Countdown to Purdue football-Maryland kickoff: Jalen Graham set to return
Welcome to Countdown to Kickoff prior to Saturday’s matchup between Purdue and Maryland at SECU Stadium in College Park:
What you need to know – and it’s not all game related.
The latest
As of Thursday, here’s the injury report:
Expected to play: Linebacker/safety Jalen Graham (tibia). Graham hasn’t played since the opener against Penn State. Big addition if he’s available.
"Still optimistic with Jalen," coach Jeff Brohm said. "He's been able to practice some and getting better. I'm hopeful he can play."
Brohm wouldn't label Graham a game-time decision, all but assuring he'll play.
"Right now, I'm optimistic he will play," Brohm said. "That one I feel pretty good about unless we have some setbacks or something flares up."
Graham's return comes at the right time as the Boilermakers face a dynamic Maryland offense and its deep receiving group.
"He did an outstanding job for us last year," Brohm said. "He might have a little rust since he's been out for a while and you hope he gets enough practice in that he feels comfortable. It's going to be a challenge. He has to go out and compete and get back in the normal flow. He's played a lot of football games and that experience normally carries over. I expect him to play well."
Brohm said "there's a chance" receiver Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen, who’s been out most of the season, could be ready. He's coming back from knee surgery but Yaseen hasn't played since last year's loss to Minnesota in early October.
Game-time decision: Right tackle Daniel Johnson. Options could include moving Mahamane Moussa into the starting lineup or switching guard Marcus Mbow to tackle and inserting Sione Finau at right guard.
Out: Running back King Doerue, receiver Broc Thompson, offensive lineman Cam Craig and receiver Elijah Canion.
O'Connell ready
Quarterback Aidan O'Connell was a game-time decision heading into last week's game at Minnesota after dealing with an injury he suffered at Syracuse. O'Connell returned to the practice field and continues to make progress.
"I think Aidan has gradually improved, and I think he's feeling better and better," Brohm said. "I'm looking forward to getting him out there."
Odds
The opening line listed Maryland as a 3-point favorite. It climbed to 4, 4.5-points at some sportsbooks earlier in the week but has settled at 3.5 heading into Saturday. The Terrapins are 4-1 against the number, failing to cover the 24-point spread in the opener against Buffalo. They’ve covered four straight games, including three as a favorite. Surprisingly, four of Maryland’s games have landed under the Las Vegas total. Purdue is 3-2 against the spread with three games going over the total.
Last time
Does anyone recall Purdue’s last trip to College Park? I can’t remember what the name of the stadium was in 2016 but the 50-7 score still stands out. Darrell Hazell’s tenure was coming to an end and that game probably sealed his fate. The Boilermakers were outclassed that day.
O-line shines
Purdue has discovered a running game and Dylan Downing and Devin Mockobee are receiving most of the praise for their back-to-back 100-yard performances. That’s fine, but the veteran offensive line has quietly done its job this season.
“We’ve done pretty well,” center Gus Hartwig said. “There’s always room to grow. Throughout the season, we’ve progressed well and grown as a group and we’ve played good football and we’ve run the ball pretty well and protected the quarterback pretty well.
“For the most part, we’re playing pretty good football, playing together as a unit and doing pretty well.”
Depth is helping the line remain fresh deep into games. Offensive line coach Dale Williams is rotating more bodies throughout the game, especially on the right side. Johnson has taken over at right tackle for Cam Craig and Mbow and Finau have alternated at right guard. Mbow also played right tackle last week.
“Having a lot of guys who can play is really helpful,” Hartwig said. “Being able to move guys around and not miss a beat has been huge. Having guys able to play different positions and do different things has been really good. Guys haven’t played 80 snaps and they stay fresher and play faster.”
According to Sports Info Solutions, Hartwig has played 335 snaps, followed by Spencer Holstege (329), Mbow (268), Eric Miller (251) and Johnson (180).
“It’s been a work in progress,” Williams said. “Each week we see something different from each team. The biggest thing – they like to play. They come out here and put a smile on their face during the game. They do play hard, which is very important to me.”
Lots of linemen
How many times has the offense featured six linemen?
According to SIS, Purdue has run 21 plays with six offensive linemen and four with seven. The Boilermakers scored a TD with seven offensive linemen against Penn State. Downing is averaging 6.5 yards per carry and scored three touchdowns behind six linemen. Tyrone Tracy has one carry for 17 yards with six on the field.
Trick plays
We keep waiting for a Brohm trick play involving Mbow, a 6-foot-5, 305-pound redshirt freshman who was a standout basketball player in high school in the Milwaukee area.
“I’ve been nagging,” Mbow said.
Asked if he's familiar with William “Refrigerator” Perry – the Chicago Bears defensive lineman who was used in the backfield as a blocker/runner – Mbow said yes.
“ ‘Big Lunch,’ ” he said. “They can call me that.”
Brohm hasn’t called a trick play since T.J. Sheffield attempted a wide receiver pass at Syracuse. Sheffield was called for grounding.
“I’ve done a bad job with it,” Brohm said. “We ran one crappy one at Syracuse that looked like crap.”
Brohm still has a long list of trick plays at his disposal but trying to find the right moment to unleash them has been challenging based on how defenses are playing the Boilermakers.
“I almost called one last week but man, every possession is so valuable that you don’t want to waste one play and now we’re second-and-10 or third-and-10. I just have to have the guts to call some of them,” he said.
“At the same time, teams are playing us deep for the pass and there’s not a lot of trick plays that are going to get anything over their head. You might be able to do the thing we’ve done before behind the line of scrimmage. They’ve dried up quite a bit.”
Oven mitts review
We told you a few weeks ago the secondary was wearing oven mitts during practice to cut down on grabbing and holding penalties.
“It’s an attempt,” cornerbacks coach Ashton Youboty said. “Things are being called a little different and we’ve got to make our adjustments and just continue playing hard and playing smart.”
Purdue was called for one pass interference penalty at Minnesota when Reese Taylor was flagged in the first quarter.
“It was kind of tough,” cornerback Cory Trice said. “We couldn’t get our hands on them but it’s working out. We’re starting to limit our penalties and coach has a good plan for us and we just have to trust it.”
Mike Carmin covers Purdue sports for the Journal & Courier and USA Today Sports Network. Email mcarmin@gannett.com and follow on Twitter and Instagram @carmin_jc
Purdue (3-2, 1-1) at Maryland (4-1, 1-1)
Saturday
Time: Noon
TV: BTN
Radio: WAZY (96.5)
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Countdown to Purdue football-Maryland kickoff: What you need to know
