SB Nation - Kory Sheets

Gettin Familiar With: Purdue

Rodger Sherman — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:41:40 -0000

This post is about two things: Purdue Boilermakers football and... romance.

She stared deep into his limpid, pupil-less eyes, and immediately knew that she could never be with another man wearing a mask of a really weird looking, possibly soulless engineer with a helmet again

On the season: The Boilers got off to an alright start, I guess, beating Toledo 52-31, but since then, it's been three coulda, shoulda, woulda, but, uh, didn't games for Purdue. First came a 38-36 loss to Oregon - yes that Oregon, who just whomped Cal - that came due to a missed PAT and a last-second two-point conversion that was caught just a few inches outside of the end zone. Then came an embarrassing loss at home to Northern Illinois, who, quite frankly, dominated Purdue. Then came a heartbreaking 24-21 loss to Notre Dame, where Danny Hope majorly aided Notre Dame's game-winning touchdown drive by calling a timeout in the waning seconds, a decision inspired probably by playing Madden on three minute quarters and letting your opponent score easily with like 40 seconds left so you have the ball with time to score. Anyway, Purdue is a few plays away from being 3-1 with two wins over signature teams, but then again by that logic, NU is a few plays away from being 4-0 and almost ranked. So all you need to know is that they're 1-3.

Us and them: Purdue is 49-26-1 against us all-time. That all-time record reminds me of another set of numbers...

Oh yeah. We beat them 48-26 last year. The main thing I remember from this game is that we were lifting this one guy every point we scored, but after lifting him 41 times, it was really hard to lift him 48 times a few minutes later. I also remember collecting disembodied Pat Fitzgerald heads-on-sticks, but that's neither here nor there.

Unfortunately, there's been a surprising amount of overturn from last year at Purdue - Curtis Painter, who lobbed three picks, is gone, and Kory Sheets, who really dominated us on the ground running for 168 yards and two touchdowns, is also gone. And in case you ain't heard, Joe Tiller, last year's head coach, has been replaced with Danny Hope, the fourth team we've played with a new head coach. Purdue also has new offensive and defensive coordinators, making them the fourth team we've played replacing a head coach and both coordinators, and the fifth with at least one new coordinator. I hope you guys hate continuity.

Offense: Ralph Bolden is sort of good at running back. He's averaging 6.2 - six, point, two - yards-per-carry, and 488 yards rushing in four games.. Yeah, some of that is skewed by a 234 yard game against Toledo, but, that's still a little bit less than half his yardage on the year. Even in his lowest total on the year - a 12-carry, 67-yard performance against Northern Illinois - he was still averaging those 5.3 yards-per-carry and had 62 yards receiving. The guys good. And he'll touch the ball 20 times this game, so, long story short, panic.

Joey Elliott is a fifth-year senior starting for the first time, and he's not so hot, but he's not really what we need to worry about. He threw three picks against Toledo, and although he redeemed himself with a three td, one pick performance against Notre Dame, I don't know, he's really just not a great passer if you watch him just a little bit. He'll hit short open guys, and he'll hit them well, but he's not going to be Purdue's focal point by any stretch. Keith Smith accounts for 358 receiving yards, about twice as many as anybody else on the team, but I don't think he'll trouble Sherrick McManis much.

Defense: Purdue has a Northwestern style defense, by which I mean "they couldn't tackle your grandmother if she was walking at a brisk enough pace." This isn't something I've discovered because I'm a football analyst, or because I'm a Purdue fan who has pored over game tape, I just watched a few highlight reels on youtube, all of which are less than a minute, and you can see that a lot of the medium-to-huge size plays Purdue gives up are because they really just don't wrap people up. It's important to note that Northern Illinois ran for 280 yards against Purdue.

In terms of passing defense, they do average a pick a game, but, yeah, Toledo threw for 423 yards against them, and I understand they're a pass-heavy offense, but, yeah, that's not going to cut it.

Special Teams: I don't generally cover special teams in these posts, but Purdue has a fella named Carson Wiggs who freakin' nailed a 59-yarder against Toledo. Yeah, 59. That's almost 60. Which is almost 63. Which is the longest field goal in NFL history.

Then again, he also missed an extra point against Oregon. This sort of inconsistency is known amongst those in the kicking world as a case of "the Demoses."

Transitive property logic that makes me confident we'll beat this team by a lot:

Normally I do this using lopsided scores from the previous year.. but we beat this team by 22 last year. No transitive property logic needed, that was sort of a beatdown.

So, that's that. A day late and a lot of football analysis short, but, deal with it, it's what I got. See you some other time, people.

Welcome to the Fold: Tracking Edition week 3

BoilerTMill — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 13:57:50 -0000

It is a Labor Day edition of this newest feature. We do have sad news on the other end of the spectrum, as cutdown day in the NFL was very hard on former Boilers. Some, like Charles Davis, Greg Orton, and Eugene Bright were longshots to make their respective rosters. Others were surprises. Stu Schweigert and John Standeford were both cut by the Lions. Kory Sheets was shockingly cut from the 49ers after having a fantastic preseason. Anthony Heygood suffered a similar fate as an undrafted free agent with Carolina. The most shocking of all was that Bernard Pollard was cut by the Chiefs. I'll keep an eye out for them, as many of these guys could land elsewhere as the season goes on.

In the mean time, here is what our current high school commits did last week, as a few more finally got their seasons underway.

Sean Robinson - QB - Rochester, IL (Rochester) - Rochester moved to 2-0 behind Robinson with a 57-35 victory over Rantoul. Statistics have not been fully posted for this game yet, but judging from the crude box score Robinson had five touchdown passes on the night. Three of these touchdown passes were 40 yards are more, so it sounds like a very good night for the young quarterback.

Joe Gilliam - LB - Southport, IN (Southport) - Southport began Conference Indiana play against a pretty good Pike team in Lucas Oil Stadium Saturday night. Unfortunately, the Cardinals already find themselves playing catch-up after winning the league undefeated last year. Pike won 33-7. The Indianapolis Star, in their crack coverage, covered two of the four games at Lucas Oil on Saturday, but provided nothing on Pike-Southport. Any in person reports on Gilliam's play would be greatly appreciated.

Charles Torwudzo - WR - Brownsburg, IN (Brownsburg) - Brownsburg suffered its first loss of the season as it traveled to Hamilton Southeastern. The Royals won easily 41-20, and Chuck T was held to just 2 catches for 15 yards. That link also has some video, but it is Hamilton Southeastern-centric.

Jeremy Cornelius - WR - Harrisburg, PA (Bishop McDevitt) - The 4^th ranked Crusaders began the season with an impressive 41-16 win over Harrisburg this past week. Cornelius did not find the end zone, but he had one catch for 15 yards.

De'Ron Flood - TE - O'Fallon, IL (O'Fallon) - O'Fallon got into the win column for the first time this year with a 38-7 win over Mt. Vernon. Flood had four catches for 44 yards and a touchdown, while also adding a two point conversion catch. His performance was the best receiving performance for his team.

Josh Davis - DT - Plain City, OH (Jonathan Alder) - Alder fell to 0-2 on the season with a 49-14 loss at home against Canal Winchester. Once again, stats were hard to come by, but we'll see if Jsoh's dad e-mails me againt his week, so stay tuned.

Mike Lee - LB - Pittsburgh, PA (Woodland Hills) - Woodland Hills began its season with a 13-0 loss to Steubenvill Friday night. I found no stats for Mr. Lee, but this was a defensive struggle for most of the game. I am sure he was prominently involved as a linebacker.

Ryan Isaac - DE - Michigan City, IN (Michigan City) - Michigan City moved to 3-0 for the first time since 2005 with a 31-21 win over Chesterton Friday night. While there have not been any stats posted for this game, Isaac has been impressive in his first two games. I also did find some photos of MC's very nice new home field.

