As you know, we're not members of the traditional media...don't claim to be...don't want to be. What we do is read, watch, assess and then write down our thoughts.
So while this week has been pretty busy in Purdue sports, we don't have much first-hand access to anything that's happening...but we're not the only ones.
As Painter's boys travel across Italy, Larry Clisby's accounts tell the story to every traditional media outlet. And as Hope's boys get in the flow of practice, and even begin two-a-days, very few who don't wear pads, helmets or whistles truly know how those practices are going.
If you haven't chosen to geek up, as I have this week, here's a synopsis of some of the more-memorable points.
BASKETBALL
-Raphael Davis started his unofficial career in a Purdue uni with 15 points. Marcius also stood out with a great follow-up to the public scrimmage. He pulled down a whopping 15 boards. Hale had a double-double with 11 and 11. Hammons played a solid first half, pulling down a half dozen rebounds...but didn't play much in the second half.
-The usual characters- Byrd, TJohn and other returning starters didn't fill up the stat sheet...but probably didn't have much opportunity to do so. The Boilers beat the tar out of a very bad team, 80-38. A few accounts outside of the Purdue family said the opponent looked like a bunch of guys gathered from the street outside of the arena.
FOOTBALL
-TerBush is still the man...and probably will be until at least the start of September. According to Hope, the practices give Marve no real way to unseat 19 as the starter...which makes no sense to me.
-Henry is playing a bunch of positions in practice...from slot, to WR, to QB, to RB to PR. I'm glad to hear this. He's an impact player...and if his knee is good to go, he should be on the field instead of on the bench.
-Robert Gregory was the first of the 100 QBs on the roster to switch to another position full-time. He's getting a look at RB after asking for the switch.
-Ross and Beckford are both running with the ones and seem to be in very good standing with the coaches and their teammates.
-Gaston, Short, Allen and Russell have all been impressive thus far in camp.
-The more I hear, the more I believe Purdue will use the 4-3 as a secondary package...and the 3-4 will become its bread and butter. This switch will see Maci as a big contributor as OLB.
-Knauf, Griggs, Meadows, Roos and Anthrop seem to be the Freshman that have separated themselves a bit from the rest of their class...but there's still time for a few others to get a better handle of the speed and the new schemes in the next few weeks.
-Hope is his usual positive self...but seems very conscientious of sloppy play from last season. As J wrote about earlier, he's trying some unconventional methods to try to get rid of these bad habits. If nothing else, he's definitely shaken up his normal camp regiment in an effort to have the team ready quicker than in past seasons.