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 as it preps for Notre Dame.

Three things learned

1 – Disconcerting signals

In Purdue’s opener vs. Ball State, the Boilermaker defense was penalized for “disconcerting” signals. Purdue defensive coordinator Mike Scherer explains the rule.

“We make a large point about communicating and all being on the same page,” said Scherer. “We had a signal that was like a gator, we were trying to be a claw monster. We made a big point about keeping our hands open. We get in the game and we did it. We were also moving people around, and we were trying to get the defense set, and through all that, the offense jumped.

“Well, if you’re a referee, you’re probably gonna look at it and see people’s hands going together and think they’re clapping. So, that’s what it was. They probably thought we were clapping, so we changed things around to make sure that that doesn’t happen.”

What else can’t defenses do?

“We cannot clap,” said Scherer. “The clap is reserved for the offense. The defense is not allowed to clap their hands at any point.”

A defense also can’t say “hut” or “hike.”

“There are words reserved for the offense,” said Scherer. “There are words reserved for the defense. We are allowed to say “move” or “shift.”

2 – They call him “Nitro”

His name is Nitareon Tuggle. But you know him as “Nitro.” What is the genesis of the nickname for the Georgia transfer and former four-star recruit from Goshen, Ind.? Turns out, Tuggle got the nickname from teammates in middle school.

“I mean, I didn’t like it at first, but it grew into me,” said Tuggle. “I accept it now. So, yeah, like middle school, I didn’t like it.

Tuggle is starting to break out. He made four catches for 69 yards last week. For the season, Tuggle has seven grabs for 123 yards (17.6 ypc) and two TDs.

“Just getting better every day at little things,” said OC Josh Henson. “He’s obviously physically gifted, he’s strong, he can play against press, and he can get off press, and he’s doing it better and better every day. And so he’s a young guy that’s learning the game, but we have a really bright outlook on his future.”

3 – The maturation of Ryan Browne

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that Ryan Browne has made just five career starts. The point: He’s a work in progress. We saw that on Saturday, when he hit 62 percent of his passes (24-of-39 passing) for 305 yards with a touchdown.

But it was the three red zone interceptions that many pundits and critics focused on.

“There were so many other good things in that game that he did, amazing things he did other than those three plays,” said Henson. “When you have a game like that, you can let the three plays skew your vision of what it really was. Now, at the end of the day, those three plays, we got to learn to control those and not let those happen. But there’s also other people in the field that can help us control those and not let those happen.”

Browne is No. 4 in the Big Ten in passing yards (262.0 ypg) with a 64 completion percentage, five TDs and four INTs.

The best should be yet to come. At least that’s the hope. Browne just has to avoid forcing things and playing “hero” ball.

Two questions

1 – Did Purdue use Mockobee enough?

Purdue didn’t get a lot of offensive traction early last week vs. USC, trailing 17-3 at halftime. But one thing that seemed to be effective: Devin Mockobee. At intermission, he had eight carries for 43 yards (5.4 ypc) with a 17-yard jaunt.

Feed No. 45, right? Wrong.

But Mockobee was largely forgotten in the second half, making four carries for two yards. He also finished with no catches, not targeted once. The lack of carries can be somewhat pegged on Browne making the wrong read in the RPO game.

Purdue finished with 60 yards rushing.

“I think there’s other opportunities that we could have used Devin,” said Henson. “Obviously, if you watch us play, a lot of our plays have an option to run it or pass it. I thought there’s a few times we had opportunities to hand off and we didn’t. But, yeah, I think we used him enough. I thought we put ourselves exactly in position to win a game against a team that’s, I think, a pretty good team. We just didn’t finish our red zone drives.”

2 – O-line OK?

Anytime there’s a loss, there is gonna be a lot of scrutiny. And one area under the microscope: The offensive line.

Time and again, Browne was pressured. USC finished with five sacks and four hurries. Purdue played the same five linemen the entire game. LT Joey Tanona, LG Jalen St. John, C Bradyn Joiner, RG Ethan Trent, RT Bakyne Coley. The right side of the line had the most struggles, according to Pro Football Focus metrics.

Will any changes be made?

“I mean, we’re at this point every week is competition in practice,” said Henson. “So, yes, are we open to having the best five players play up front. That’s every single week. Whoever we put out there on Saturday, we feel like those were the best five players we had to go play the game with.”

One bold statement: Burgeoning wideouts

Few positions underwent as much tumult as the wideout unit. So far, so good.

Credit WR coach Cornell Ford, a sage assistant. The unit looks like it could be a real asset, led by Michael Jackson, Tuggle and Arhmad Branch. And EJ Horton has been better than expected.

All this without De’Nylon Morrissette, who I thought would be the alpha. He has yet to play. When will he? Another player who will help upon return: Chauncey Magwood, who shined in the spring.