Some new turf and commit Ryan Isaac are helping to turn around Michigan City's historically moribund program.

E.J. Johnson - DB - Cocoa, FL (Cocoa) - Cocoa has a very late start, not getting underway until September 11^th with a home game against American Heritage. Cocoa carries a #1 ranking into the season in Florida's class 2A. That is to be expected though, as they are the defending state champion in that class.

Will Lucas - LB - Lakeland, FL (Lakeland) - Lakeland also does not start until September 11, playing at Winter Haven. Lakeland, last year's state runner-up to mythical National Champion St. Thomas Aquinas, begins the season as the #2 team in Florida's class 5A.

Jess Schmitt - LS - Louisville, KY (Trinity) - After getting upset by Lawrence north in the opener, Trinity rebounded with a 27-0 win over DuPont Manual.

An early look at the Purdue Boilermakers.

John M (The Crimson Quarry) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 18:13:06 -0000

More photos » by David Banks - AP

Yes, it's a fake mustache. They wouldn't give me the job without it.

Browse more photos »

Purdue Boilermakers
Last meeting: 11/22/2008 (Purdue 62, IU 10 in West Lafayette)
Last IU win: 11/17/2007 (IU 27, Purdue 24 in Bloomington)
Series: Purdue leads 69-36-6
Coach: Danny Hope (first season)

When we last saw Purdue, the Boilers were running all over the Hoosiers on the way to a 62-10 Old Oaken Bucket game victory over Indiana. The 2008 season was by far Joe Tiller’s worst season at Purdue, but the Boilers finished strong and sent Tiller out as a big winner in a rivalry game. Tiller finished his career with a 10-2 record over IU. The two IU wins were razor close, and seven of Purdue’s 10 wins were by 24 points or more. The cliche surrounding rivalry games is "throw out the records," and that was true in the Tiller era, but only for Purdue. The two IU teams that won the Bucket, the 2001 and 2007 teams, are by far IU’s best teams of the post-Mallory era and IU probably had a better team than Purdue in both seasons. On the other hand, Purdue’s only losing teams under Tiller, the 2005 team and last year’s team, beat IU by an average of 39 points in those two seasons. Purdue is at its lowest point since Tiller came to town, and so it is attainable and important for IU to make this a competitive rivalry again. We can take heart that this condition need not be permanent: against Tiller's two immediate predecessors, Jim Colletto and Fred Akers, IU went 7-3. Hopefully, IU will have more success against new coach Danny Hope, but it would be hard to have less.

I won’t say too much about last year’s game, but I will direct you to a couple of my posts from last year. Simply, may have been the worst loss in school history. IU has lost badly before, and IU has lost to bad teams before, but never, in 115 years of football, had IU lost so badly to a bad team. Here are Purdue's stats from 2008, including the NCAA stat summary and the Statsheet page. Purdue's overall offense production was average (#48 in total offense) and pass-heavy. Still, the offense was somehow less than the sum of its parts. Curtis Painter graduated with his name all over Purdue's football record book, but never really put things together. In 2008, he averaged 248 yards per game, but completed fewer than 60 percent of his passes and threw 13 TDs to 11 INTs. Purdue averaged on 6 yards per passing play, with was #93 nationally. Still, Painter will be missed, as Purdue will be starting unproven senior Joey Elliott at QB. At running back, Kory Sheets was very good last year, and he likely will be replaced by Jaycen Taylor. Taylor missed all of 2008 because of a knee injury, but he did play as a freshman and sophomore, and has a career yards-per-carry average of 5.7. Purdue's top two receivers are gone, but Keith Smith, who caught 486 yards and 2 TDs last year, is back, and Purdue is relying on a number of defensive position-switchers and juco transfers. Purdue returns most of the O-line. On defense, the Boilers return a reasonably experienced defense, particularly in the secondary, although they lost some key contributors on the line and in the linebacking corps.

The transition at Purdue seems like as good a time as any to bring some regular, rather than occasional, competitiveness to this rivalry. The future is uncertain for both programs, and every prognositcator seems to be picking these two programs to finish #10 and #11 in the conference. We will know by the time this game rolls around whether either IU or Purdue can prove the experts wrong.

Know thy Opponent 2009: Michigan State Spartans

BoilerTMill — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:15:49 -0000

My Big Ten road trip last season was to East Lansing. I braved the wind and cold to officially watch our bowl chances go up in smoke. This year, Michigan State comes to West Lafayette on Senior Day. It will be the final home game for 21 Purdue seniors, and if we don't have five wins or more at this point, it could mean the difference between a bowl game and another season home for the holidays.

Michigan State is an interesting team. We did not adapt to the cold well last year and had a number of dropped passes. We handed them seven points on an awful interception before halftime. Also, at one point we had to play a fourth string walk-on scout team quarterback. Still, we did not play that badly (at least on defense) in a 21-7 loss. That gives me hope that this year can be different.

2008 Record: 9-4, (6-2 Big Ten)

Bowl Result: lost Capitol One Bowl 24-12 to Georgia

Blog Representation: The Only Colors, The Enlightened Spartan, Sparty MSU

Series with Purdue: Michigan State leads 30-28-3

Last Purdue win: 11/4/2006 at Michigan State 17-15

Last Michigan State win: 11/8/2008 at Michigan State 21-7

Last season for the Spartans:

Last year was a Purdue-esque season for Michigan State. I think we can all agree that the Big Ten as a whole was in the middle of a down year. Michigan State played nine mediocre-to-bad teams and four really good teams. Predictably, they finished with a 9-4 record. They lost a relatively close game on the road at California, got trucked by Ohio State and Penn State, then lost the Capitol One Bowl to a good Georgia team. There was little doubt they were the third best team in the conference, as there was clear separation between them, the top of Ohio State and Penn State, and everyone else.

Are Sparty and Pete long lost brothers?

A huge reason for their success, Javon Ringer, is now gone. Brian Hoyer is also gone at the quarterback position. Their 2009 non-conference schedule is sneaky tough. Aside from a gimme game against Montana State, Michigan State hosts two of the better teams in the MAC. Games against Central Michigan and Western Michigan are hardly easy wins because both teams feature solid offenses with veteran quarterbacks. Both are more than capable of pulling an upset. There is also a trip to Notre Dame, where everyone in the country hopes the Spartans can continue their ownership of the Irish in Notre Dame Stadium. The hopes of a nation are with the Spartans that day, as a Michigan State victory would give Notre Dame one of the critical four losses needed to assure they don't get another undeserved BCS bowl bid.

As far as our game last season with the Spartans, I felt it was another missed opportunity. The defense played well and prevented Ringer from going totally nuts, but our offense failed to do anything until a final 98 yard drive that prevented a shutout. We had a good game plan, but one mistake (Siller's awful pick six) pretty much ruined any chance of a victory.

Michigan State offense:

Michigan State must find a way to replace Javon Ringer. Ringer had a monster season, rushing an astounding 390 times for 1,637 yards and 22 TD's. For good measure, he added 28 receptions for another 190 yards and even returned 11 kicks for 224 yards. He outscored the kicker, which is rare, and accounted for more than a third of Michigan State's total yardage gained on the season. Andre Anderson was second on the team in rushing attempts and yards with only 26 carries for 97 yards. Hoyer and Ashton Leggett are the only other players that had a rushing touchdown, each scoring once. Glenn Winston, who was recently released from jail, has now been reinstated as well.

