Indiana State at Purdue football: 5 players to track in Saturday's game
WEST LAFAYETTE – As Purdue looks to bounce back from its season-opening loss to Penn State, here are five players to track in Saturday’s matchup against Indiana State at Ross-Ade Stadium:
Tyrone Tracy
Only two touches for the Iowa transfer who was expected to be featured more in the offense at running back and receiver. Tracy should touch the ball more against the Sycamores and that probably will lead to big plays. The Indianapolis native is a threat in the running game and the passing game and coach Jeff Brohm needs to lean on that versatility, not only Saturday but throughout the season. Tracy showed in the spring – and yes, it was just spring practice – he forces defenses to play him from sideline to sideline. Indiana State will experience trouble doing that.
Aidan O'Connell
Purdue’s quarterback completed only 50% of his passes against the Nittany Lions but we’ve come to expect more from the sixth-year standout. In fact, it’s the lowest completion percentage for O’Connell during his time with the Boilermakers, whether he was starting or coming off the bench. He wants a handful of throws back, especially in the fourth quarter when Purdue had a chance to put the game away. The coverage on receivers won’t be as tight and O’Connell is expected to spread the ball around.
Dante Hendrix
Indiana State’s top receiver didn’t play in the opener against North Alabama but is expected to see action Saturday. He’s a sixth-year player and brings plenty of experience and will challenge Purdue’s thin secondary with his physical presence. Cornerbacks Cory Trice, Reese Taylor and Jamari Brown must defend without creating penalties, but their size and athletic ability should be able to keep Hendrix under wraps. Plus, the trio – along with others – need to improve their open field tackling, a sore spot from last week’s loss.
Nic Caraway
Not trying to overhype the freshman defensive end from Texas but he has tremendous athletic ability and strength and it’s only a matter of time before he sees more playing time. He’s not ready to start but Caraway will slowly see more snaps as he learns the system. On his first play at defensive end against Penn State, he bull-rushed the offensive tackle back into the lap of quarterback Sean Clifford. Caraway put pressure on Clifford on the game-winning TD pass and needed to contain the sixth-year standout better but that will come with experience. The more he plays, the more Caraway can help generate a pass rush as the season moves forward. He was one of 12 defensive linemen to see action and if Saturday’s game goes as expected, Caraway should earn valuable experience.
"He has that push and athleticism and strength that is hard to find," Brohm said. "When you play your first game against a really good opponent, you have to be careful that you don't expose them too much just because he has not seen that type of talent that fast, but I thought he did some good things.
"He's got great promise. We have to continue to school him up but he's done a really good job."
Chris Jefferson
His pick-six, which turned into a social media meme when he vomited on the sideline, continues to reverberate. Everyone, including his family, continues to send him the video clip. He’s a good sport about it but it shows the type of playmaker the transfer from Findlay University, a Division II program, can be for the Boilermakers. And the defense needs more playmakers and Jefferson’s role will change through the season, moving between nickel and safety. He’s more than capable of playing any position in the secondary and Purdue will lean on his experience to make plays in the secondary against pass-happy teams. Jefferson is an important player Saturday but also throughout the rest of the season.
Mike Carmin covers Purdue sports for the Journal & Courier and USA Today Network. Email mcarmin@gannett.com and follow on Twitter and Instagram @carmin_jc
Indiana State (1-0) at Purdue (0-1)
Saturday
Time: 4 p.m.
TV: BTN
Radio: WAZY (96.5)
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Indiana State vs Purdue: 5 players to track in Saturday's game
