2013 Outlook - Purdue

The Purdue Boilermakers head into the 2013 season with a lot of role players, but very few standouts.  With an unsettled QB situation on top of this, Danny Hope has his work cut out for him this year.

A team's offensive identity is often defined by the team's QB.  If this proves to be true, the 2013 Boilermakers may have themselves somewhat of an identity crisis.  There are three guys in this unit, all of whom could start, and all of whom will likely take snaps.  JR Rob Henry is the best athlete of the bunch, but also is probably the worst passer in this unit.  Former Miami Hurricane, Robert Marve is probably the best passer in the group, but is injury prone.  It appears that SR Claeb TerBush may actually get the call on Sept 1st, but as of now it is undecided.  Whomever lines up under center, they will be surrounded by a bunch of good, but no great players.  SR RB Ralph Bolden has had 3 seasons cut short due to injury, so there is no way to count on him in 2013.  SR WR Antavian Edison, and JR WR OJ Ross are both good talents, but with their off-the-field issues, it could cause them to miss some playing time.  Up front, SR OG Peters Drey is their best player, but even he grades out as a late round draft consideration right now.

On defense, the team does have two standouts who will help them win some games.  One of those standouts, SR DT Kawann Short passed on the NFL to return to West Lafayette.  This year, he will be one of the most watched players in the nation, as he currently has a first round grade in my book.  The linebackers have experience, but not overwhelming talent.  They do many things well, but are outstanding at nothing.  In the secondary, JR CB Ricardo Allen has all of the skills to be outstanding, and he plays well, but he doesn't project at the next level because there is not an overwhelming demand for 5'9" corners in the NFL.

If Short and Allen are let loose, the Boilermakers will win some football games in 2013, and may even pitch an upset somewhere along the way.  The need to try and settle on one QB though, and all of the Purdue players need to keep themselves healthy and out of trouble, something that has been a struggle for much of the past two seasons.