How do you replace a guy that touches the ball on 429 different plays? Anderson, now a sophomore, is first in line to be the starter at tailback. Most likely, however, they will try to replace the yards by committee. A.J. Jimmerson and Leggett will also be contributors as Michigan State looks, at this early stage, to have the same running back-by-committee approach that we will have. They also have a star running back recruit that is a bit of a wild card like our own Al-Terek McBurse. Edwin Baker was one of the best high school running backs in the country last season. He is 5'10", 205 and already has enough size to make an early impression.

The quarterback battle is another key area for Michigan State. Kirk Cousins and Keith Nichol appear to be dead even for the starting job at the moment, and both could play significant minutes. Nichol sat out last season after transferring from Oklahoma, while Cousins saw a decent amount of action as Hoyer's backup. Cousins' 32 completions on 43 attempts gave him a very high percentage. He ended up with 310 yards passing and two touchdowns against one interception. That in-game experience may give him a very slight edge for now.

Many of the top receivers return from a unit that was very balanced. Blair White (49-659-1) had the most receptions, but tight end Charlie Gantt (19-304-4) was the leader in touchdowns. Michigan State was not afraid to go to Gantt in short yardage situations or at the goal line. Gantt actually had the longest reception of the season for Michigan State with an 82 yard catch and run. B.J. Cunningham (41-528-0) will be the main #2 receiver, while Mark Dell (36-679-3) led the team in receiving yards. This is an experienced receiving unit that should help the growth of either Cousins or Nichol.

The Spartans must replace the entire right side of their offensive line, which was possibly the best part of the line. Rocco Cironi at 6'6" 308 is the anchor at left tackle, and he is an excellent run blocker. This line will likely excel at run blocking once again as the passing game gets used to a new quarterback. Of course, this late in the season Michigan State should be together and will likely be playing much better than at the beginning. Joel Foreman and Joel Nitchman provide stability as returning starters at left guard and center, respectively.

Michigan State defense:

It is no surprise that Michigan State's defense continues to get better, as Mark Dantonio is a defense-first style of coach. This year, the Spartans return eight starters from a unit that got better, but still struggled against the really good teams on its schedule. Cal, Penn State, and Ohio State scored seemingly at will on the Spartans, but this unit did play a respectable game against Georgia in the bowl game.

One of the biggest losses on defense was safety Otis Wiley. Wiley delivered a hit on Kory Sheets in the 2007 game that led to a fumble return for a touchdown that sealed the game for MSU. Junior Marcus Hyde is the leading candidate to replace him after registering 31 tackles and an interception in reserve action. Johnny Adams could see the field at cornerback, and he already has hurt us. It was his pick six just before halftime in last year's game that virtually sealed that loss. Unfortunately for him, Ross Weaver and Chris Rucker already have the starting spots nailed down. Danny Fortener will man the other safety spot, giving Michigan State one of the most experienced secondaries in the Big Ten. The group managed 14 interceptions last year, but four came from Wiley.

Linebacker Greg Jones is probably the player to watch on the defense. He led the team in tackles and tackles for loss last year, registering 127 stops and 14 behind the line of scrimmage. He is excellent against the run and could be one of the top linebackers in the nation. Eric Gordon and Brandon Denson will play the outside spots, though Denson is a bit undersized by Big Ten standards. Gordon was second on the team with 85 tackles and added three sacks in 2008. This unit is not afraid to blitz the quarterback, making pass protection difficult.

Senior defensive end Trevor Anderson has been with Dantonio since his time at Cincinnati. He had 8 sacks a year ago, but three came against Michigan. He tends to play in streaks, so he will either have a monster game or all but disappear against us. Colin Neely is the newcomer to the defensive line at the other end position. He and tackle Kevin Pickleman are undersized, but will be sued more as pass rusher than run stoppers. That's to be expected as good as MSU's linebackers are. Oren Wilson is a true sophomore, but he started every game at tackle as a freshman last year.

Michigan State Special Teams:

Brett Swenson makes sure that the Spartans get points any time they get near the end zone. He was 22 of 28 on field goals with a long of 50 yards. He has made 52 career field goals in his time in East Lansing, making him one of the Big Ten's most proficient kickers. Aaron Bates also returns as a solid punter, averaging 42 yards per boot. The punt coverage wasn't great, however, as teams averaged 10 yards per return and MSU did give up a touchdown.

The kickoff return game struggled mightily, not even averaging 20 yards per return. It should be a lively competition to see who gets the starting job here, but A.J. Jimmerson is the leading candidate. With Wiley gone, Michigan State also must find a new punt returner.

Intangibles:

It is senior day for us, so that has to be worth something. Unfortunately, we are getting Michigan State at the end of the season instead of the beginning. By this point, both the quarterback and running back derbies should be settled. The defense will likely play at a very high level all season long. All they need is an offense that can go out and give them 20-25 points per game. With no Ohio State on the schedule, it is possible that the Spartans will be a week away from a very big home game against Penn State for the Big Ten title. If they are looking ahead it will be beneficial to us, but I doubt they will be looking ahead.

Still, I don't think this is a daunting team. Last year they were good and just beat up on a mediocre league. They are in the same position to do so this year. Our game in East Lansing was hardly a dominating blowout. Our mistakes gave MSU more than enough to win. We handed them seven points and generated virtually nothing on offense because of dropped passes. This has been a wild series since 1997 where the best team hasn't necessarily won every game. That was true of our surprising upset in 1999 as it was of Michigan State's in 2000.

I hate myself for leaving this game early

Game Outlook:

Again, I don't like that this game is at the end of the year. Michigan State is too solid of a team and could have too much to play for. Look at some of our recent wins over them. In 1997 and 1998 we won because of their mistakes late in games they dominated. Our last win in the series in 2006 came about because of a late interception that set up Casey Welch's late field goal. When we have won it has been because the Spartans screwed up. If they play a mistake free game we lose. I see that happening again here.

Prediction:

We had better five wins at this point, because if we're counting on this one as #5 I think we will be in for a long wait. I still think Indiana is our ace in the hole for getting win #6 and the bowl bid that comes with it. Beating Michigan State would be nice, but they simply are better and more experienced than us right now. I think we lose a close one at home where their maturity comes through. Michigan State 24, Purdue 21

Predicting the Season - Purdue Boilermakers

dvieira — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 17:00:15 -0000

via blog.oregonlive.com. No Jarius Byrd next year but Oregon should have more opportunities like this punt return.

Although Boise State is getting most of the attention from the media, I'm personally looking forward to the 2nd week of the season when the Purdue Boilermakers come to town. BoilerTMill, with the SB Nation blog Hammer and Rails, took a look at the matchup with Oregon back in June. We also talked him into doing a question and answer session in May. Even though the Big-10 has been getting a bad rap the past few years for being "down", there is something exciting about seeing a good, old-fashioned Pac-10/Big-10 matchup.

In 2008, Oregon escaped Ross-Ade Stadium with a victory in overtime as LaGarrette Blount ran it into the endzone for the go ahead score. I wish I had seen it. Back in the early part of the year, I agreed to help out some friends by working at the Shrewsbury Renaissance Faire. It was blistering outside, dusty with no chance for relief. Because I was working the faire, I had to be in costume. Of course, I picked the hottest, most uncomfortable monk's outfit I could find for the event. I sat in my car with the engine on, air conditioning blazing, listening to Jerry Allen call the game on an extremely weak radio broadcast, cursing and banging my head into the steering wheel, honking the horn at regular intervals. At halftime, I had all but given up. I was depressed, weakened from the Boilermaker onslaught, the searing heat and the looks of fellow nerds scoffing at the prospect of someone enjoying a sporting event. I worked a shift at a stage and slowly marched back to the car after 45 minutes just in time to find out that Oregon had come back to send the game into overtime. Heavenly...

