345 pound Chops Harkless hungry to make mark on Purdue defense

You can’t miss Jamarrion Harkless jogging off the practice field. He’s 345 pounds of run-stuffing goodness, the heavyweight anchor of a Purdue defense that’s coming off a freshly minted shutout in the opener vs. Ball State.

“It meant everything,” said Harkless about pitching a shutout. “I like the way that we started off strong. We practiced. Those hard practices make the game easier. When you practice hard and you get the result that you did, it’s satisfying. But we gotta stack that every week.”

Next up: A visit from FCS Southern Illinois, a spunky FCS program that has a history of being a giant killer. In 2023, SIU knocked off Northern Illinois (14-11). In 2022, the Salukis shocked Northwestern (31-24). Southern Illinois opened with a 49-3 victory vs. Thomas More last week under 10th-year head coach Nick Hill.

“SIU is not a pushover team,” said Harkless. “They’re a good team. We got to come with the mindset like they’re a top five team in the country. That’s what we do on the d-line. We aren’t gonna treat no opponent different because of the name.”

The man everyone calls “Chops”–a nickname bestowed upon him by an aunt that has been shortened from “Pork Chop”–made his presence felt in last week’s 31-0 win vs. Ball State, making two tackles with a TFL and half a sack as the Cardinals finished with just 203 yards.

“Every team’s got to have somebody like that, a dominant presence,” said sidekick TJ Lindsey. “He gets the double-teams because he demands a lot of the double-teams. Chops is a big guy. He can move. I love having Chops next to me. They’re worried about Chops and it’s me and somebody one-on-one. We’re going to be a great duo.”

Entering Week Two, Harkless knows what needs to improve on defense as Purdue preps to face a shifty and talented quarterback in DJ Williams.

“We can get more pressure,” he said. “Play on their side of the line of scrimmage. I think if we do that more, no team will be able to stop us. When you play on their line of scrimmage, it messes up everything, as far as the quarterback runs or the running back runs, or anything that’s going on. You play on their line of scrimmage, they can’t do nothing.”

Personally, what grade would he give himself from last week’s effort?

“Give myself like a B?” said Harkless, who played 25 snaps last week. “I was in some plays. But technique-wise, I can always get better at that. So, that’s one thing I’m trying to work on from Week One to Week Two, is getting my technique right, get my fundamentals right, because I know I’m strong and all that. But if I’m able to play low, if I’m able to play with the right technique, I’ll be able to make a lot more plays.”

It helps to be able to rotate players on the d-line. Last week, Purdue played five interior linemen: Harkless, Lindsey, Ian Jeffries, Demeco Kennedy and Spider Dinkins.

“I like it because, bigger body, when you are able to refresh and go back out there and give your all …

“I feel like Coach (Kelvin) Green, he’s confident enough to rotate guys because our room is good and he’s confident in the players that we got.”

Green has taken notice of his prized interior space-eater and the work he’s done to re-shape his physique.

“That’s a tribute to him,” said Green. “He’s put the work in. He wants to be better. He has the drive. He’s trying to prepare himself to be a playmaker and play the game the way it’s supposed to be played. That’s all a tribute to him.”

Now, Harkless is primed to be an anchor of a rebuilt Purdue d-line that could be a strength of the 2025 defense.

“I try to make sure I get all the double-teams because I know (Lindsey is) really good with the one-on-ones,” Harkless said. “I am trying to make sure he gets all the plays, just trying to be as unselfish as possible to make sure everybody else on the D-line is eating.”