Old National Presents: 3-2-1

Three things learned. Two questions. One bold statement. It’s The 3-2-1, a look at Purdue football.

Three things learned

1 – OC Josh Henson will call plays from above

Not a shock. Most OCs work from the comfy, controlled confines of the press box on game days. Henson will be no different as he calls an offense for the first time since 2015 when he was the Missouri OC.

“I like to be able to see everything from upstairs,” fessed Henson. “I like the calmness of the box. I always felt like I operated the best and made the best decisions when I was removing my emotions as best I could from the game.”

Expect lots of TV shots of Henson during third-and-short … and any other crucial moment.

2 – Purdue will have eight–count ’em, eight–captains

Is that too many? Who’s to say? Barry Odom had that many at UNLV, too. How did it come about for this season?

“You can have 30 captains, but only four can go for the coin flip,” said Odom. “So, it’s a team vote. And then we look at how the vote stacked up. And there were so many votes for the top four on both sides, there was no way that we could say, ‘Hey, we can have three, but not four.’

The captains: four on offense (Browne, Devin Mockobee, St. John, Michael Jackson) and four on defense (CJ Madden, An’Darius Coffey, Mani Powell, Tony Grimes).

“And I am in a strong belief of the more leadership we have, the better and the stronger our team is,” said Odom. “I also have challenged the guys that didn’t get voted captain, that doesn’t mean you’re not a leader, and how important that is from every classification.

“So, we have a captain’s group, and then we’ve got a leadership committee. And I just think the more and more you can talk and develop leadership within your organization, the faster that we can be on the track for success.”

3 – Odom isn’t big on “Win One For The Gipper” pregame speeches

We’ve all seen the fire and brimstone speeches delivered by some coaches to their squads moments before hitting the field. But, that’s not Odom’s style.

“I don’t want to minimize the job that I do or maximize it either way,” said Odom. “And I say this very respectfully, because I had some great, great coaches I was around. I mean, hall of fame guys, and I don’t remember one pregame speech they gave. I remember one, and it was awful, but it wasn’t from the head coach. But if (players are) waiting on me to give them a pregame speech to ‘Let’s go do it,’ then I’ve missed the boat on preparing them to go play the best.”

Still, Odom no doubt will have some measured and meaningful words for his team before kickoff on Saturdays.

“But the rah, rah, you know, throw a frog against the wall and go crazy,” said Odom, “that’s not really our style. It is for some and for us, it’s more process driven … let’s really focus on what our job is.

“They’ll be ready to go play. I’m excited to run out of Tiller Tunnel, and I’m excited to see the fans, because I know there’s great passion, there’s great energy and tremendous support here.”

Two questions

1 – What defensive metrics are coordinator Mike Scherer seeking each game?

Look, all DCs have statistically measuring sticks to gauge how their unit played each game.

“I won’t get into the specifics, but I’ll tell you every week we look at our loafs,… how many explosive plays we gave up … it’s usually a pass of 20 yards or more, a run of 15 or more. So, we want to limit all the possible explosive plays that we can get. And we got to be really good on third down. If you look at the best teams in the country, they’re really good on third down. So, those are our goals, not to get into any specifics, but we’re going to play hard, we’re going to be good on third down, and we’re going to limit explosive plays and hopefully get a few turnovers in the process.

2 – Will OC Josh Henson script his first 10 or so plays each game?

We often hear that an OC will script his first 10 or 15 plays before kickoff. And Henson is no different … to a degree.

“Yes and no,” said Henson. “I mean, I know that’s a cop out, right? I do. I script plays, but I’m not gonna stick to that script if I’m feeling something or I’m seeing something that’s different. I’m gonna adjust right off the bat. I’ve got groups of plays on my call sheet, in my head that are good for different fronts, different coverages, whatever that is. …

“So, yes, you plan your best plans for what you have seen them do, and then you certainly have to have contingency plans after that.”

One bold statement: Purdue will end 11-game losing streak

Bold? Nah. At least it doesn’t appear so, with Purdue is as much as a 17-point fav vs. Ball State. Still, it’s difficult to really know what Purdue has, given roster tumult to the tune of 54 transfers and 82 new players.

“Yes and no,” Scherer said. “You think you know what you got, not sure until you put them out (there). It’s a new team, new everything. But I’ve watched these guys every day, and I know the way they work, and I know we have four more days to work, to prepare, and I have a feeling I know how they’re going to work in those four days. And through that process, that limits some of the anxiety, kind of gets rid of some of the anxiety.”

The long wait will mercifully end soon.