With Purdue coming to town in early September, let's take a look at the Boilermakers and how things match up for Oregon

Oregon's Offense vs. Purdue's Defense

Purdue's defense is similar to Boise State's in that they bring back a very talented and experienced secondary with a very young front seven that hasn't performed well against the run. Because of the other schools in the Big-10 scooping up the majority of the talent, Purdue's approach seems to be taking talented athletes and putting them in position to help the team, no matter what that position is. They are the type of team that might put a quarterback at linebacker if it meant helping the team win. The talent and athleticism is there to defend the spread and the issues it poses. With the team being so young and inexperienced however, there may be some cases of over-pursuit on the zone read and that's where Oregon's offense can win the day. Jeremiah Masoli is firmly entrenched as the starter for Oregon and ended the 2008 season on a tear. If the offensive line can gel quickly, Purdue may be in for a long afternoon on the ground, especially if their inexperience rears its ugly head. Purdue did a great job against Justin Roper last year but Jeremiah Masoli is a much bigger deep threat and with an improved passing game, Purdue's defense will have to respect the passing game which should open up the run even more.

The Purdue secondary is all coming back and is very deep. Even with an improved passing game, Oregon should have some difficulty passing against this veteran group, especially Torii Williams who is back for his 17th year of eligibility. Where Oregon can take advantage is the inexperience of the linebacking core and the lack of depth to create opportunities in the short to medium passing game as well getting to the second level in the ground attack. With all of the talk from Chip Kelly about using some double tightend sets, Purdue could be exposed to these types of plays, especially given the experience and talent level of the Duck tightends. We might see Ed Dickson break out.

The X-factor will be Kwann Short, 6-4, 310lb redshirt-freshman defensive tackle. This guy looks like a future NFL pick. If he turns it up a few degrees, he might cause some massive disruptions early on in the game that could change the outlook of the contest. With Oregon replacing several starters on the offensive line, his play could very well determine how successful Oregon can be executing the offense.

Oregon's Defense vs. Purdue's Offense

Purdue lost some key players from last year's squad including QB Curtis Painter and RB Kory Sheets. If you remember from last year, Sheets ripped Oregon up carrying the ball 29 times for 180 with 2 touchdowns. Jaycen Taylor, who was going to be splitting time with Sheets last year, should be coming back after missing last season with an ACL tear. Ralph Bolden and new comer Al-Terek McBurse will round out the stable of running backs that should give Purdue lots of options, depending on who has the hot hand. They've all got quickness and can run both inside and outside. Experience may be a factor when you start going down the depth chart but with Oregon essentially rebuilding their front 7, Purdue should have some opportunities to exploit the defense in the ground game.

With Curtis Painter gone to graduation and Justin Siller having academic issues, the job falls to senior Joey Elliott who saw some limited time last year before getting a shoulder injury. He doesn't have a lot of game experience but seems a serviceable replacement for Painter. A lot of what we will see from him will be determined by how good a fall camp he has. It will also depend on what the coaching staff sees from redshirt freshman Caleb TerBush. At 6-5, 222lb with a cannon for an arm, he may very well push Elliott out of the job during the season and should see time against Oregon as a change of pace. Depending on how crazy Coach Hope goes, could we see some double quarterback sets? The pass rush for Oregon should help to pressure Elliott or TerBush into some bad decisions. Will Tukuafu is back on the defensive line and is looking to break out of Nick Reed's shadow but he will be going up against an experienced Purdue offensive line. The injury bug made for a lot of shuffling last year for the Boilermakers but the upside of that is a ton of experience coming back. With a warmup game before traveling to Autzen, you may see them come together at just the right time to help neutralize a rebuilt Oregon defensive line.

The receiving core for Purdue is young and inexperienced but talented. The offensive schemes employed always seem to get the ball into the hands of their receivers and next year should be no different, despite the inexperience. Last year, Purdue dinked short passes all the way down the field and with Elliot back there, that success should continue. Oregon has a good amount of depth in the secondary coming back but defending the passing game was not one of their strong suits. The much-heralded linebacking core for Oregon will have a lot of opportunities to make plays, but it needs to translate to the field and not just practice. Purdue should be able to move the ball in the air in the short to medium passing game but the deep ball shouldn't be a factor in the game given Elliott's arm strength and the speed/experience of the Oregon secondary.

Special Teams

Chris Summers will have the punting duties for Purdue, averaging 38.4 yards per kick last year. He was doing the field goal kicking as well but only kicked 50% last year, causing Tiller to turn to Carson Wiggs. Summers had great success kicking field goals 2 years ago so he may come back to the job. The key is consistency and if I'm a Boilermaker, I don't feel good about having to guess about field goals. Purdue's biggest weakness appears to be in punt return coverage, giving up 16.7 yards per return and 3 touchdowns, one of those touchdowns being Jarius Byrd's 87 yard run. Oregon should have an advantage as returning kicks and punts has been a hallmark of Oregon teams the past few years. The kicking game should be good for Oregon with Morgan Flint coming back but punting is up in the air going into fall camp. Jackson Rice will be looked to for an immediate contribution in punting. If he doesn't stand out as the clear favorite going into the season, Oregon could be in a world of hurt in field position.

The Bottom Line

I think Oregon fans may be looking at Purdue's 4-8 record last year and be thinking that the Boilermakers will be a pushover. Even though Purdue has some question marks, they appear to be a solid team with several ways to hurt you. There is a lot of potential to couple with inexperience and sometimes that can be a dangerous mix. With Oregon coming off an emotional game at Boise State, the outcome of that game may very well impact how the Ducks home opener will go. Win at Boise State, and it could be a long day for Purdue. Lose at Boise State, and Oregon may come in flat with Purdue able to steal one at Autzen.

Prediction

A Big-10 team coming into Autzen is always huge but I predicted a win against Boise State and I'm going to predict a win here against Purdue to start us out 2-0. I think the Boilermakers will be able to score but not enough to keep Oregon's offense at bay.

Oregon 32 - Purdue 20

Boilermakings for 7/27

BoilerTMill — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:31:15 -0000

As usual, we begin the week with a quick Boilermakings, especially with Big Ten Media Days going on up in Chicago. I had the opportunity to head up to this, but turned it down because, well, I am an idiot. Several quality Big Ten blogs are in attendance that are based in the Chicago area, such as Maize N' Brew, Bucky's 5^th Quarter, and Hail to the Orange. They are providing fantastic first-hand coverage, as well as our own GBI.

Katie Douglas scores 11 in WNBA ALL-Star game - Douglas was named as a starter for this year's game while playing for the home town Indiana Fever. She is averaging 15 points per game as the Fever sit in first place halfway through the season. Their 12-4 record is the best in the WNBA.

Football lands safety commit from Florida - I'll talk about this more in a welcome to the Fold post later today, but Florida Safety E.J. Johnson, one of our top targets, committed last night.

David Boudia medals... again - Sophomore diver David Boudia has some more hardware after earning a silver medal in synchronized platform diving at the World Championships in Rome. The young man is making quite a career for himself and is bringing tons of notoriety to our growing diving program.

Carl Landry's basketball camp a huge hit - Current Houston Rockets player Carl Landry recently came back to West Lafayette and hosted a free basketball camp to huge success at West Lafayette High School. Landry is quickly becoming one of the NBA's good guys and a fine role model. I kind of view him as the last great contribution from Gene Keady and first from Matt Painter since he bridged both era's It is also very nice to see he is having no ill effects from that freighting shooting incident earlier this year.

Adam Rittenberg predicts playing time for TerBush, long season - ESPN's Big Ten blogger Adam Rittenberg weighed in with his preseason football prediction last week. He thinks the difficult schedule will make for a bowl-less season and that Caleb TerBush will see significant playing time. I say bring it on. Adam will be stopping by later this week to chat with me in the first every Hammer & Rails podcast, in which we'll discuss things in more detail.

