Purdue offensive line gelling as season approaches

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – “The fat, ugly guys” up front for Purdue, as offensive line coach Vance Vice labeled the position on Tuesday, are continuing to go through the process of gelling during fall camp in West Lafayette. A group tasked with replacing all five starters from a year ago, while building cohesion, is slowing coming together in the home stretch of fall camp.

“Right now in camp, you’re just trying to stack days. And you know, there’s some leaders being developed. There’s some young guys that are figuring it out,” Vice said. “We got our new guys that we’ve added this summer, and just blending that group, building the culture. And seriously, we do everything, not sometimes one day at a time, but one play at a time, but it’s fun to watch, and it’s a work in progress.”

The nucleus of the unit has remained intact dating back to the spring, with left tackle Joey Tanona, left guard Jalen St. John and right tackle Bakyne Coly holding onto their respective starting roles. St. John quickly cemented his role as a leader of the unit upon his arrival from UNLV this off-season, and has stuck as an anchor of the offensive line heading into the fall.

“He’s the old man in the group, and he’s kind of taken the leadership role and holding guys accountable,” Vice said. “Me and him have been around each other for a while, and he knows exactly what I expect each day, out of every drill and out of every period we go through and he’s great help to the other guys, just leading them in that direction.”

Coly and Tanona on the other hand, are gearing up for their first starting opportunities at the collegiate level. Purdue’s tackles heading into the season have two unique paths to West Lafayette, with Coly transitioning from basketball to football and developing for two years, while Tanona is a “warrior” who made his way back onto the field after a car crash that put his career in jeopardy at Notre Dame. The tandem is now poised to be stalwarts on the edge for Vance Vice.

“He’s constantly trying to master his craft. And you got to appreciate a guy like that. And he is getting better and better each and every day, and we talk about it all time with him. I can’t wait for tomorrow, because he’s bought into it. He’s bought into the process. He understands what he has to do to get where he wants to go, where we all want to go,” Vice said of Coly.

The trio of St. John, Tanona, and Coly have been locked into their respective roles since the spring, providing a level of cohesion for the offensive line for the Boilermakers. Some questions still linger regarding which five Vice will roll out against Ball State, however.

A number of candidates are in the running for the starting center spot, with Ethan Trent, Bradyn Joiner and Giordano Vaccaro all having spent time as the first team snapper throughout fall camp. Sophomore transfer Mason Vicari has also gotten run at center with the second and third units. There could be some shuffling between now and the season opener, as Vice is tasked with finding the best fit at center, which could then provide more clarity at right guard.

“There’s an idea, but it’s still open right now. That’s what I told them after our scrimmage this weekend. Hey dudes, if you’re not okay with where you are, do something about it. So those competitions are still vital,” Vice said. “They’re working every day at it, and you’re looking for chemistry always, and some of those guys are figuring it out. And production wins, especially at that position. You are the quarterback up front. You got to make every call.”

Joiner has been the most recent first-teamer of late, as he’s come on strong during the final stretch of camp and could be in line to be the leader of the unit on August 30th. Could the Auburn transfer be primed to start? Or will it be now former walk-on Ethan Trent, who has surged into a prominent role this off-season and has the tools to be the top guy at center or guard. Time will tell, but both have impressed this fall.

“Since the day he’s been in here, he’s just jumped in the playbook and got that, and now he’s got a little bit of a swag back to him, because he knows what to do now. He’s probably, the last five or six days, he’s kind of taken off of this,” Vice said of Joiner.

“[Trent] brings that no nonsense approach every single day and he is a worker. He crushes every practice we got with the right mindset. He crushes the weight room. I mean, there’s no relaxing him, which is kind of what you have to be to be an interior guy,” Vice said. “I just define him as Purdue. That’s what he is. That’s what we want Purdue to be. That lunch pail attitude.”

The position versatility of Joiner, Trent and Vaccaro gives Purdue options at center and right guard. It will now be about which combination fits best with what offensive coordinator Josh Henson wants to do with the Boilermakers’ attack. Whoever sticks at center, the runner-up for that job will likely slide into the right guard slot in Vice’s unit.

“I’ve got some guys that can play multiple spots. I mean, pretty much for those inside three, you know, all of them have played in the middle, and then obviously can play either side of it, and that creates depth,” Vice said.

The Boilermakers also have a litany of second-year linemen waiting in the wings, with Vicari, Hank Purvis, Marques Easley, and Marc Nave serving as top depth with the second unit, as well as Tulane transfer Jude McCoskey. Nave has received reps with the first team line during camp, but Trent and Joiner have vaulted up the totem pole of late. Should Purdue need reinforcements, an intriguing collection of talent will be asked to step up.

The level of cohesion along the line of scrimmage could loom large for an offense searching for answers with its quarterback questions and a coordinator that wants to establish the run game.

“I think there’s been a lot of cohesiveness, especially just being in the spring and then up until now. You know, with the guys that came in the summer was a good opportunity to gel and bond and create depth in the o-line room,” Coly said. “We’ve had a pretty solid line throughout. We’ve changed a little bit, moved guys, cross trained a little bit, but nothing too, too crazy.”