make a jump back into success in 2021. Lets bring back the trick plays, the pregame speeches, the fire. Get the ball to the athletes and have fun. Let the defensive playmakers dominate. Find an identity and lets roll.

I am ready for Spring Ball!