Will Kory Sheets make it? - The 49ers blog Niners Nation has been high on Mr. Sheets since he signed as an undrafted free agent. They predict he will make the 53 man roster with a much more in depth article found here.

That's all for now. Enjoy media day on the Big Ten Network!

A way too early look at the 2009 Schedule - Week 6 - Purdue

GopherNation — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 22:37:11 -0000

After this game, the music dies. No offense to Purdue fans but this is the last game on the schedule before we hit the Big Ten buzzsaw. The Boilermakers at home is a must win before we head to Happy Valley and Columbus, return home for Michigan State and Illinois, get a break with SDSU and then we travel again to Iowa. Because of our brutal schedule and because Purdue is the consensus 10th best team in the Big Ten this is the most overlooked game on our schedule. Well, NOT TODAY my friends. With the help of Travis over at Hammer and Rails we are going to look at the Boilermakers.

With so little buzz coming out of Purdue this year and with all of the "experts" predicting a 10th place finish for the Boilermakers, I started my questioning with Travis on this very subject.

TDG - Nobody is very high on Purdue this year as they seem to be the consensus pick to finish 10th in the conference (thank God for Indiana huh?). I want you to tell me what we are all missing. Why will Purdue actually be the surprise team of the Big Ten? Or what has to go right for the Boilermakers to have a successful season, defying all of the experts?

HnR - Attitude is the key here. No one expects anything, especially the media. I was given press access for the spring game and it was disappointing in the press box, but exciting on the sidelines. The press was openly mocking the team, saying Danny Hope and Bill Lynch could be the worst coaching pair in Big Ten history.

Once I went down to the sidelines though I was encouraged. This team believes in itself a lot more than it did last year. There are no stars, while last year was mostly Painter and Sheets. Everyone is on board with Coach Hope's new philosophy, as Boiled Sports points out, former walk-on Adam Wolf came up with the marketing idea of O.N.E. (Opportunity Now for Everyone). This team is truly a team, and I think we have been missing that for awhile. I firmly believe we will be much better than people think. The defense has a ton of experience, while our running game is deeper than it has ever been. That will give Elliott time to learn the game, but I think as a fifth year senior he will be just fine in the offense. All we need are a few consistent receivers. Personally, I think we can get six wins and get to a bowl.

So maybe Travis is just drinking the kool-aid, or maybe he is seeing something the rest of the pundits do not. Everyone, not intimately familiar with a school's program takes a look at returning starters, star players, key positions, recruiting classes, etc to make their "accurate" predictions. What can be missed are the teams capable of playing above their ceiling because the sum of their parts is truly greater than it's pieces. I don't think anybody is predicting Rose Bowl for the Boilermakers, but they are certainly talented enough to win more games than expected and make a bowl game.

I am no different in that I look first at returning starters, then I see if any of the returners are returning all-conference or pre-season all-conference, then I look at key positions (QB, OL, defense). But I'm not intimate enough with any of our opponents to know them like their fans do. So I ask more from Travis...

TDG- Just 11 returning starters, is the glass half full or half empty?

HnR - Half full. I love our defense. We appear to have real live linebackers for once and our defensive line has become a strength. Our secondary is among the most experienced in the Big Ten, and I think this is the year it finally comes together. It really showed some things last year in a few games, but the offense was awful. I pick the Minnesota game as an example. They basically gave up two big plays and those led to both touchdowns. The rest of the day our defense played fantastic, but the offense gave it zero help.

On offense, we essentially get a starter back that is not listed in running back Jaycen Taylor. Taylor tore his ACL in fall camp last year and had to redshirt. He will give us experience at a position with a lot of depth in Ralph Bolden, Dan Dierking, and true freshman Al-Terek McBurse. Joey Elliott, as a fifth year senior is about what you want as a first-time starter at quarterback. In him, I see some shades of Billy Dicken circa 1997.

Purdue on Offense

When looking at Purdue's offense the obvious place to start is with what is missing. Gone are the Boilermaker's leading passer, rusher and receivers; Curtis Painter, Kory Sheets, Greg Orton and Desmond Tardy respectively.

TDG - Who is going to step in and replace last year's leading passer, rusher and receiver? Are these changes exciting or are the met with fear and trepidation?

HnR - As mentioned, Joey Elliott will be the starter. He has been Painter's caddy for the last three years, but likely would have gotten a lot more time had he not separated his shoulder against Northwestern. I think he will be the perfect caretaker before Caleb TerBush, Rob Henry, or Robert Marve takes over in 2010. He has done well in mop-up action the last three years, but has never started. He does know the system inside and out though.

Taking over for running back Kory Sheets will be a tandem of Taylor, McBurse, Bolden, and Dierking. Bolden had a great spring while Taylor was still limited. McBurse enrolled early to go through spring practice, but ended up not taking part because the NCAA didn't officially clear him until late April. Personally, I think we will rely a lot more on the running game than we have in the past because it should be a major strength. As for receivers, your guess is as good as mine. Aaron Valentin and Keith Smith are the top two returning players there, but every spot is wide open. JuCo transfer Keith Carlos will likely see some time, as well as a number of our Florida Freshmen.

Our biggest problem last season was that we never had a consistent offensive line. Seemingly everyone was hurt and missed spring football in 2008, but we were finally healthy here this past spring. It should help immensely.

For what was a promising and experienced offense, 2008 was rather disappointing in West Lafayette. The Boilermaker offense was 4th in total offense (2nd in passing, 10th in rushing) and 7th in points scored. Contributing to the disappointing 2-6 Big Ten record.

As Travis noted above, there is no star power on this offense. A year after Sheets and Painter have moved on, maybe this offense will be able to gel and play together as a unit. Passing the ball has never been a problem at Purdue and I would expect Joey Elliot will be just fine throwing the ball around. Much like our Gophers, the real question will be can they improve on what was one of the worst rushing games in the conference? Also like the Gophers there are a few guys willing, able and eager to carry the ball. But will the offensive line improve and will one of their backs step up and be the reliable back who gets the bulk of the carries?

Purdue on Defense

The Boilermaker defense was equally as unbalanced as the offense. Very good against the pass and terrible at stopping the run.

TDG - Tell me about the defense. Last year they lead the B10 in pass defense, but were last against the run. Can we expect more of the same this year or are changes being made to bring this to a happy medium?

HnR - The pass defense was so good because the run defense was so bad. Who needs to pass when we can't stop the run? It was especially embarrassing at Notre Dame when we gave up 200 yards to a team that had no running game for 15 straight games before that. It got better though as the season went on. The numbers were high because we played Oregon, who can hang 400 rushing yards on anyone. At Ohio State we did a great job of keeping Beanie Wells and Terrelle Prior in check. Ohio State didn't have an offensive touchdown all day, but unfortunately our offense didn't make the trip. We got our only three points on a school-record 53 yard field goal. The run defense should be better, especially if the offense can stay on the field by utilizing the running game more.

That seemed pretty obvious, why would teams bother to pass the ball when there was very little resistance on the ground. Unfortunately our ground game managed to accumulate the fewest yards against the Purdue defense. 109 yards rushing against the league's worst rush defense is pretty embarrassing and it just points out badly we needed to see a change in philosophy. This game will be a very good judge of how effective our new ground game really is. I expect the Purdue defense will be more focused on stopping the run but I have higher expectations for our ground game and bigger strides should be made there.

Let's get to know the Boilermaker defense a little bit...

TDG - Can I get a paragraph summarizing each positional group (DL, LB, DB).

HnR - Our defensive line is led by end Ryan Kerrigan. He looks to be the next in a long line of defensive ends that we consistently send to the NFL. I also like tackle Mike Neal a lot because he plays with a ton of intensity. Redshirt freshman Kawann Short could have a breakout season, as there are some seriously high expectations for him. Gerald Gooden has also shown some good things at the other end position.

