What Paul Chryst said about Purdue this week

Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst held his weekly Monday press conference ahead of the Badgers’ matchup with Purdue as UW gets back to Big Ten play.

The Badgers are looking to get above .500 for the first time this season, and it will have to come on the road at Purdue. The Boilermakers are coming off of the biggest upset of the young Big Ten season, as they went to Iowa and knocked off the No. 2 Hawkeyes last Saturday.

Chryst spoke on star Boilermakers receiver David Bell, stud defensive end George Karlaftis, and more during his Monday session with the media. Here is a look at what the Badger head coach had to say:

On Purdue's star WR David Bell:

“He is really good. Not that that’s a newsflash… talented, really talented. Obviously, along with that, they have great confidence in him. They do a really good job offensively, he compliments so much of what they do but he is really talented.”

On Purdue DE George Karlaftis:

“They do a nice job, we know that he’s impactful. They do a nice job of moving him around… he’s got a great motor and you see that… the really good ones do that. The good ones find ways to make an impact. That makes it challenging when you go against them but that’s what separates the good from the great.”

On the Badgers controlling their Big Ten West destiny:

“That happens over the course of a season, our older guys know you’ve got to play out a whole season, a lot of things happen. We’re at the halfway point of our season, there’s a lot of football left to be played. The best way to take advantage of that is to be in the moment… excited to be back in the West and take on a good Purdue team… I think if you’re focusing on the end you’re going to miss the best part.”

On the Purdue defense as a whole:

“We’ve talked about their players, they’ve got a number of really good players. They compliment and play off of each other. They are really savvy and I think they’ve got great awareness… seems like they really play the game and have an energy about them. They’ve got a couple of guys that can truly create problems.”

On Badger QB Graham Mertz:

“I think that any quarterback if you can create rhythm throws for them, that helps. The rhythm comes from multiple factors, good protection, receivers doing their part, the pattern matching the coverages… Graham’s no different there, if you can get him in a rhythm that’s a great way to do it. He’s got the ability to make a lot of throws to get himself in a rhythm.”

On Badger RB Braelon Allen

“He’s certainly growing and learning from the experiences that he’s had. Love his approach, the approach he takes toward practice, toward the meeting room, it’s been good… he’s just starting. He will get better but really like the start that he’s had.”

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