Purdue football preseason camp Day 1: Depth charts, big plays, other takeaways

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WEST LAFAYETTE -- Purdue football coach Barry Odom said his team made palpable strides between the end of spring practice and Thursday's start of preseason camp.

Now, the Boilermakers must find the sense of urgency to keep building upon that momentum.

"We've got plenty of time, but zero time to wait," Odom said after Purdue completed the first of 20 preseason practices leading up to the Aug. 31 season opener against Ball State.

"... The opponent through fall camp is the mental preparation and the mental toughness and the strain and the consistency. How good can we get between now and tomorrow morning, and can we have a much better practice Day 2 than we did Day 1."

Steady rains forced the team inside the Mollenkopf Athletic Center. A rundown of what we saw and what it means as the heavily turned-over roster prepares for Odom's first season.

Quarterback shuffle

No hand to be tipped, really, on which quarterback has an early lead in this process.

Ryan Browne donned a familiar No. 15 gold jersey -- the same one he wore throughout practices last season. Odom said he enjoyed watching and hearing how last year's part-time starter handled a practice for the first time.

He and Malachi Singleton generally took more reps with the No. 1 offense during 11 on 11 drills. Tahj Ra-El notched the first interception of the spring against Singleton. Newcomer Hershey McLaurin picked off Browne later.

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Bennett Meredith, Evans Chuba and Garyt Odom also rotated through drills. Odom cited improved decision-making from Singleton and better ball security from Chuba as evidence of progress.

"The leaderhip qualites -- coach (Darin) Hinshaw as well as coach (Josh) Henso will get those guys game-ready," Odom said. "Then we'll see how it plays out in the next couple of weeks."

Who else looked good on offense?

Wide receiver Nitro Tuggle made a couple of nice plays in his first practice as a Boilermaker. The former Georgia receiver is one of a handful of post-spring transfers meant to bolster the receiver room.

Ahrmad Branch led the Day 1 highlight reel with a one-handed grab against cornerback Tony Grimes. After practice, more people around the program kept bringing up Branche's name unprompted as someone who has built momentum with his summer performance. Grimes had done the same last week at Big Ten media day.

Malachi Thomas also finally had the chance to practice in full. An ankle injury sidelined the Virginia Tech transfer throughout the spring.

Who looked good on defense

This was a notable day for the secondary, including the interceptions mentioned above. This group, in addition to being potentially one of the more talented units, is also arguably the most veteran unit on the roster. There are more players in that room who are approaching the end of their careers. Could that urgency spill over onto the field?

"I thought the communication, listening to them talk, was at an elite level," Odom said. "Now, it's fairly easy to do on Day 1. Can you do it on Day 30? Can you do it when the scoreboard is not in your favor?"

Odom liked the totality of athleticism and experience in the secondary. He said some positional analysis continues -- who fits better at corner than safety. which safeties can play nickel, which corners are more comfortable to the field side or the boundary? In the era of extreme transfer turnover, those determinations more often linger into preseason.

Speaking of Branch, his was the first name out of strength and conditioning coordinator Kiero Small's mouth when highlighting the biggest gains of the summer.

Others name-dropped included Grimes, Jalen St. John, Jamarrion Harkless, Sterling Smith and Mani Powell.

"There's a plenthora of guys," Small said. "You have guys up 20 pounds. You have guys down in fat mass. It's been very, very impressive what the young men have done."

Offensive line depth

The first-team offensive line was the one Purdue used the most during the spring: LT Joey Tanona, LG Jalen St. John, C Ciordano Vaccaro, RG Ethan Trent and RT Bakyn Coly. Odom predicted that group would shuffle as early as Friday. Purdue did bring in a trio of former SEC linemen -- Marques Easley (Georgia), Marc Nave Jr. (Kentucky) and Bradyn Joiner (Auburn) who will compete for snaps.

Defensive depth chart

A pair of players from the post-spring transfer group jumped right into the first-team defense.

Charles Correa lined up next to his former UNLV teammate Mani Powell. Odom said that prior connection enchances what has already been positive communication on defense.

Former Arkansas and Colorado safety Myles Slusher lined up deep next to Tahj Ra-El. That position exemplifies that secondary experience, with seniors Crew Wakley and Richard Toney Jr. running with the 2s.

Another Georgia transfer receiver, Michael Jackson III, made nice diving sideline catch at the expense of nickel Sterling Smith. The Indy native and Holy Cross transfer bounced back quickly to lay a solid hit to stop receiver EJ Horton Jr.'s slip screen at the line of scrimmage.

What's next

Another practice on Friday, then Purdue holds its Fan Day practice inside Ross-Ade Stadium on Saturday. Admission to the 8:15 a.m. practice is free, and players and coaches will sign autographs afterwards. That event precedes the men's basketball alumni game inside Mackey Arena.

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