At linebacker we should have our best group in years if Jason Werner is finally healthy. We've been waiting for Werner to get over some back issues for three years, but each time he is healthy in practices coaches have said he is our best linebacker. Unfortunately, he was "a few weeks away" for every game last season and didn't play at all despite being supposedly healthy when camp started. Joe Holland and Chris Carlino are both sophomores, but they learned by fire last year as freshmen. Carlino was especially impressive by doing very well as a true freshman in the middle. Incoming freshmen Dwayne Beckford and Antwon Higgs are both very promising and each was able to enroll early and go through spring football. They give us depth at a position that is young and will only get better.

The secondary is by far the best unit on the defense. Safety Torri Williams has battled injuries and legal troubles his entire career, but he was granted a 6th year of eligibility by the NCAA after missing all of 2005 with a broken leg, all but he first half of the first game of 2006 with a shredded knee, and half of 2007 with a torn Achilles. As long as he doesn't steal anymore condoms, drive drunk, or help buddies in bar fights he should be fine. Brandon King and David Pender are two very good senior corners, while Dwight McLean should make a big leap in his second year out of JuCo.

Sounds like Travis is excited about his team improving on last year's 2-6 conference season. The DL is young but could be on the verge of a breakout season, the LBs are the best they've seen in years and the secondary is their best unit. I'll grant him that the secondary is experienced and they were successful a year ago. But the rest of the defense is either young or has injuries keeping him from taking big strides. This defense is lacking depth and experience. But this defense can improve and most of that improvement will come from an improved offense. Last year's offense was brutal and much like the 2007 version of the Gophers the offense put the defense in a number of brutal situations. Will the defense be better? At this time of year everyone believes their team will be better for whatever reason. It's possible but my money is on a lower half caliber defense coming out of Purdue this season.

What to Expect

This is one of those classic games where both teams and fan bases believe this is at minimum winable and most likely a win because the other team is mediocre at best. I don't know if this game is a lock, but this is another must-win for the Gophers. A team we beat a year ago, a team that is not returning a ton of starters and a team that we are playing at home before we head to Happy Valley and Columbus. This schedule is going to get ugly and the success of the season hinges on games like this. I know I harped on this in the Wisconsin preview, but this is really a must win.

I expect that the Gophers will desperately try to establish the run. That is going to be a key in all games this year but this one in particular will showcase that this team is not just capable of running the ball but dominating a game by controlling the ball and running until the other team stops you. Purdue was terrible against the run in 2008 and we barely notched 100 yards on the ground. If this team is more than just committed to running the ball, but actually are capable of it, then expect that to change.

After reading Travis's thoughts on what he sees as the cohesiveness and the unity of the 2009 Boilermakers, I am more nervous about this game than I was prior, but we still win this game.

Minnesota - 31
Purdue - 10

what say you?...

Poll

Results of the Purdue Game?

Gophers win big

36 votes

Gophers win a tight one

23 votes

Gophers lose

21 votes

80 votes | Poll has closed

Character Issues: Should the Niners be concerned?

ProfessorBigelow — Tue, 05 May 2009 18:30:10 -0000

One point that several individuals on this site and at other sites have noticed is the fact that the Niners have been bringing in rookies and retaining players that have potential “character issues”. Most recently, Aaron Wilson at ProFootballTalk.com posted this article noting the Niners willingness to take risks on potential talents.

Below is a list of some of the new and notable players on the Niners roster that have “character issues”:

Alex Boone – Arrested (and tazed) for having a blood alcohol content “at least three times the legal limit” after running from the cops, jumping on cars, and hiding under patios. He is currently in AA, attempting to get clean and sober. (This guy even generated his own discussion that eventually morphed into a discussion on alcoholism)

Glen Coffee – Suspended four games in 2007 for taking part in a university-wide textbook scandal. Hasn’t gotten in trouble since.

Ricky Jean-Francois - Suspended for a full year for allegations of academic cheating at LSU. Has also made comments about “taking out” Florida QB Tim Tebow prior to this past year’s LSU-Florida match-up. RJF insists he is not a cheater.

Kory Sheets – Did not have the best relationship with his coaching staff. We’ve heard a ton about this guy recently (here, and here).

Michael Crabtree – According to Mangini (and Subway), he’s a diva. Also there is the whole Oscar thing, which is less of a personal character issue, and more of an imaginary character issue.

So what do you think about the character issues with these rookies? Will Singletary be able to handle all of these personalities (in addition to the ones on the roster)? Is this a bigger deal than people are making it out to be?

Boilermakings celebrates beating IU, defends Kory Sheets

BoilerTMill — Mon, 04 May 2009 19:52:30 -0000

It was a beautiful day for baseball yesterday, so I spent the day at Wrigley Field enjoying a Budweiser and Derek Lee's 5^th inning grand slam. It was a good day to be alive, and it was a good weekend for Purdue as well.

Baseball takes two of three from Indiana - If you can't win the Big Ten the next best thing is to prevent your bitter rival from doing so. Both Purdue and Indiana are not known as baseball powers even by Big Ten standards. The Hoosiers were in a fight for a rare conference baseball crown until Purdue took the first and third games of this weekend's series at Lambert Field. It was Indiana's first Big Ten series loss of the season.

Purdue's long-dormant offense (at least in Big Ten play) finally provided starter Matt Bischoff some support in a 15-8 victory during game 1 on Saturday. Brandon Haveman and Alex Jaffee each had home runs. Bischoff gave up seven runs in six innings but was bailed out by a six run eighth inning. Kevin Cahill ended up with the win by pitching three innings of relief.

Game two was a different story. Indiana built a 6-1 lead before Purdue stormed back to tie it with five runs in the bottom of the seventh. Jerrud Soubourin gave Indiana a 7-6 win with a solo home run in the eighth. After a doubleheader split on Saturday Purdue seriously damaged the Hoosiers' title hopes with a 5-2 win on Sunday. Matt Morgan gave up just one run in 7 2/3 innings pitched to pick up the victory. Sean Collins notched his first save of the season while Haveman added a huge 2-run double in the bottom of the eighth.

As a result, Indiana falls to 2.5 games behind first place Illinois in the conference standings with six to play. The Hoosiers are in 4^th place while Illinois, Ohio State, and Minnesota are all within a game of each other. Those three schools each clinched one of the six Big Ten Tournament bids. Purdue's weekend also moved them into the sixth and final spot. At 20-22 overall and 7-10 conference play Purdue sits just a half game ahead of defending champ Michigan for the last spot. Michigan State (21-24, 11-7) swept Penn State this weekend to take a commanding hold of fifth place. The Spartans will host the Boilers this coming weekend for three games.

Softball gets rained out, but has solid week - The women's softball team suffered three rainouts this past week, but split a pair of mid week conference games with Illinois to move to 27-18 overall and 10-8 in the Big Ten. Only two games remain this weekend at Indiana before the NCAA unveils its field of 64 on Sunday. The Hoosiers (10-37, 4-14) are in 10^th place in the conference standings. Barring an Indiana sweep on Saturday, Purdue is favored to make it second straight NCAA Tournament appearance. Purdue has a pair of wins over teams currently in the top 10 (UCLA and Northwestern) as well as wins over ranked Texas A&M and Ohio State. The Buckeyes (42-7, 14-2) sit atop the Big Ten standings with Michigan.

