Purdue football coach Barry Odom on team’s progress during spring camp
Hear what Purdue football’s head coach says about how the Boilermakers are progressing through spring.
WEST LAFAYETTE — Dropped passes, penalties and missed blocks.
Purdue football receivers coach Cornell Ford was frustrated with that during last Friday’s practice.
For each mistake, though, Purdue’s receiving corps flashed how dynamic it can be. As for that, Ford just smiles.
On a morning where it could be assumed there was a lack of focus inside Mollenkopf Athletic Center, Tra’Mar Harris turned on the jets and blew past the defense before snagging a deep pass with one hand.
“There’s competition all up in that room from the top to the bottom,” Ford said. “Every day is about competing and who wants the job.”
The Boilermakers made a concerted effort to add speed and length that could complement the receivers who opted not to stay in West Lafayette during a coaching change.
Purdue added five transfer portal additions. Ford said the Boilers aren’t done and will be scouring the portal again after the spring season.
“Our receiver room is loaded,” sophomore Arhmad Branch said.
While it does appear to be talented, what it isn’t is experienced in terms of on the field production.
Running back Devin Mockobee, with 17 catches for 170 yards last fall, is Purdue’s leading returning receiver from a team that went 1-11 before a coaching staff change preceded five of the top six pass catchers transferring elsewhere.
De’Nylon Morrissette, who had 11 receptions, returns with the most catches among Purdue receivers. Jayden Dixon-Veal (3) and Watson (1) are the only others to catch a pass last fall, though Branch did have a rushing touchdown.
Charles Ross (USC), Nathan Leacock (Tennessee), Chauncey Magwood (UCF), Isaiah Myers (Charlotte) and EJ Horton (Florida Atlantic) all transferred in to a program where there appears to be opportunities. They have a combined 127 career receptions, 70 of those by Ross.
For every spectacular snag like Harris’ or Leacock’s leaping grab in the end zone to highlight-worthy plays from Ross, Morrissette and Branch, there were mistakes.
All part of the learning process.
Purdue coaches are tracking everything: catches, drops, mental errors and big plays.
“The playmakers will rise to the top,” Ford said, knowing more will likely be added after the spring season once the current crop is evaluated.
Just as Purdue has created competition among four quarterbacks, it’s doing the same with the receivers. There’s no perceived first unit, second unit and beyond.
That’s only heightened internal competition knowing playing time opportunities could be wide open this fall.
“Some have different capabilities and talents, but overall, I think everyone’s going to be great on the field,” Watson said.
They’ll need to be.
“We’re moving in the right direction,” Ford said last Friday. “We just need to take some bigger steps.
“We’ve made some progress. But when you go full speed and live tackling and all that kind of stuff, it changes the intensity a little bit. The guys at times played a little too fast and we need to speed it up a little bit. We’re somewhere in the middle and we’re still trying to chug along and get better every day.”
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.
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