CFN predicts no bowl for Boilers - Not only does this esteemed publication think Purdue won't go bowling at all, we're not even mentioned as one of the teams as a possibility for the Motor City Bowl. Purdue is definitely flying under the national radar. What I find especially troubling is that CFN predicts two Big Ten teams will once again reach the BCS, meaning we would have eight bowl obligations to fill. The conference is not going to be that strong. Most national pundits believe that Penn State and Iowa will be the best two teams. Well, Purdue happens to not play those teams. If the Big Ten does get a second BCS team I really like our chances at grabbing one of the lower bowls. It's not much, but I'd rather play in Detroit again than have no bowl at all. We only need to get six wins. That is certainly doable. We have no chance at all if we can't at least beat Northern Illinois, Toledo, and Indiana. That's half of the wins we need right there. I like our chances against Illinois and Northwestern at home. Minnesota and Michigan are games we can win on the road as well

Finally, it has been six years since we have beaten a ranked team. We're due. It has to happen again sometime, right? You know when I think it will happen? I think we will beat a ranked Oregon team in Autzen Stadium. We played them tough at home last season. They have to replace much of their secondary and offensive line. They lost a dynamic running back in Jeremiah Johnson as well. There is also the fact that Eugene, Oregon is the most dangerous place on the planet for a quarterback's ACL. I really feel for Duck fans here, as they keep losing quarterbacks to this injury. I honestly think we'll stick with the running game (which will be better than people think) and pull off a shocker out there. If not, I am still confident we will scrounge together eight wins and grab a bowl slot somewhere.

All-American Marching Band will be in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade - One of the things I will always remember is seeing the AAMB perform I am an American in person at the Rose bowl. That was a special moment for Purdue fans every where, as it was the first time it really seemed real that we were actually playing in a Rose Bowl. The band itself received another similar honor as it will be the first Big Ten band to perform in the parade in November 2010.

Paradise Jam schedule announced - Special thanks to Boilerdowd over at Boiled Sports for finding this today. The Paradise Jam released its schedule and as the favored team Purdue will open the tournament on November 20^th at 9:30 against South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits just finished their first full year as a Division I member. I think it is safe to say we will be favored heavily in game one. They were 13-20, 7-11 in Summit League play. They finished the season with an upset of conference power Oral Roberts in the conference tournament and also took conference champ North Dakota State to overtime during the season.

Round two will be against Boston College (who gave us a tough game in New York last year) or St. Joseph's. The final would then be against DePaul, Tennessee, Northern Iowa, or East Carolina. This should be a good little tournament for us, as every game but the opener will be a tough test.

Finally, on the Kory Sheets situation - Before the weekend, GBI posted a story about Kory Sheets' draft day experience. For fans of the guy like me, it was a heartbreaking tale. It is made even worse if the allegations are true that our own coaching staff told teams to stay away from him based on some character issues.

I'm not around the coaching staff. I recently got some very limited access, and that was with an almost entirely new staff for the spring game. The old staff has put numerous guys into the NFL who have had great relationships with them (Drew Brees) and not so great relationships (Bernard Pollard). I have no idea what they say about our players to NFL scouts or what with it carries, but one of the joys about writing in a forum such as this is that I can speak my mind without having to report the party line. If it is indeed true that our own staff sabotaged Kory's draft chances, it is a pretty shitty thing to do.

Did Kory speak his mind? Yes, he did. You know what though? He had fire. He played the season of his life last year for a team that was going nowhere. How can guys like Torri Williams (three arrests) get chance after chance because they are "good kids" while Kory (zero arrests in his five years, plus he graduated in December) gets thrown under the bus like this. How dare they say Kory isn't a hard worker. They guy was our only consistent offensive threat last season. He ran for over 1100 yards and was one of only six guys int he conference to do so. If the Big Ten had not been loaded with excellent running backs he would have been an all-conference performer. It was the best season for a running back ever for a Tiller-coached team. He was third in the league in touchdowns with 17 (16 rushing, one receiving) on the season. You don't accidentally finish with those numbers in this conference, especially when you are your team's only real offense some weeks.

To me, Kory was an example of what we needed more of last year, not something to be belittled. He did not have the benefit of a consistent passing game or rock solid offensive line every week. I am embarrassed by our own coaching staff if this story is true. One of the knocks on Kory was that "He is better than he thinks he is". Well, don't you want someone that is confident in their abilities? For crying out loud, we questioned our own quarterback as being a guy that wasn't very confident and he did get drafted! I never once though Kory stepped over the line.

The play that speaks volumes about his character to me was his long TD run at Northwestern. We flat out sucked that day. A "me first" player would have celebrated like a banshee after that big run even though we were still down a lot (kind of like Ray Edwards and Bernard Pollard celebrating every tackle made 15 yards down field when we're down two touchdowns). Did Kory celebrate? No! He flicked the ball to the turf in a disgusted manner and walked off the field. You could tell he was pissed at the effort put forth by everyone that day from the coaching staff on down. Even our opponents noticed the lack of fire the team had that day, but Kory didn't lack it. He played his ass of, yet he didn't get any help. I don't blame him for being upset, either.

49ers fans are already raving about him. SBNation's 49ers blog, Niners Nation, was gushing with compliments about him, and that is rare for a random free agent pickup. They got themselves a steal, and I really hope Kory can stick with them to show up all those who doubted him. One of the three Purdue jerseys in my closest is a #24 Sheets jersey. I have had it so long the numbers are starting to wear a little, but I still proudly wear it as Kory was one of my favorite players to ever suit up. No one found the end zone more in a single season or a career at Purdue than Kory, and those records will stand for quite awhile.

49ers Rookie Camp: Team officially signs rookie free agents

Fooch — Fri, 01 May 2009 02:42:11 -0000

Although the team's rookie minicamp starts tomorrow, all the new 49ers arrived today to get introduced around. Due to this administrative day, that means we have the official list of undrafted free agents signed by the 49ers. Also, the 49ers officially inked Marques Harris. After the jump we've got quick bios.

Alex Boone OT Ohio State

Diyral Biggs LB Bowling Green

Dobson Collins WR Gardner-Webb

Pannel Egboh DE Stanford

Kirby Freeman QB Baylor

Kyle Howard G Wyoming

Matt Huners G/C South Florida

Terrail Lambert CB Notre Dame

Khalif Mitchell DE East Carolina

Kory Sheets RB Purdue

Carlos Thomas CB South Carolina

Jahi Word-Daniels CB Georgia Tech

ALEX BOONE

Tackle

Height: 6-7 Weight: 328

College: Ohio State

A two-time All-Big 10 selection during his four-year career at Ohio State, played in 46 games (35 starts) since his freshman campaign in 2005. Started 22 games at LT for the Buckeyes, earning All-America honors as a senior. A two-time All-Ohio selection, was a three-year starter at St. Edward (OH) HS. Also competed in shot and discus and played basketball for a year. His uncle, Ed, played football at Penn State. Enjoys hunting and playing golf. Born 05/04/87 in Lakewood, OH.

DIYRAL BRIGGS

Linebacker

Height: 6-4 Weight: 230

College: Bowling Green

A two-time All-MAC selection (2007-08) and MAC Player of the Year (2006), played in 47 games (27 starts) and finished his career with 221 tackles, 36 TFLs, 26 sacks, 5 FR, 4 PD and 1 FF. In 2008, led the MAC in sacks (9.5) and recorded 60 tackles, 13.5 TFLs, 1 PD, 1 FF and 1 FR. In 2007, registered 54 tackles (15 solo), 7.0 TFLs, 5.0 sacks and 2 PD. A two-time all-league choice, played at Mt. Healthy (OH) HS, where he tallied 16 career sacks on defense and 12 TDs on offense as the team’s captain. Also lettered in basketball, averaging 15 pts. per game his senior season. Majored in sports management. Born 10/31/85 in Mt. Healthy, OH.

DOBSON COLLINS

Wide Receiver

Height: 6-2 Weight: 178

College: Gardner-Webb

A two-time All-Big South selection, played in 42 games (22 starts) and totaled 143 receptions for 1,745 yds. and 14 TDs. In 2008, tallied 76 receptions for 937 yds. and 10 TDs, while contributing in the return game with 14 punt returns for 136 yds. Amassed 51 receptions for 649 yds. and 3 TDs, as junior. Also competed in track and field, holding the school record in the 55, 60 and 110 meter hurdles. Ran the 100-meter dash in 10.7 seconds. Attended Stone Mountain (GA) HS, where he totaled 21 receptions for 332 yds. and 2 TDs during his senior season. Born 7/12/87 in Stone Mountain, GA.

PANNEL EGBOH

Defensive End

Height: 6-6 Weight: 276

College: Stanford

A three-year starter, played 40 games (35 starts) and totaled 140 tackles, 25.0 TFLs, 10 sacks, 3 PD, 3 FF and 3 FR. Recorded 31 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, 1.5 sacks and a FR, as a senior. Had his best season in 2007, registering 49 tackles, 6 sacks, 3 FF and 2 FR. Played his first season of football as a senior at North Mesquite (TX) HS, finishing with 54 tackles, 4.0 sacks, 3 FR and 3 blocked field goals on his way to All-Southwest team honors. Played basketball for two years and earned all-state academic honors. Earned a degree in management science and engineering. Born 03/23/86 in Mesquite, TX.

KIRBY FREEMAN

Quarterback

Height: 6-3   Weight: 210

College: Baylor

Transferred to Baylor after playing three years for the Miami Hurricanes. In his 27-game career (8 starts), passed for 1,360 yds. and 13 TDs, completing 46.7 percent of attempts. In his senior season with the Bears, played in 3 games (1 start) and threw for 49 yds. and 1 TD on 6 of 13 passing. In 2007, played 7 games (3 starts), completing 18 of 58 passes for 256 yards with 3 TDs. As a senior, at Brownwood (TX) HS, passed for 1,454 yds. and 10 TDs, gaining 956 rushing yds. for 10 TDs. Earned his degree in sports administration at Miami (FL), graduating in his redshirt junior year before leaving for Baylor. Majored in sports pedagogy. Born 03/28/85 in Abilene, TX.

KYLE HOWARD

Guard

Height: 6-7   Weight: 312

College: Wyoming

A three-year starter, played in 43 games (40 starts). In 2008, started all 13 games, 12 at RG and 1 at RT. In 2007, shifted over to RT from LG, starting all 12 games. Earned all-conference, all-region and all-city honors at Coronado (CO) HS, as a senior. Named most valuable lineman in his junior and senior seasons, while also earning all-conference and all-city honors in basketball. Father, competed in track and field at Oregon. Majored in physical and health education teaching. Born 5/13/86 in Colorado Springs, CO.

MATTHEW HUNERS

Guard/Center

Height: 6-3   Weight: 290

College: South Florida

A three-year starter, played 34 games with 27 starts. In 2008, started in 12 of 13 games, garnering an All-Big East. Suffered a torn ACL in 2007, but remarkably recovered to play in 3 games and was given the USF Coaches Award for his amazing recovery. An all-county selection at Palm Harbor University (FL) HS, was a three-time offensive line MVP, not allowing a sack during his junior and senior seasons. Born 10/15/85 in Dunedin, FL. Full name: Matthew Allen Huners.

TERRAIL LAMBERT

Defensive Back

Height: 5-11 Weight: 195

College: Notre Dame

A three-year starter, played in 48 games (30 starts) posting 115 tackles, 1.5 TFLs, 0.5 sacks, 6 PD, 4 INTs, 1 FF and 1 FR. During his senior season, played in 11 games (8 starts), recording 33 tackles and 4 PD. In 2007, started all 12 games and posted 34 tackles and 1 INT. An all-state selection as a defensive back, played five positions (RB, DE, LB, S, CB) at St. Bonaventure (CA) HS. In his senior year, tallied 87 tackles and 3 INTs, while rushing 13 times for 133 yds and 2 TDs. Also ran track.. Earned a degree in film, television and theatre and is currently enrolled in graduate studies program. Born 12/01/85 in Los Angeles, CA. Full name: Terrail Lamar Lambert.

KHALIF MITCHELL

Defensive End

Height: 6-5 Weight: 318

College: East Carolina

Spent his first two seasons at North Carolina, totaling 28 tackles as a part-time starter before transferring to East Carolina. After sitting out the 2006 season, played in 11 games (6 starts) and earned honorable mention All-Conference USA after recording 19 tackles, 5.5 TFLs and 2 sacks. As a senior, posted 16 tackles, 3 TFLs and 1 sack in 7 games (4 starts). Attended Hargrave Military Academy and helped lead the team to an 8-1 record. Started at DE and TE at First Colonial (VA) HS, playing football for just two seasons after moving to Virginia from New Jersey. Also lettered in track, competing in the shot put and discus. Majored in communications. Born 04/07/85 in Virginia Beach, VA. Full name is Khalif Quadree Mitchell.

KORY SHEETS

Running Back

Height: 5-11 Weight: 208

College: Purdue

A four-year letterman at Purdue, ranks 2nd in school history behind Mike Alstott with 3,341 rushing yds. and 664 carries. Holds the school record for career rushing TDs (48), a total ranked 5th all-time in the Big Ten history. A 2008 All-Big Ten honorable mention, finished with 1,131 rushing yds. for a school record 16 TDs. Totaled 1,643 all-purpose yards that season, ranking 6th in school history. Ran for 859 yds. and 11 TDs on 168 carries with 30 receptions for 216 yds. and a pair of scores in his junior season. Was an All-Conference selection as a senior at Bloomfield (CT) HS, leading the team to a state championship that year, while also garnering all-state recognition in track and field. Majored in organizational leadership and supervision. Mother, Krystal, participated in track and field at Morgan State. Born on 03/31/85 in Manchester, CT. Full name is Kory Gerren Sheets

CARLOS THOMAS

Cornerback

Height: 5-11 Weight: 197

College: South Carolina

A four-year letterman, played in 48 games (25 starts), recording 59 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, 12 PD and 6 INTs. In 2008, played in 13 games (5 starts), registering 14 tackles, 1.5 TFLs, 5 PD and 3 INTs. In 2007, played in 13 games (10 starts), tallying 27 tackles and 2 INTs. An all-state selection in 2004 at Bannekar (GA) HS, recorded 30 tackles and 4 INTs. Also ran for over 1,000 yds. along with 9 TDs, as well as recording in 20 receptions for 411 yds. and 5 TDs. Majored in African American studies. Brother, Levon, played WR in the NFL. Born 05/01/87 in College Park, GA.

JAHI WORD-DANIELS

Cornerback

Height: 6-0   Weight: 194

College: Georgia Tech

Played in 42 games (25 starts), recording 124 tackles, 7 TFLs, 23 PD, and 5 INTs. In 2008, started every game he played, finishing with 24 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, 2 PD and 1 INT. Enjoyed most productive season in 2007, starting all 13 games and registering 56 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, 8 PD and 2 INTs. An all-state selection at Hoover (AL) HS, tallied 7 INTs and 2 blocked punts, as a senior. Majored in management. Born 11/19/86 in Hoover, AL.

Poll

Which UDFA has the best chance of making the 53-man roster?

Alex Boone

305 votes

Diyral Biggs

10 votes

Dobson Collins

8 votes

Pannel Egboh

15 votes

Kirby Freeman

20 votes

Kyle Howard

5 votes

Matt Huners

5 votes

Terrail Lambert

17 votes

Khalif Mitchell

14 votes

Kory Sheets

233 votes

Carlos Thomas

9 votes

Jahi Word-Daniels

9 votes

650 votes | Poll has closed